Happened on this 1998 game by sheer chance and I’m really digging it! As far as I can tell it was never popular. It’s a mixture of an RTS and a “god game” where one unit (your shaman) is very powerful & special (chess analogy: sort of like mixing the central role of the king & with the power of the queen).
Strong “tribal” vibes that were popular in the '90s (think Deep Forest music, the game Riven, etc). Very nostalgic for me as I was a kid at the time. I’m playing the PSX version, looks like the PC version was even better!
Has anyone ever heard of this “Populous” series? I’m curious to try other titles, and to try more in the “god game” genre (a genre I never even knew existed!). Any other “god games” worth checking out?
More like 1988, not 98. It might be when the version you are playing came out, but Populous was from the late 80s.
Their post is specifically about Populous: The Beginning which came out in 1998 and was the first Populous game to use 3D graphics. It has quite different mechanics than the original Populous games, and you can see the DNA of Black & White emerging, with the concept of having a leader character that has an important role in the gameplay.
You are absolutely correct, but the article OP posted was for a specific Populous game, the 3rd one, which came out in 1998 lol. They just didn’t put “: The Beginning” in the title.
Edit: Also the first release was 89 not 88.