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Press release:
New Zealand / May 17, 2022.
The New Zealand-based indie games developer Majic Jungle today announced with great excitement and delight that their first-person civilization/city builder “Sapiens” is coming to Steam’s Summer Next Fest on June 13th, 2022 (the full version of “Sapiens” is coming to PC via Steam in Mid 2022).

“Sapiens” is an expansive building sim where players are the architects of a brand new prehistoric world. Beginning with a handful of tribe members, you’ll need to evolve your primitive hunters, grow their numbers and lead them in creating a flourishing civilization that spans thousands of years.

Accessible for those new to the genre but offering huge depth for veterans, Sapiens allows players to create a sprawling civilization from the ground up. Assign tribespeople jobs, determine their primary role and see them develop their new settlement as they plant crops, clear paths, gather materials, cook and build. Sapiens can also be assigned to investigation or diplomacy roles to help advance their society.

As the heart and soul of the game, your sapiens are key to expansion. Whether you send them to explore far-off lands to discover fresh resources or task them to build transportation networks, with the right management your tribe’s size and their influence can rapidly expand.

It will be down to you to manage their mood, build them shelters, keep them happy and preserve their resources. With every aspect of the game and its world interactable, right down to placing every wall, seat or fireplace, you will need to determine how your settlement is built and maintained.

With a deep technology tree to unlock new abilities that allow sapiens to build tools and improve living conditions, players will also need to pay close attention to map regions. Some bring their own unique challenges, with weather effects and seasons playing a key part in maintaining your tribe, their settlement and its likelihood of survival.

Set to add extensive mod support upon Early Access through Steam Workshop, Sapiens can be wishlisted now on Steam! Prospective sapiens can also check out the developer’s vlogs for more background on the game. Early settlers can join the Discord and look out for more content when Sapiens hits the Steam Next Fest in June!

Features:

Lead and foster a group of resourceful tribespeople as they navigate a primitive, sparsely populated land
Find new resources and send sapiens to investigate, leading to new breakthroughs which unlock new items to build and craft
Instruct individual sapiens to focus on specific tasks, and watch as they learn new skills, making them more valuable to the tribe
Sapiens features gridless, completely free-form building. Every item, from rocks to branches and trees, can be removed or placed. Terrain can also be dug, mined, or filled for further customization
Build shelters, both to keep sapiens happy, and to preserve food and resources. Every wall, roof, seat or fireplace can be placed individually. Every tree, log, plank or rock can be removed or placed, and the terrain can be dug, mined or filled to shape the world to player’s liking
Send sapiens over long distances and establish camps to gather far away resources or conduct hunting missions. Take down a mammoth to feed and clothe the tribe for months, but know that some sapiens may be lost in the effort

About Majic Jungle:
The programming, game design, art, marketing, and even a lot of the music in these games are a solo effort, hence “overly ambitious”. Majic Jungle is the work of Dave Frampton.

I’ve been making games for over 15 years now, 11 years full time. Over the years my games have become more and more complex, with the success of each of my major releases funding the development of the next.

The early days of the iOS App Store jump started my indie game development career, with Chopper and Chopper 2 being huge hits. The Blockheads was another massive success, with over 20 million downloads to date.

I’m based in the Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. I love working mostly alone, having full control over my vision, knowing exactly what everything does, and never having to make excuses to take the morning off and go surfing.

Things can take a little longer as a result, especially as I always create my own custom game engines. I do seek help where I need it. Milla works for Majic Jungle as the community manager, focussed on The Blockheads support and forums.

Currently I’m working on Sapiens. It will be releasing for PC some time in the next year or two, and it’s going to be something special.