What does this have to do with irrigation? Well, we have to grow more food for the animals to eat, so WE can eat them rather than eating the plants directly. Seriously, what’s with all the hype around corn? It doesn’t look nearly as nice as Terra Nil. We are just so OBSESSED with corn…And, as a global community, we’ve been eating more and more meat.

We aren’t great at making sure that we are growing foods that are more appropriate for the climate or having variety that would promote a healthier ecosystem.

But, of course, humanity has a way of taking our new toys and kind of missing the point. It’s great that we have options to grow food even when conditions aren’t optimal. Then we could close down Climate Replay and I could get back to writing my Succession fan fiction (Logan Roy marries me! It’s disgusting!).īut in real life, irrigation is unfortunately a lot more complicated. I would love it if there was a machine like the game’s irrigator which we could switch on that would solve all our environmental problems for us. So handsome! If anyone can think of a better reason to own eyes than staring at this screenshot then I’m not interested in hearing it.Įssentially Terra Nil is about the joy of turning dismal, boring landscape into greenery so gorgeous I can barely tear my eyes from it to make sure I’m ending this sentence properlĮven just in demo form, Terra Nil is an absorbing, pleasingly calming game that got us thinking more about real world irrigation. These magical machines instantly turn all that newly-healed soil into luscious green grass. But that’s got nothing on placing your first Irrigator. Trust us when we say that watching all that sickly grey turn into beautiful brown is immensely satisfying.

Marvel as all that dirt becomes less dirty! I mean… more dirty? Wait, that sounds even worse. Lay down a turbine to get some wind power, then place a toxin scrubber and voila: Good thing too, because Terra Nil starts you off with a barren wasteland that looks more like the start of an early Fallout game. Stick with it!Īs someone who often replaces the word ‘hello’ with ‘I failed to find the bathroom in time’, I’m not one to judge when it comes to making a bad first impression. Like transforming an oil spill into a kitten made of hugs, but more scientifically plausible, and less like the kind of example you come up with when you write the Climate Replay blog post at 4am again. No, This is all about restoring a tarnished environment and going even further until it’s a tropical paradise.

To my initial disappointment, this doesn’t mean it’s a game where you play a city trying to build a person. The game’s steam page describes it as ‘a reverse city builder’. This week, thanks to the excellent Twitter account Plant Based Gaming, I found a delightful demo that’s well worth your time. Welcome to the third Play Games, Save the Planet! This is our somewhat-regular where we rave about great games that support good causes, depict the climate fight in interesting ways, or have a fantastic message.

Terra nil switch