Village to Empire builder : Songs of syx Ep1

This one sounds interesting, does not look interesting but the potential to take a tiny settlement all the way up to empire appeals to me. I have a strange feeling the learning curve is going to be a bit steep on this one as well.
Songs of Syx is a fantasy city-builder where you start off as an insignificant colony and build, scheme, and fight your way towards a metropolis and empire. The mechanics are complex and true to life, where small events can spiral into the collapse of kingdoms. Easy to learn, but impossible to master. It's set in a low-fantasy world with graphics aimed at stimulating your imagination.

[@Talderas]

I'm not going to lie. There is a part of me that wants to watch Francis play a dating sim and optimize it.

[@nerdygamer11]

I mean, I’m not going to hold my breath, but with the first of April right around the corner, I can’t help but feel that would be a great short little gag-video.

[@larsruberti3315]

I was thinking the exact same. However, simply the notion of a dating sim makes me cringe

[@AlthaeaMedea]

"Hello, and welcome back to Hatoful Boyfriend!" LMAO!

[@TamiVelduraAuthor]

I propose Boyfriend Dungeon which is currently on sale XD

[@Plasmafox]

IDK about "dating sim" but Long Live The Queen is surprisingly strategic.

[@Mantis_Toboggan_TrashMan]

It's insane that Song Of Syx is made by one person. He adds so much content so quickly. I played 6-12 months ago and I already see a ton of new stuff.

[@pedrolmlkzk]

I have the same sentiment

[@grayavatar9766]

It makes me wonder what full time workers at gaming companies are doing all day.

[@lorenzocabrera6276]

@@grayavatar9766 meetings, a lot of meetings

[@6AP6APblCKA]

Absolutely loved your mini tutorial on steam filtering! This is the stuff other channels don't even think of showing, and here we get relatable heartwarming commentaries from normal guy with same problems!

[@FrancisJohnYT]

Well in Fairness I was trying to justify how I ended up on Songs of syx. I mean considering the games it shares "space" with there has to be something to it.

[@LordMoridin]

It's funny to see him so happy about the various quality of life stuff in the game. The trauma from Dwarf Fortress was serious.

[@larsruberti3315]

I've played df, You really don't know what you've got untill it's gone. It was hard trauma indeed, but it made me appreciate the things that matter.

[@FrancisJohnYT]

In syx their is an option in the menu to mute the game when it's not in focus (alt tabbed to read the wiki lets say) you would be surprised how many games don't have this feature.

[@KainYusanagi]

Francis, you can cut out tiles inside the building to strengthen the roof, just like real-life pillars in buildings.

[@FrancisJohnYT]

I know you can put the pillars in but I'm trying to come up with a standard I can replicate. I want all the buildings to be 9 by X so I can fit them in strips. Might not work but I always like to be trying to come up with a standard that makes future planning easier.

[@HanniballNOR]

Love me some Songs Of syx :) ALways makes me happy to see more and creators playing this game :)

[@FrancisJohnYT]

Seriously this has so many of the things you want in a colony sim, the whole building up from nothing until you are eventually a huge city. It also has an option to mute the game when you are alt-tabbed that is such a QoL feature. The person who made this knew what they were doing.

[@HanniballNOR]

@@FrancisJohnYT Yeah :) And there is so much more in the pipeline for the game. It is one of this hidden gems. also reading the game dev log on the discord server is hilarious :)

[@patrickmcmahon1974]

Really interested in seeing more of this from you, looks rather interesting!

[@redunicorngaming]

Nice. I've been meaning to check this one out. Also, The Wandering Village. Has me really curious as well 🙂

[@FrancisJohnYT]

I have seen a fair bit of The Wandering Village and it has me curious, the climate changing as you move incentivizes adaption which is a nice twist.

[@MrDrPhDDakamC]

Love that you touched on this, development of Syx has been slow but man it is insanely addicting for me. I played 47 hours the week I bought it and had to pull myself away from it for new updates and It just got a new update and the only thing keeping me from playing it is being able to vicariously play it through you. Also, another suggestion. Cogmind.

[@stephendabbs2213]

Nice to see Songs of Syx getting some love!

