It's fair to say that (the) Gnorp Apolgue sets itself apart from your run-of-the-mill incremental game. All the basics are there; click rock, collect shards, buy things with shards to better help you click and collect. What makes it so unique is how these incremental gains interact with each other, and how much planning and managing is needed to successfully complete it. Players can and will need to evaluate their strategy, lest their production line fall behind.
Where many incremental games have you prestige for the sheer sake of making numbers rise quicker, (the) Gnorp Apologue requires it. Rate of excess shard production needs to increase to move along compression tiers, but rate of collection is what allows for buying units, housing and other upgrades. In fact, increasing collection rate is precisely what unlocks talent points, which can be spent on subsequent runs for passive bonuses that make getting to higher tiers more manageable. It's a balancing act, and a surprisingly engaging one at that.
Visuals are simplistic, but suit the game very well. Hardcore fans of incremental games no longer need to turn to UI-only games for their best-of recommendations, though the UI itself leaves a little to be desired. Tooltips for damage and collection rates of individual units would be nice, as it takes a while to learn what each symbol represents, and early portions of runs can be ruined by trying to buy units too fast, resulting in buying unneeded upgrades at best, and build-ruining ones at worst.
The builds are by far the most interesting aspect of (the) Gnorp Apologue. Planning ahead pays off, yet looking through Steam discussion posts point towards there being a wide variety of strategies that work. Experimentation is encouraged - wonderfully so - though it could turn some players away when they realize the build they've invested an hour or so into just isn't going to cut it.
(the) Gnorp Apologue, with its clear goal but many paths to victory, as well as its intertwined and engaging systems serves as not only a great introduction to incremental games, but cements it as one of the finest. It's rock solid.
Where many incremental games have you prestige for the sheer sake of making numbers rise quicker, (the) Gnorp Apologue requires it. Rate of excess shard production needs to increase to move along compression tiers, but rate of collection is what allows for buying units, housing and other upgrades. In fact, increasing collection rate is precisely what unlocks talent points, which can be spent on subsequent runs for passive bonuses that make getting to higher tiers more manageable. It's a balancing act, and a surprisingly engaging one at that.
Visuals are simplistic, but suit the game very well. Hardcore fans of incremental games no longer need to turn to UI-only games for their best-of recommendations, though the UI itself leaves a little to be desired. Tooltips for damage and collection rates of individual units would be nice, as it takes a while to learn what each symbol represents, and early portions of runs can be ruined by trying to buy units too fast, resulting in buying unneeded upgrades at best, and build-ruining ones at worst.
The builds are by far the most interesting aspect of (the) Gnorp Apologue. Planning ahead pays off, yet looking through Steam discussion posts point towards there being a wide variety of strategies that work. Experimentation is encouraged - wonderfully so - though it could turn some players away when they realize the build they've invested an hour or so into just isn't going to cut it.
(the) Gnorp Apologue, with its clear goal but many paths to victory, as well as its intertwined and engaging systems serves as not only a great introduction to incremental games, but cements it as one of the finest. It's rock solid.