They Are Billions Review

They Are Billions is a post-apocalyptic real-time strategy game. It was released on early access via Steam in 2017. The game then made its way to a full release in June 2019 before hitting consoles in July.

Although there isn’t much of a narrative to the title, it does feature a tantalizing setting. The action takes place more than 100 years into the future. A fast-moving infection led to the collapse of human civilization, with technology regressing significantly.

The only survivors now live in colonies set up as fortresses to keep the zombies at bay. You take on the role of a leader of a new colony that is trying to reestablish humanity to its former glory.

Gameplay

They Are Billions starts out as a pretty standard RTS game. You build resource-gathering units to harvest wood and other materials. Then comes the military units to combat the upcoming zombie horde. Think Age of Empires, where you need to build up your settlement and collect every resource you can get your hands on.

However, things take a turn after the first few days. That’s because They Are Billions is distinct from other RTS games by being entirely focused on defense. Here the only option against the billions of zombies is to hold up and pray that your defenses don’t fail.

The ultimate goal is to ensure that the undead never make it into your settlement. Once they break through the defensive perimeter, you are toast. Whatever this zombie infection is, it spreads at a lightning pace. Just one enemy can lead to your whole village succumbing within a few moments.

If you do manage to keep out the zombies, then you get a chance to build more elaborate building and elect officials. These can provide extra bonuses that will help. Although, you shouldn’t expect too much in the way of free stuff in They Are Billions.

As the horde can arrive at any time from any direction, you have to keep a constant eye on everything. The fact that you don’t know when you will face the next attack builds a lot tension throughout each game.

In truth, you feel perpetually on edge while playing They Are Billions. Fortunately, the game forces you to start on an easy difficulty setting. Once you have completed this, you can move onto the more challenging scenarios. It is in these harder rounds that you really have to explore the surroundings and start to develop strategies.