Little Kitty, Big City
Little Kitty, Big City
Game
Game2017
Oriental Empires
Developer Shining Pixel Studios
Oriental Empires is a turn-based strategy game, set in Ancient China. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
181 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Sep 27, 2026 · last updated Oct 7, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
78
LovedLoved
139 positive · 40 negative
95% range 71–83%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 139 | 40 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
2 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
2,427 of 3,014 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 181 · most liked firstTLDR: After 100+ hours playing it, this game is 4.6 at best. ONLY RECOMMENDING THIS TO 4X GAMERS WITH THE PATIENCE TO PLAY AND FIGURE OUT CONVOLUTED GAME MECHANICS AND NO TUTORIAL/GLOSSARY. Getting info on this games core mechanics is some next level Da Vinci code sh!t. Details below seem to be the consensus for this game. Before you buy it, I would only read the reviews with more than 50 hours gameplay and after launch. Otherwise, good review or bad review, don't believe it.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After 100+ hours and roughly 40% of the achievements, here’s where I landed. The gameplay is very slow, and learning the mechanics just isn’t worth the time investment. There’s a lot I genuinely like: the constant pressure of managing growth, the ability to zoom in and out depending on what you’re dealing with, and the fact that there are multiple paths to victory. The ideas are solid, and the scope is ambitious. Where it falls apart for me is how long it takes to actually learn anything.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →7,094.7 hrs on record.. i think i might just like this game. :-)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would rather betray others than have the others betray me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a lot of fun and definitely worth playing. It's actually quite innovative in a lot of ways. Here are some examples. 1. Turns happen simultaneously for the player/players and ai. 2. Cities trade with each other and it's actually important to set up a good trade network. (This includes creating production buildings, constructing ports, mining special resources, and more.) 3. Whilst you cannot control units on the battlefield you can see them battle in real time. (You can set tactics…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good Chinese based 4x. Difficult learning curve and I think that has caused a few of the negative comments. I don't love it but after reading other reviews I thought that it had many unfair negatives so I figured I'd help balance that out with my positive. I have experienced no bugs of any kind so far. I think it's good and very challenging. It's very important to have an heir at all times as battle or disease can kill anyone at any time. Also the limited help you get from your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When this game first came out, I was one of the first whom jumped at the opportunity and purchased it. I've played about forty hours since, but recently I have gotten back into it; I do not usually leave reviews. But this game has become the exception! It deserves far more praise and popularity than it enjoys currently, the setting, the mechanics, the art style, and way it combines the RTS and Grand Strategy is simply remarkable. Moreso as I am a man of Anglo-Celtic descent, only accustomed to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A mixed bag with more atmosphere than I've seen in any other 4x game First, the negative (and there's some intense ones!) (-) the soundtrack is repetitive (-) the Grand Chancellor's description says it decreases peasant unhappiness... just the opposite (-) the game crashes wayyy too often, it's probably the least stable title I own <edit: the game no longer crashes so often> (-) the AI isn't always the brightest, especially defending against aggressive starts But it's also the one I play the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mods are definitely what keep this game alive. Some mods even get more attention than the base game itself, though it's a bit unfortunate that most of them are in Chinese without English translations. Despite that, there are a few mods that are incredibly well-made and address issues from the base game. One of the main balance issues is with factions and units—specifically, peasants and militia. They seem to overpower all other units, regardless of upgrades, but thankfully, some mods fix…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is like a Total War Lite. There are some very cool systems with the royal family and the random spawn generals you get but the game is trade or fail. Fairly unbalanced and simple to break the game. The game has good and bad and it amused me for 30 hours so good on that but I won't be playing this game again. There are many mechanics of the game that are unclear what they do or that have hidden effects, or that don't really do anything at all except cost you money. This game has…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Solid 4X by ex Creative Assembly devs with plenty of interesting mechanics. It doesn't have much political and diplomatic depth but the military, logistic and economic aspects more than make up for it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game need lots of improvement to make me feel worth playing, movement take too much time, won a crushing battle but commander got taken prisoner, building speed remain the same no matter your population small or large, labour unrest rate too,v,v... and so many other thing. not recommend for now.