[@JaRyCu]

#1 Rule of Francis John: It must have a title I can mispronounce. Hmm.... 3 letters, s-y-x... STICKS! SONG OF STICKS!! Perfect for the channel. :D :D :D Having said that, the entire Creeper World family is amazing and is done by a single guy who loves making games. You'd enjoy them, but they're a bit easy for the channel. I mean, I mastered them, which means you'd demolish them while learning to play them. OpenTTD did come out in the 1990s as TTD. When the company went under, the public got into and remade it as a free-to-play game and has been alive and thriving ever since. It came to Steam for better distribution, but it's always been free to download. Again, like with Creeper World, I don't see you doing it for this channel. It's VERY VERY deep, but it's kinda like simplified Factorio, which didn't seem to do well here, either.

[@LOMSERMAN]

Excluding "Dating sim" tag you may by accident skip some really fun games, like "Dark Souls" =D Not 100% sure about current tags for Dark Souls, but "Dating sim" was there in the past and that was hilarious.

[@FrancisJohnYT]

I'm trying to imagine the dating reviews. I died, would die again. I died, would die again. I died, would die again.

[@RFC-3514]

To unlock the MILF, you must praise the son.

[@spoon1710]

There is always something so nostalgic about graphics like these.

[@yaoitiddieexpert1486]

Id really wanted to see gameplay of Songs of Syx, but i couldnt find a youtuber i liked too much. Glad youre trying it out!

[@7Seven-Four4]

This game actually had me on the visuals. The art is very reminiscent of earlier PC games, and I've always enjoyed this kind of "impressionist" style of pixel art, where objects have just enough detail to be distinct and identifiable, and when done well your brain tends to read the "noise" as being more detailed than it really is. I prefer the more personal Rimworld and Dwarf Fortress, but this looks like a very deep civilization builder so far. I'm looking forward to you taking a further poke at it.

[@strifermjolk]

love this game, just gets deeper and deeper the more you play

[@Rikard_Nilsson]

5:40 Elven cannibals exist in "Divinity Original Sin" sort of, they can eat parts of corpses to see visions of the victims past and thoughts, in the tutorial if you play as an elf you can eat a leg to learn how a murdered guard died, but since you're a slave on a ship it leads to...hostility from the guard investigating it, later it can give you hints for puzzles or straight up give you vital information of where to find something you're looking for.

[@VoresD]

Pretty sure in DF lore elves eat other sentient races they kill in battle and are also okay with other elves. I think Songs of Syx decided to pick same lore as a nod to DF

[@Nukestarmaster]

Also, Bosmer from Elder Scrolls.

[@shadow101class]

6 minutes in and all I can think of is "this looks like Dominion but with diplomacy" and I am very much sold thank you for bringing this to my attention

[@ilyazzar]

Oh my god. Supreme commander. So fun to play! Still can't believe that its community still alive

[@FrancisJohnYT]

Still getting patches from the community last I checked. No other game has come close to the gameplay it provides. I still watch the odd Gyle cast.

[@fiend_gaming]

I find this game has a very nice charm to it, seeing your stockpiles fill with iron ore, coal and then carried to the furnace and transfered to your massive iron piles. The amount of content in this game is beyond insane for example; races enjoy specific shapes to their structures, as well as specific foods that are useless to other races. Each race has unique home items, and they fill their homes with these things as well. I've never even made it to a population higher than 2000 after a couple hundred hours, and I never lose to being raided I always lose to overcrowding or building poorly. City design is crucial as time is very valuable early on. I often design my cities with a single wide road that allows for building statues and walls on and around. Always leave space for building decorations since they can be crucial especially torches.

[@Gyurg00]

i remember when i first saw this game the graphics were kind of a turn off but now i’m literally obsessed with how good you can make cities look at all stages of the game

[@wilshireanasurimbor3068]

Looks like a fun game to watch you play!

[@unclemestor]

Really excited to see you dig into this hidden gem. This is a fascinating ant colony of a game, the scale of it never ceases to amaze me.

[@amyk9538]

This looks like a really interesting game. I'm looking forward to ep 2!

[@TheChubbyFerret]

Just this fan's opinion, but I'll basically watch you play anything. You always have a wonderfully insightful and unique view into games and breaking them, and presenting highly entertaining scenarios.

