Some Thoughts On Tribe: Primitive Builder (Demo)

Reunite the tribe or avoid it at all costs?

As I sat down to write a review of my time spent in Tribe: Primitive Builder, I found myself struggling to come up with much to say. While I had some criticisms, I did appreciate the fact that the demo was made available to those who have been eagerly anticipating the game since its initial announcement in 2019.

(I'll refer to the game as TPB to save my fingers.)

If you've played Medieval Dynasty, you'll have a good idea of what to expect with TPB. Both games fall under the Lifestyle Survival genre, which focuses on simulating life in a particular time period, place, or as a specific person. While they may include survival mechanics, the primary focus is on managing day-to-day life. TPB's gameplay loop involves completing tasks and exploring to build a village for your tribe members to live and work in.

The TPB demo has its positives. You won't be plagued with constant crashes, and everything worked smoothly for me. You can easily follow the game's intended path to complete the demo. Additionally, the demo provides a fair amount of time and freedom to progress and experience the available content. This is in contrast to Voidtrain, which ended the demo just as I was getting interested in the game.

While there are some quality issues that can be nitpicked, it's important to remember that this is just a demo, and the game is still in development. The voiceovers and sound effects could use some improvement, and the fishing mechanic could be executed better. Dee mentioned that the game feels like a series of tasks to complete without much engagement beyond that.

However, it's possible that these issues only apply to the tutorial-heavy demo version and may not be present in the full game. It's ultimately up to individual preference whether or not to try the game. Some players on Steam and Discord have praised it as the best demo of Next Fest, and those who enjoy building or a more laid-back survival simulation experience may find it appealing.

After years of waiting and subsisting on inconsistent communication from the developers, I thought the game was dead several times. However, after spending a week with the demo during Next Fest, I’ve personally revised ‘dead’ to ‘lifeless.’

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Did you try Tribe: Primitive Builder during Steam Next Fest? I would love to hear your thoughts- so drop into the comments or our Discord!