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A distinctly Chinese (with hints of Mongol and Korean) 4X style game. Somewhat minimalist tactical battles (stack v stack in automatic combat). A fun economy to master. Alright diplomacy (which is normally pretty weak in 4X, so IDK). I somehow keep coming back to it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Definitely recommend this game to all 4X players and Chinese history enjoyers. It has a very large amount of historically based (somewhat accurate, I may add) content with very well executed gameplay loop that doesn't get boring. Empire management is done great, with a lot of city planning involved. The maps provide you with tons of different economic and strategic opportunities - placement of your armies and cities matter a lot here. The combat itself is weirdly (and absolutely unexpectedly)…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →High quality 4X set in early China. Top grade A.I, tonnes to research and develop. Will your dynasty wage war or forge peace to secure a win? A must for all 4X fans https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Priority-One https://store.steampowered.com/curator/29446660/
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →User interface is a pain
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This has been on my wishlist a while, and it had a deep price reduction on the Black Friday 2024 sales. I expected a CIV clone, but instead got more of a Heroes of Might and Magic clone minus all the supernatural elements, but with added historical realism. It is a hex-based game, which I prefer for this genre, I have played this game once so far for about six hours straight. While I could have played the Han, I instead played the group of people from near Szechuan/Sichuan (their name…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Solid gameplay and sufficiently researched, tastefully done representation of ancient Chinese warfare and history in general. If you are a fan of games such as Sid Meier's Civilization and Total War, give this game a try. History buffs would probably enjoy this game. If you are not already knowledgeable or interested in Chinese history, this game may be a welcoming introduction to the subject for you, especially when it comes to pre-imperial China.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In the beginning it's hard but you getting used after playing some time and then it's addictive. I like this game. It's very cool that you can have vassal states and they don't betray you. (at least they didnt betray me at all maybe cause I honored our deals. When someone attacked them I always joined war to defend them) Also I like it so much that I can tell my vassals to attack cities (Can tell spefically which city). So this way my 3 vassals and I can attack some country as coordinated. Many…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Top tier 4x game. It has it all, imagine Civ 5 but better. If you play long enough the battles become a lot like HoI series and you're dealing with a constant battle line needing reinforcements until the 30 tile armies on each side finally gets a break. The combat is interesting depending on how you face your troops, move them, what stance and positions they take in battles and makes a big difference. The terrain becomes extremely important also, typically for the moving of troops which can…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Boring 4X game, UI/UX is a pain. There are way better games out there.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After 4 hours of playing I wasn't sure I liked the game-- after 48 hours of playtime, I Love this game. And I sincerely hope the developers will keep releasing DLCf or it. I've been playing w/ all DLC, so I don't know what the original base game was like. This game IS what the Civ titles should have become- immersive, not cartoonish, challenging, and unique mechanics like different types of people to satisfy. It takes a while to figure out the game, because information is not forthcoming…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't have a PHD in turn-based strategy games but I will say that this game does capture that feel, or mindset, of "just one more turn before bed" exactly like you'd want a turn-based game to do. It's worth the buy if it's on sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game, Civ x Total war. Took awhile to learn and to get used to the battle formations/tactics. Wish there was also a auto button for armies too. Once your empire and armies get to big, hard to control all armies one by one in the late game. Or at least have generals able to control certain amount of stacks surrounding him. I'm kinda stuck defending my East side nation, bottle neck area with endless spam of armies from another. and trying to go north and around but also being spammed up…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TO DEVELOPERS: MAKE THIS GAME FREE TO PLAY FOR A PERIOD TO REVIVE IT!