[@fredrikkihlberg2757]

Oh, I played this game a few patches ago. Looks like there's been a lot of things added. I might pick it up again. Great video as always, Francis! Hope this becomes a series.

[@justneb1995]

I still think Terra Invicta would be a solid choice for this channel... Maybe not a repeat game, but the amount of thought that goes into each choice and the fact that those choices will effect you years later, make me think you will fall in love.

[@LeCheckmate]

You can either make good, meaningful decisions. Or you can lock the baddies out of the inner solar system with Dreadnought that are as immortal as they are immobile.

[@colebehnke7767]

Terra Invicta is a mess of a game. It was trying to be so many things that it forgot that it needed to be fun.

[@ahmataevo]

Terra Invicta definitely has a number of problems as a game. One is that the other human AI controlled factions are far more interested in fighting the player than they ever are in pursuing their own goals. By late-game if you haven't conquered the whole earth early, then most regions you haven't taken are hard-locked by AI actions in never-ending coups, permanent unrest and permanently ruined economy that no amount of exploits can fix. It's a really big problem on the higher difficulty levels.

[@LeCheckmate]

@@ahmataevo Did you forget to do diplomacy?

[@ahmataevo]

@@LeCheckmate - That far in no amount of diplomacy will work. Even if I did non-aggression pacts they'd be broken when taking all the remaining countries and I'll be at war with them at the same point anyway. Without non-aggression they all drift into war status with me and the cost to raise relations is insane, and they'll still be trying to decrease my faction option, raising unrest and starting coups. In fact, they're all constantly running coups on each other in the remaining nations.

[@michal5642]

I was looking at this game a few months back, glad you are giving it a go here. Might pick it up myself soon.

[@simonisaksson3570]

Love this! Exited to see how you use the canibalism thing :)

[@FrancisJohnYT]

Turns out not well, maybe we have to pick more fights.

[@sudhanshugupta9155]

Against the storm is soo addicting. If you get time try it once

[@theral056]

There's no "trying it once" with that game. I couldn't let go of it until I beat the highest prestige level when I started, that's how addicting it was to me. Currently enjoying a small break until the new race is in :)

[@All_Night]

Try it once. hahah. There isn't a try it once with Against the Storm.

[@ExcelInstructor]

4:10 Against the storm -> this MUST be played on your channel. It is a must

[@papric9553]

its great game, but im not sure if roguelite + deck builder hybrid would fit the channel :D

[@asureaskie]

​@@papric9553Roguelite Colony Builder. There isn't really a "deck builder" component. :) That said, any colony builder would work here, I suspect.

[@FeliksOnline]

"Dating sims and visual novels don't really seem like fit with the theme of the channel" Hey, you never know. You should totally do an episode and see how well it performs

[@wesmantooth32]

Seems like some interesting potential for this game. Looking forward to more episodes!

[@cgman1940]

Actually, cannibal elves is a more common trope than one might think. The elves of Dwarf Fortress and wood elves of the Elder Scrolls are both cannibalistic, for instance.

[@JessWLStuart]

Looks like a good mix of activity and detail, along with a much more playable interface!

[@genehenson8851]

I’m glad you showed me how to find better games on steam. I mean normally I just play whatever you’re playing, but every once in awhile our schedules don’t line up and I have to find my own.

[@Pogonotrophy]

Yay! I love this game. glad you picked it up

[@shadamethyst1258]

Well well well, another game I really love! I predict it won't be a stayer on the channel (it doesn't make for great content on youtube), but it's a nice game to relax to :)

[@gus.smedstad]

You know you’ve played too much Rimworld when you say “Ooh! Opium!”

[@MathewSan_]

This game seems really good 👍👍

[@mrchaos4222]

Great pick, love you walking through why you picked SoS too.

[@alyissius9725]

This reminds me of Banished, which I've spent many hours on! Not empire scale, but I love the resource and colony managment

[@DroCaMk3]

This looks really promising!

[@TamiVelduraAuthor]

Take a look at Rise To Ruins. City builder with attacks at night. Some tower-defense strategy works well, but supply management, people management, and the occasional fireball are key. You're given a world to work on with individual maps that you can progress independently, but progression follows you map to map. Also if you don't raise/bury your dead quickly enough they might haunt your village.

