Analysis and testing/Le jeu où on plante des sapins
Le jeu où on plante des sapins

Le jeu où on plante des sapins

TheGreatReview6 minOct 6, 2024
4 chapters
  • Basic Mechanics and the Initial Puzzle(0'001'15)
    When launching Terranil, the player receives a dead and sad map with a limited number of buildings to save the situation.
    • The wind turbine can only be placed on hard soil • The purifier must be next to the wind turbine to access electricity • The irrigator only works on soil detoxified by the purifier
    When the player successfully aligns wind turbines to bring electricity to the right place and strategically positions purifiers, it delivers maximum satisfaction.
    With each action, the player pays the building cost but is rewarded based on the amount of nature restored, which can exceed the building's price.
  • Strategic Planning and Its Visual Rewards(1'152'43)
    The more strategically interesting an action is, the more visually beautiful it becomes, making it eye candy.
    As progression continues, interesting actions require thinking ahead rather than acting impulsively.
    • Place an irrigator at the center of an area to create tiles considered a water source • Purchase the swamp generator upgrade to transform all tiles near the irrigator in a single purchase • This brings tremendous diversity thanks to prior preparation
    The game rewards planning by enabling controlled chain reactions, such as using tunnels and swamps to naturally stop a fire.
  • The Joy of Ecological Control and Love of Aesthetics(2'433'08)
    Terranil rewards the love of planning ahead, which takes 5 moves to realize, with the love of what it creates: it's cute, beautiful, soothing and relaxing.
    • Increasing plants raises temperature and attracts animals • Animals naturally improve the terrain • Adding swamps and rivers increases humidity, causing mushrooms to grow in forests
    Mushrooms attract new animals, which further improve the terrain, creating a cascade of ecological improvements.
    The map becomes increasingly amazing as chain reactions occur in areas where detoxification has succeeded.
  • The Frustration of Limits and the Elegant Solution(3'086'39)
    • There are always small map sections just out of reach of buildings • These areas remain frozen while the rest of the map improves • Using a building to recover only a few tiles would waste the player's resources
    The player bought the game for strategy but also to create the most beautiful map possible, creating growing frustration.
    The game indicates that the player isn't managing isolated zones but reviving the ecosystem as a whole through chain reactions.
    After an hour spent trying to restart the planet, it says thank you and manages the rest by itself, revealing that ecological control was the true solution.