Reus News

Fellow giants!

Today it has been 10 years since Reus released on Steam! A mere speck of time for ageless titans like yourself, but still worthy of celebration. If you haven't seen it yet; the celebration starts off strong with Reus 2 being announced last week! The monks of the Abbey and the gentle folks at Firesquid are teaming up for this one. Together, we hope to bring Reus to the modern gaming era, but without losing its charm.

That gives us the perfect opportunity to look back at Reus. What are we proud of, and do we want to take with us to the next game? And where do we see room for improvement?


[h2]Top: The Giants[/h2]
These handsome elemental titans sure pulled their weight for us! I mean, look at that handsome line-up! This is definitely something we wish to expand upon in Reus 2. Although some of them could use a small make-over...



[h2]Flop: Time Pressure[/h2]
I think the single feature we got the most complains about, was the time pressure. Even veteran players couldn't play the game without frantically mashing the spacebar to pause the game. There is an endless mode, which removes this challenge. But choosing between RTS madness or little challenge at all is not really fitting for Reus.

In Reus 2, we hope to bring you a more relaxing experience, where the challenge comes from how well you do your actions, not from how fast you do them. Let the spacebar get some rest.


[h2]Top: Symbioses[/h2]
These are the bread and butter nature actions of your giants. It worked quite well, with many different combinations and strategies to play with. In Reus 2, we definitely want to expand on this more. More animals! More biomes! More ways of interacting! More more more! Here's a little sneak-peek...

It worked so well, because it is simple to understand, but hard to master. Ok, not all combinations were hard to master. Who hasn't filled their swamps with White Willows? And not everything was easy to understand, because....



[h2]Flop: Arcane Progression[/h2]
How do I unlock the darn snow leopard?! Ok, a musk deer with a Predator aspect. Oh, it wants to be next to a Yak? Ok, how do I... oh, I can't unlock it anymore, because I committed towards something else with my Ocean giant... sigh...
No, I don't want to memorize this...

This was the #1 frustration that we didn't solve in any way. Unlocking new natural sources required a wiki, and even then you could plan wrong. It was cute at first, but it soon made people stumble a few hours in. This one has been very high on our fix-list for Reus 2. I can safely say now - the upgrades are going to be vastly different from Reus 1!


There are many more things to talk about. But for now, let's enjoy this decade or Reus. Who knows what the next decade will bring! If you're interested in more Reus, don't forget to check out the Reus 2 store or join the discord! Hope to see you around!

- Adriaan and the monks of the Abbey

After 10 years, we're finally ready to announce Reus 2! This sequel is a decade in the making: Reus was always on our mind, and we never stopped looking for exciting ideas for the game. Now we've partnered up with publisher Firesquid, and together we've proudly announced Reus 2 in the TactiCon showcase!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Since the first Reus in 2013, many things have evolved!

• Giant Roster: This time around, you will be able to select your giants from a roster. Every giant will bring its own niche to the planet.
  
  
• Experiment with Natural Resources: We expanded further on the symbioses and natural resources! There are much more of them, and you unlock them in an entirely new way. There are many exciting strategies and unique symbioses to discover!
  
  
• Observe and Define Your Own Goals: Shape the development of humanity and watch as their societies evolve from primitive tribes to advanced civilizations. Whether they are obsessed space explorers or self-destructive warmongers, who are you to judge their choices?
  
  
• Leave a Lasting Legacy: Each playthrough leaves a lasting legacy in the stars - and inspires new paths to take. Soon, your galaxy will be filled with human life... and some... failed experiments.
  

We learned a lot during development of Renowned Explorers and Godhood, as well as from playing countless new strategy games in the past 10 years. We always knew Reus had mountains of potential, and at this point we feel we’re ready to make the best version of it. Thank you, to all of you that played Reus or otherwise supported our studio and helped us grow :)

Find more info on the Reus 2 store page. Please wishlist and follow it, so you won't miss any news about the future of Reus.

- Manuel and the monks of the Abbey

Hear hear, tales from a decade ago! When the monks could merely grow hair on their face, and the internet was still younger place...

Our tale begins in Utrecht, where a small group of 4 monks decided to make games in the basement of the university. As was tradition in game development at that time, no sun was allowed to disturb the monks in their creative process. Other students were allowed to take a peek, though! Abbey is in the right corner, with "concept art" on the wall.

Their dream? Make a god game where humans develop based on the nature you create! To do that, they used their student loan to start up the Abbey. Would this gamble pay off? In any case, they had a plan:
Our first pitch, which we showed to Valve!

Was it hard work? Definitely, but within 18 months Reus was created! It has all sorts of small things no one knows about... For example, sometimes, one of the mountains in the back is replaced by a rocket. It used to be replaced with .... something else, but that was not PG13. Also, to test the game, the monk had to summon a baby on a rocket! It would grant you powers previously unknown...
The rocket baby and another dude.

There also used to be a small chamber in the middle of the planet. One could raise baby giants there for the next generation! That idea never made it to Reus, but it also never left the center of our minds. Later on, Godhood would be a game about raising stuff for the next generation! It's all connected...
The inner chamber, waiting to become a game by itself!

Reus was an absolute success! It went on to sell over a million copies. It heavily influenced us, and still does for the future... The monks hope to revisit the themes of nature, human and the fantastic in the near future!
But the Abbey then progressed through to the era of Renowned Explorers! A game different in scope, but similar in soul. Are you curious what happened next? Friday our next chapter arrives on the Renowned Explorers news!

Who knows what the past might tell about our future...

See you there!

P.S. If you want to chat with us, feel free to join our Discord or follow the Abbey Games Developer!