Summary

Fans of city builders have been spoiled for choice recently, and one of the most interesting options of the past several years isTerra Nil.Rather than focusing on the typical onward and upward attitude of metropolitan construction,Terra Niltasks players with restoring life to a ruined ecosystem. Constructing implements like wind turbines and toxin scrubbers is key to making progress, but success is found through returning flora and fauna rather than any densely packed grid of machinery.

Considering the crowded market, however,there have been a lot of recent competitors to take attention away fromTerra Nil.Whether embracing themedieval management ofManor Lordsor the mountainside stratification ofLaysara: Summit Kingdom, it’s been easy for even die-hard fans todrift to another city builder. What might change things is the arrival of a new update forTerra Nil, and it’s one that makes a particularly compelling case for the continued appeal of repairing ecosystems.

Bloody knight from Manor Lords with a massive large scale battle.

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Terra Nil Update Brings A New Wildlife System & More

Animals Should Feel More Organic Than Before

As announced on the officialTerra NilTwitter account and reported byPC Gamer,Terra Niljust received a major update calledVita Nova.The revamped version of the game includes a number of new features, including “additional missions, new buildings, an advanced wildlife system, and a newly designed world map.” It’s a substantial package for a game that wasalready strong at launch, and it could help address the limited scope that served as the principal caveat of the original release.

Although it’s more of a design change than it is a huge content addition,the most exciting part of theTerra Nilupdate might be the overhaul of the wildlife system. Having the ecosystem feel genuinely alive could make puzzling through the various challenges ofTerra Nilsignificantly more satisfying, and the modified approach to wildlife behavior should help a lot in this regard.

Deer and birds in the wild in Terra Nil’s Vita Nova update.

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In the original release ofTerra Nil, finding animals operated as a fairly rigid puzzle, involving scanning environmental tiles to ensure that the requirements are met for certain species to spawn. This was a change from the approach in the game’s demo, and although it worked well enough within the overall progression, it doesn’t feel natural or intuitive in a way that truly supports the game’s fundamental concepts.Vita Novapromises that “animals emerge more naturally” throughout the course of play, and the conditions that have to be met to ensure that they thrive are more complex.

Kamaeru Key Art showing the title above a frog on a lilypad, a man and woman stand to the right of the lake.

The wildlife changes inTerra Nil Vita Novaalso introduce a jaguar into the mix.

Other Additions In The Terra Nil Vita Nova Update

New Levels, Biomes, & Buildings Add Options

Another substantial addition toTerra Nilcomes in the form of new levels. Polluted Bay centers a map around a river full of toxic pollution, and Scorched Caldera tasks players with turning a volcanic crater into a freshwater lake. Hill & Dale, Subpolar River, and Continental Outskirts fill out the expanded roster, making for a seemingly diverse array of options. As a bonus, a new 3D world map makes it easier to get a look at overarching progress throughout the game.

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New biomes and new buildings are also entering the mix with a comparable amount of variety.Freshwater Lake and Rocky Scrubland are the two new biomes, while buildings get a significantly more substantial uptick with eight additional inclusions. Cone Filter, Pipe Hub, Carbon Compacter, Percolotrium, Mini Bamboo Nursery, Chaparralum, Transpirator, Sonic Pulse, and Wildlife Bridge should all work together to expand the open-ended possibilities for solving problems inTerra Nil, and even replaying content that’s always been in the game could be more interesting thanks to the additions.

Protoss soldier from StarCraft with a Wood Elf and soldier next to him.

Vita Novawon’t be the last addition toTerra Nil, and another future update is apparently already in the works. For anyone who bought the game at launch, the free support forTerra Nilis making it look like a worthwhile investment, and anyone who didn’t will get more out of taking it for a spin now than ever before. The new update might not be enough to change the mind of anyone who outright disliked the game to begin with, but for everyone else,Terra NilVita Novastands out as a substantial and exciting addition.

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