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An innovative, immersive, addictive 4X strategy + real-time tactics game. Great for Chinese history, scenario and map lovers. Pros: In terms of the base game, strategy wise, AI players are capable of building empires and forging large amounts of troops to challenge human players. And tactics wise, it has an innovative real-time AI vs AI battle mechanism, so that human players cannot directly control how battles play out. It saves time from micromanaging hell for more strategic and tactical…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →original take on the Civ-like global-turn-based strategy genre with a sprinkle of total war battles. loved it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game has a lot of potential, the problem is the lack of updates. Also it needs to balance the game, one nation always steam rolls the game pretty quickly. There`s no tutorial, graphics are good but could improve so can combat. Overall enjoyed the game but lack of updates and one nation steam rolling turned me off quickly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dog feces. Graphics are passable. UI is garbage. Village upgrades are completely uninteresting, flat and a waste of time. Like a civ from the 90s. AI is rabid and can pillage and trespass without declaring war. Diplomacy is uninteresting. Characters are flat and pointless. This could have been a flash game to waste less of my time. Not worth it at 5 dollars.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gameplay Mechanics: 8/10 Narrative: 7/10 Graphics: 7/10 Sound and Music: 7/10 Replayability: 8/10 Innovation: 8/10 Oriental Empires is a 4X turn-based strategy game that transports players to ancient China, offering a unique perspective on the genre. Combining city-building, resource management, and large-scale battles, it delivers an experience that feels distinct from traditional 4X games. The gameplay mechanics emphasize long-term planning and cultural development, earning a solid 8/10 for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oriental Empires is an older game from 2017. It's a venerable 7 years old at the time of this review. It's a somewhat limited in scope 4X grand strategy... basically a ripoff of the contemporary Civ V game but with a fixed Chinese setting (you won't be going from stone tools to rocketships here). It also has a Total War ripoff combat system, and I think that combining Civ's great 4X gameplay with Total Wars tactical combat would be a huge slam dunk... which this unfortunately rimshots.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Oriental Empires" offers a deep grand strategy experience set in ancient China, allowing players to build and manage vast empires.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm going to leave a great review for this game. There are 3 games that Oriental Empires are in combination of; Civilization, Total War, and Mount Blade 2 Banner-lord vibes. I enjoyed Oriental Empires learning curve and within 100 hours of game-play I'm fully doing conquests and building up a Hegemony. Awhile doing so, I enjoy the city development features and how you can manage what each city does. The AI expands reasonably with your game play on Normal difficulty which is perfect to play the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is somewhere between Civilization and Total War. The basic premise is closer to Civilization than TW but there are enough additional considerations that you can feel you are playing more of a simulation than a pure 4x game. That said, there are many rules not explained very well and even reading old threads from prior to the DLC it can be difficult to get a good handle on the rules. Most of the time it is not game-breaking to have a weak grasp on the rules but in the later turns of a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is kind of addicting, it is a somewhat simplified strategy game along the lines of RoTTK. The Good It is pretty easy to pick up on and learn. You will probably restart your game a few times while learning so you can try a new strategy as the game quickly begins to make more sense. Crazy replay-ability ... I have often started a new game just because I ran into an NPC and wanted to go play his faction. The Bad Some enemies like bandits and rebels simply steal your entire army…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very nice game, I am playing every day for about 4hrs and I m enjoying it!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Frequently goes on 75-80% sales, and has started showing up in bundles, and on fanatical for something like a bux. So if you can get the basegame and the 2 DLCs for 4-5 bux - Then yes it's worth it, just get ready for constant AI city spam and the usual 4x game issues.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I always wondered how it would feel to command hundreds of soldiers without leaving my couch. Turns out, it's epic. Great mix of strategy and real-time battles!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When other strategy games were going into micro DLC and losing their focus on a coherent design, this game stayed on course. Better than Total war and Civilization because its not trying to be to many things for too many different game designers. If you like strategy but feel like other strategy games just don't get it, try this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is so epic, so silly.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There's something very immersive and charming about this game. It's not the most in-depth or meta game, but it puts heart into what it does and it's a great time in multiplayer with your friends pillaging each other "by accident".
