Urban Empire
Release Date: January 20, 2017
OpenCritic
Steam
An economy simulator focused on managing a city throughout two centuries, starting in 1820. It was developed by Fragment Productions, the creators of the Rescue series. In Urban Empire, we control an entire family from which the subsequent mayors of the city originate, and our tasks include developing the infrastructure and new districts, driving the economic growth, and ensuring our citizens’ satisfaction.
Urban Empire for PC is an economic, city-building simulation game. It was developed by the Finish Fragment Productions studio that created the Rescue series, and published by Kalypso Media.
Mechanics
The action of Urban Empire for PC starts in 1820 and takes place over the course of two hundred years. As decades go by, both the technology and geopolitical conditions change, which constantly provides new challenges. In total, we can play throughout five primary historical periods.
In most games of this genre the player is an impersonal manager of a city, or a mayor at best. In Urban Empire, on the other hand, we control an entire family from which the subsequent mayors originate. Starting out, we choose between four families that have unique traits, defects, and philosophies of development. For example, for Kilgannons, social justice is a priority, while the surname of Sant’Elias is connected to the belief that better life is ensured by scientific progress.
In the game, we obviously have to fulfill typical responsibilities of a mayor. Therefore, it is necessary to build infrastructure, plan the districts layout, drive the economic growth as well as to ensure our citizens’ satisfaction and solve their problems. The technological changes, such as electric trams, antibiotics, or the appearance of electronic games, bring both challenges and opportunities to improve the life of our society.
To a large extent, the game focuses on the unofficial aspects of being a mayor, not only the professional responsibilities. Therefore, apart from traditional tasks connected to managing a city, we also have to engage in political and personal affairs. It is necessary to influence members of the city council and to corrupt or blackmail those who oppose us. Such actions have to be done in secrecy in order to keep our family’s name perfectly clean and thus allow our kin to win subsequent elections. The gameplay is enriched by over eight hundred events that require us to making decisions fraught with dire consequences. These choices are forced by, for example, the appearance of the hippie subculture, the beginning of the struggle for the gender equality, or the increasing opposition against compelling children to work.
Last updated on March 23, 2016
Last Update: February 10, 2017
Urban Empire Game Guide
Urban Empire game guide is a collection of valuable advice and tips, which can make the challenges which await you within the game much easier. Individual chapters of the guide have been dedicated to the mechanics that rule over the gameplay.
Videos and Screens
[1:36] Urban Empire trailer
GameSpot: 6 / 10 by Daniel Starkey
Urban Empire is a dense city-building simulation with a twist. It focuses not just on zoning and taxes, but also on building your own political dynasty.
Words About Games: 5 / 10 by Gary Alexander
Urban Empire is a game with a lot of promise that ultimately lets itself down due to a lack of depth in its core mechanics. While there are probably hundreds of ways each mechanic connects with each other, these connections are never explained to players, making the whole game feel inconsistent.
GameGrin: 7 / 10
For now, I would strongly recommend this game for those that enjoyed Cities: Skylines and other similar simulators such as Tropico. For the almost L30 asking price however? You are better off getting Cities: Skylines if you wish to simply focus on a producing a productive and interactive city. In a few more patches this game could be something great.
GAMERS Score
Average score from 53 votes. 27 players anticipated the game.
Urban Empire Summary
Platforms:
PC Windows
Developer: Reborn Games
Publisher: Kalypso Media
Urban Empire System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Core i5-2400 3.40 GHz/AMD FX-6350 3.9 GHz, 6 GB RAM, graphic card 2 GB GeForce GTX 560/Radeon HD 6850 or better, 4 GB HDD, Windows 7(SP1)/8.1/10 64-bit
Recommended: Intel Core i5-4790K 4.4 GHz/AMD FX-8320 3.5 GHz, 12 GB RAM, graphic card 3 GB GeForce GTX 970/Radeon R9 290 or better, 4 GB HDD, Windows 7(SP1)/8.1/10 64-bit
Urban Empire is a city manager that lets you and your ancestors rule over a city
Urban Empire is a newly announced city manager in which you get to guide a ruling family throughout two centuries of succession. The game will let you do more than simply manage the city - you will have to do all it takes to stay in the office.
video games
March 11, 2016