[@freaktopianexile2083]

@ Francis John: Ahhh, I see you've picked another gem of the time-eating genre... I've taken the demo rather far, but I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer numbers at some point. If you're looking for games to try out, I can also recommend "Going Medieval" - it's still in early access, but they're eager beavers working on it. It's roughly going down the RW lane with raids and all, but it does have its own flair, and multi-level building. Another interesting one is "Sapiens" - still a very young game, but the developer is also adding new content bit by bit, and has quite ambitious goals. It's roughly akin to "Dawn of Man" with somewhat more... I have no better words for it, "bling"? "joy of discovery"? "constructive mechanics?"

[@ennou1236]

There's an argument for elves to be cannibals, it all depends how much their settings make them worship trees and plant

[@Rikard_Nilsson]

Door Kickers 1 is an excellent game, I've only played Door Kickers 2 in an early state so it wasn't all that updated with less features than in 1, but the graphics were bumped up. Another game giving an homage to DK1 is "No Plan B" which does the same things only differently, some better, some worse. Basically you have your soldiers that you send on missions, you place them at starting positions and drag commands all over the place telling them where to go, where to stop where to focus their field of view, when to deploy grenades etc. Then you press execute and they hopefully win, survive, and complete every objective for the map earning you three stars you can spend on upgrading/unlocking equipment, weapons and body armour, and they also earn xp making them faster, more agile and better shots. It's fun but can be infuriatingly hard since according to Murphy's laws of warfare a plan only holds until contact with the enemy. Another game I noticed on your results was "Shadow Tactics" which is "Commandos" or "Desperados" in a feudal Japan setting, it's pretty linear in terms of how to complete it just like the "Commandos" games were, not to mention story-driven and while fun definitely not similar to other games you've played.

[@subDimensionUK]

Remind me when I finally finish my magnum opus strategy game to hire Francis to do the PR for it.

[@titikma]

the pawns building is pretty smart , they waited until every resource available and put the resource in the middle then start building

[@artfish1075]

Just a suggestion but maybe Captain of Industry could be of interest. It's early access but quite deep. I love it ;)

[@FrancisJohnYT]

It came up seven games below Songs of Syx. But I think the real contenders are Against the storm, Timber and Captain. The rest might not fit the channel. Against the storm Cosometeer starship architect and commander The Battle of Polytopia Timberborn Raft Barotrauma Captain of Industry

[@jerome8124]

@@FrancisJohnYT Two Thumbs up for Raft and Timberborn!

[@deredware9442]

+1 for against the storm, its really enjoyable.

[@ronan6385]

I am looking forward to how this one goes, I hate to think what effects your cannibals will have on the rest of the world though...

[@anotherkenlon]

Dear sir: There is no T in the work Syx. Signed, Annoyed Pedants

[@Swordphobic]

They should have given you a free copy, this is not the first time I get interested in something you start playing and buy a copy for myself.

[@keatoncampbell820]

Dude you're so fun to watch, and so good at the games you play, I'd watch you play Clash of Clans lmao

[@thr3308]

"doesn't really fit with the channel": wholesome checks out 🤣

[@THG_thehumangod]

This is like a more user friendly Dwarf fortress.

[@coconutcute712]

You should make more polls for new series, I would love to see you play Mindustry or AOE2

[@matthewtalbot-paine7977]

Oh that fast forward looks legit. So many games have a fast setting and there's no need to play on the normal speed. This one looks like you could press it and find put I'd your colony is sustainable in like 5 minutes

[@FrancisJohnYT]

It's such a nice QoL feature, if you leave that speed on for to long the game would pass you by.

[@danbance5799]

I like Against the Storm, recommend it highly, but I don't think it's suited to the channel. It's too repetitive. I think it's a great game for viewers of this channel, but other than a one off episode looking at the mechanics of it there's no way to really build a story out of it. The gameplay loop is 90 minutes of city building, get some upgrades, then start over. Every 5 or 6 cities the map gets wiped clean. It is a very well made game, and I've gotten about 90 very satisfying hours out of it.

[@bubbaattack]

This game looks very interesting. I don't mind the art style at all and it looks like it has a ton of fun mechanics. Looking forward to the full playthrough.