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have more hours logged in this game than shown in Steam as I usually play offline. Having said that, I recall that I had rage-quit this game some time ago, but couldn't recall why exactly. So I thought that I would give it another chance, only to be quickly reminded of why I quit the first time. Without going into a long and tedious explanation that others have already sufficiently covered, I shall simply remark that it was the unrest system that did it for me. I had been managing it well…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I need a guide book. I need a guide book. I need a guide book.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ drought, fire, disease and flood. This land is ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up in every ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ way.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game should get an Oriental Empires 2. We want more DLCs. This is by far one of the newest and freshest additions to strategy games. The diplomatic system lets you offer money, exchange prisoners, settlements, armies, and more. You have to expand and grow your settlements while keeping the population happy. The game is incredibly addictive, yet still feels realistic. It belongs among the greats like Age of Empires 2 and IV, Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour, and even Chess. I feel like…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oriental Empires is an ambitious grand strategy title that sets out to portray the rise and fall of civilizations in ancient China with a scope and seriousness rarely seen in the genre. Developed by Shining Pixel Studios and published by Iceberg Interactive, the game positions itself as a focused alternative to globe-spanning 4X games, choosing instead to concentrate deeply on a single region and its long, complex history. This narrower focus allows Oriental Empires to explore cultural,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is good, hasn't aged well but I think the effort put in by an indie is basically the same game but more exciting than what KEOI has done to their ROTK series after40 years in just a single attempt.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great Game! Very Historical, Good Concept but it crash sometimes
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →(Note, I played this single player - maybe co-op makes it better!) Ok, so this game is disappointing. I played for a few hours and largely not a lot happened. A neighbouring empire showed up, they were much weaker than me so I crushed them. I started to build stuff to bring in money and develop my cities. My peasants got upset and I had to 'rest' them. Yay. So sorry if I asked you to do anything guys. But anyway I ended up with 7 strong cities (I could have had up to 15 with no issues…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're looking for a Total War-like game about Ancient China then this is it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The "authority" system completely spoils the gameplay. It makes the game unplayable. Trash.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oriental Empires Pros- #1.A Chinese version of Civ and TW Cons- #1.I did not like the music and muted it and played my own #2.Combat is lame #3.There is a long list of more flaws of the game but I will save you the time and read my bottom line The Bottom Line - Play Civ or TW because this is like if they had a child who was not even close to as good as either parent.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game looks great, like Civ focused on Asia... But beside what's on the videos and screenshots on Steam store page lot of the content is broken, feels unfinished and lacks balance :(
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Combat is very frustrating.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A bit tricky to learn, but not hard. It's slow paced, like a chess game, but relaxing and in-depth. A lot of fun to pass the time and feel like you've accomplished something.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's great outside of the fact that it kinda forces you to play wide and pick specific techs to fight corruption or even be able to exist after certain point, but the management of family and administration is still better than the Rome 2 bs (slightly) Combat is great... if the units don't just wait on the side and flank or change rows unpromptet between turns (I didn't spend too much time figuring it out tho). Balance is alright, but early game could use some more variety Economy is solid…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Boring combat and not much to the rest of the gameplay either. The AI isn't able to properly defend itself so you can just deathball superior forces without any real difficulty, even on the hardest difficulty level
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is reviewed to get the fall 2024 badge. Never played the game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Chinese Civ. Enjoyable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mods are what keeps this game alive. A few of the Mods receives more views than the base game, but unfortunately most of them are made in Chinese without English translation. A few of Mods are well made to fix some of the issues from the base game Balance: faction and units, peasants militia beats all other units no matter what upgrades you have. This is fortunately fixed by some of the Mods Lack of tutorial: game is very complex for new players without proper explanation of some of the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
You Might Also Like
similar titlesWhat Remains of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch
Game
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
Game
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Game
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Game
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
Game