Evolution may be the digital version of the most popular strategy card game of exactly the same name. Developed and published by North Star Digital Studios, Evolution challenges players with adapting their species for an ever-changing food supply and also the pressures of surrounding species. Like a strategy game focused on adapting to an ever-changing ecosystem, the game’s first expansion is available in the form of Evolution: Climate.
As the name implies, “Climate” adds yet another facet of survival for players to bother with, the weather. The expansion does not add much to the game in the way of new standalone content but instead adds a brand new layer of complexity to online matches or offline games against AI opponents. The expansion also updates the AI over the game, making them play more intelligently in standard Evolution games and ones with “Climate” enabled.
Most from the new content in “Climate” involves the brand new Climate Track mechanic. A quick tutorial with Professor Darwin gets players caught up on how it works, and that is really all that “Climate” offers when it comes to explanation. From there, players take presctiption their very own to play matches with the expansion enabled and decipher it independently.
However, this works rather well because of methods naturally the weather Track suits the standard Evolution formula. The Climate Track is active during matches and monitors the watering hole’s climate throughout a match. The weather starts in the neutral Temperate rating but can swing four levels right down to Ice Age or four levels up to Scorching. The weather Tracking swinging too far either in direction removes as much as 15 food in the watering hole and can start decreasing the population of species within a widening selection of body sizes.
The Climate Tracker may also contain disasters that are randomly assigned along its track. These may range from meteor strikes or heat waves to wildfires and a full ice age. They all have a punishing effect for players to try and plan for. The Climate Tracker is moved in either direction by the cards that each player submits to fill up the watering hole. Cards can now have certain values, such as two cold a treadmill heat, and when them are revealed, the weather Tracker moves accordingly.
To help species survive, “Climate” also includes various new cards that counteract some of the Climate Tracker’s negative effects. One card, Hibernation, prevents 1 Population loss from cold whilst preventing 2 Population loss due to starvation. Another card, Cooling Frills, prevents 3 Population loss from heat whilst increasing a species' Bodily proportions by 2 when defending from a panic attack. There are not many cards added to this mixture in “Climate,” however the added cards all serve a very definitive purpose that either play into new strategies built around the Climate Tracker or help familiar strategies adjust to the new mechanic.
The new cards are extremely much needed, because the Climate Tracker proves to be a very influential new mechanic to Evolution games. Once players get used to its influences, it might be a valuable tool if they get the right cards. For instance, natural disasters or more extreme climate levels can easily turn the tide of the game and help a losing species climb to the top from the food chain or help a leading species solidify its position.
The utility of the Climate Tracker in matches is really the biggest advantage of picking up “Climate.” Evolution games without the expansion could be very punishing, with one mistake which makes it difficult for a person to recuperate and get caught up for their opponents. “Climate” helps fix this for players who can make the most of its new mechanic. However, additionally, it may help more complex players decimate players who don't know how to manipulate or prepare for the weather Tracker. Overall, it is nice that the Climate Tracker gives these benefits to the players using the skill to make use of it rather than providing them with purely by random chance.
However, the weakest facet of “Climate” is that there is little change else towards the expansion. Playing with the Climate Tracker seems like an all natural extension from the Evolution experience. Still, it can't be used in the base game's campaign and only has anything to offer players thinking about either playing lots of online matches or matches against AI components. It might happen to be nice if it had more into it, for example its very own smaller campaign or even more customization choices to unlock or earn. However, for players who love playing Evolution repeatedly and merely want a new mechanic to throw in to the mix, Climate is an easy recommendation because of its reasonable price point.
Evolution‘s “Climate” expansion releases on PC and Switch on July 14.