[@johnarmitage3452]

i bought this game a while back and couldnt be bothered in learning it, im excited to learn it through you

[@helpme5785]

In The Elder Scrolls series wood elves are cannibals :) in their homeland harming plants is actually strictly forbidden, so wood needs to be brought in from outside provinces, and they only eat meat. Even their alcohol is fermented animal products!

[@DarthVella]

I really did like the original Desperados, that's come to Steam recently I believe. I would hesitate to recommend the series for the channel unless you were looking to branch further out, however, just based on my experience with that one game.

[@Darbzter]

Looking forward to seeing you explore this game, looks like a good mix of Banished & Rimworld

[@spodbox]

I would seriously pay to watch you play a dating Sim. It would be hilarious.

[@RFC-3514]

I don't think the graphics are ugly at all. If anything, I prefer them over Rimworld's default graphics. They're "pixely", sure, but the perspective is consistent (top-down, no mixing of top-down / sideways / random in-between angles), and the light effects seem really good (both the glows and the projected shadows). The menus' graphical style is a bit inconsistent, but they seem functional (which, again, is more than I would say about Rimworld without mods). Overall, the thing that annoys me the most is the mix of different fonts. Pick one, or two at most, and stick to those.

[@wingsolution]

So while I agree that songs of syx is a better fit for your channel, against the storm is so so soooooooooo good.

[@raismin739]

ok, this game seems a lot more interesting and intuitive, i love the wiki built in, i wonder why :D anyway the steam tutorial was a real good touch, kinda curious on seeing you playing dating simulators tho XD

[@quaz8flevox283]

4:25 Idk if I'm overthinking that but Krull's Revenge might be Easter Egg to Krell from Warhammer Fantasy, he was barbarian warlord and champion of Khorne. Digging too deep is obvious reference:)

[@RichPhillibob]

I dunno, I think I’d love to see Francis John play *I Love You, Kernel Sanders’ The visual novel where you date Kernel Sanders, the creator of Kentucky Fried Chicken

[@B1ackH4wk0001]

Elves can be cannibals. It's actually a thing in the Divinity games. At least Original Sin 2, which is the only one I played.

[@Saniteee]

Hope this game stays

[@silaskjrsgaard5394]

looks like a great game, haven't been too interested in the games on the channel lately, but this seems really interesting, I would definitely watch an entire series of this

[@asureaskie]

When you finish with Songs of Syx, Against the Storm is definitely worth a look. "Roguelite Colony Builder" shouldn't work, but holy smokes does it ever! Sunk way too many hours into it, and when I'm just staring at the Steam library going, "I don't want to play anything," ATS just sucks me right in past my apathy and eats a few hours of my time.

[@FluffTrooper]

I don't know if you have looked at it, but Amazing Cultivation Simulator, starts as Chinese RimWorld, and then becomes crazy, though DBZ style staring at someone raising their power level for a while is a rather constant part of the game.

[@grandfremdling3841]

This is also nice. Played it some time ago...

[@trishamiller7859]

Oh, ive been waiting for someone to tackle this

[@noblegame4189]

Oh shit! Songs of Syx play by Francis!

[@lawpete556]

you should definitely do a series on warhammer 40k dawn of war (preferably dark crusade, i think its the most fitting for the channel) theyre such brilliant games

[@MrClunkers]

I can always point towards Amazing Cultivation Simulator, but... a big ass butt, that game is brutal, one mistake and you die from some of the most insane things possible. Or if Randy just hates you, thats what it feels like at times especially vs the god level boss threats, even with preparation. Song of Syx though definitely looks like a solid choice.

[@Latronibus]

ACS is frustrating because there is this massive learning curve of stuff that isn't even in the plural hours of tutorials (stuff like what items you need and how to get them). That would be fine except that you need to learn a *lot* of that stuff before you get into any of the nuanced decisions of the game. It's also just really bad content IMO because the vast majority of the time you spend unpaused, nothing is really happening. A warp speed like in Songs of Syx wouldn't even really help (at least in the unmodded game) because you get interrupted to make repetitive adjustments too often for such a button to be safe.

[@the_elder_gamer]

Delightful! While visually granular, it also has an odd beauty. I hope this continues. I'd be down for a mini-series of _Warsim_ . (likewise _Door Kickers 2_ but it changes the way you'll consider every building you'll ever walk into again...) I think you'd find _Against the Storm_ too easy too quickly and ultimately repetitive, but as always, ymmv.

[@peterbaan9671]

That game looks awesome.

[@danielduncan6806]

The better a game like this one looks, the more shallow it gets, the more shittier it gets. A computer can handle a deep and convoluted simulation. A computer CANNOT handle making a deep and convoluted simulation simultaneously look good. Thus, the fact this game does not look pretty is not remarkable in any way, shape, or form; as in; it is not worth remarking about. Just play, and have fun doing it. We aren't here for the game, we are here for you. If you are having fun, we are having fun. It like I always say, enthusiasm is infectious. So you just be you, and have fun being you. As long as you do that you don't have to worry about us at all.

[@MajesticBearSong]

I sank 100 hours into against the storm, and it updates pretty frequently. It has aggressive difficulty scaling as you win too which i feel like you would like a lot. Also, its not really the usual style game you play but Hitman has a roguelike mode which is always hilarious to watch

[@gogudelagaze1585]

OOoh, this will be interesting! Wow, saying "wholesome" doesn't fit the channel, when we've had colonies supported by a mysterious pillar beaming psychic love into everyone nearby. I'm surprised Lords of the Realm II ranks so highly on steam! That game was unfairly abandoned and forgotten for so long, even though it's a gem. Let's start digging!

[@r3dp9]

There's pragmatic, and then there's depraved. This channel has standards! The Emily thing doesn't count.

[@vineheart01]

This is one of those games ive been looking at and thought it was too massive for my peabrain to grasp.

[@PaoloBosi]

I think Francis John would love to try Cosmoteer.

[@tylersudol9551]

Against the storm is sweet! You should definitely try it!

[@Plasmafox]

Interesting to see your process for finding games. It was a digression, but not unwelcome at all. I'd tick "hide items in my library" since you've already played so many on the list!

[@thetarosk1372]

All for looking into new games: I will say I think Against the storm is a fantastic game but that Francis would perhaps find it too easy in its current format but it's still in EA. I was thinking that perhaps something like Battle Brothers might be a good one.

[@andrecartario3099]

They are billions, you should definitely try!

[@gwentan6776]

'This game is incredibly ugly' *laughs in DF veteran* 'Elves dont eat people' *laughs harder*

[@DeepProbe]

FJ certainly forgot wood elves from TES (at least), who not just perfectly ok with that issue, but, more of it, mandated to eat anytning (and anyone) they slained in timely fasion (and yes, that hardlimit their bloodlustness - in manner like "I have more than enough meat in my fridge, so, come along, traveller, nothing to see there...")

[@heavenlysteel8337]

5:38 depends on which fantasy setting. Elder Scrolls Wood elves pretty much fit this description. They live in and worship trees, are the deadliest archers and don't mind cannibalism. They'd rather eat each other than harm trees.

[@somethingspecial678]

Dwarf fortress elves are cannibals

[@AliraelLuenn]

Against the Storm is a lot of fun :) City building roguelite. Also, perhaps you could take a look at Lords and Villeins?

[@JStankXPlays]

"Moo2 is like crack to me" -FJ

[@FrancisJohnYT]

I should not have said it's name I put in 5 hours before I could stop myself. I have to uninstall that game to be safe.

[@bunstructors8591]

I tried the demo of this game and didn't understand what was going on.. now I'll just watch Francis figure it out :)

[@r3dp9]

5:40 Bosmer. Forest dwelling cannibal elves. Elder Scrolls series (morrowind, skyrim, etc.) Their name means "forest people" their own language. Cannibal elves are actually surprisingly common in modern fiction, Worth The Candle (webnovel I recommend) and Azarynth Healer (webnovel I don't recommend) has them too.

[@theral056]

Dwarf Fortress elves are also filthy cannibals! Guess he didn't realize while playing it.

[@somethingspecial678]

There is also Wayward if you like to run away from a wolf by blocking yourself up with pre-made wooden wall and then die from exhaustion because you try to dig water for too long(while been dehydrated and being unable to sleep because the wolf behind the wall wakes you)