I've played so many survival and crafting games that the opening routine has become a science for me. Here's how it usually goes: I wake up in a new environment and immediately start punching trees. Sometimes I don't even get around to chopping trees – I have to pick up sticks and stones and make a makeshift axe, and then I can start chopping down trees to get logs. I'm so tired of cutting trees and collecting sticks. Designed to be enjoyed with friends, it manages to shake up this stale formula.
The first thing I do Fallen I claim a crown marked with a beam of light. This seems like a bad system of government, but it helps me find my footing. Then I need to start getting some wood to start building my settlement. Of course I have to punch trees, but developer Brimstone has made this game's basic movement and combat smooth and fast. So I don't just cut trees; I hit them with combos, sprint into them, and beat the shit out of those mighty oaks. I don't need to upgrade my ax to level 3 to attack a large tree; I just have to persist in hitting it.
As soon as the tree falls, the log rolls away and I have to chase it and hope it doesn't fall down a cliff. I can also pick up the log and throw it into a sawmill where it will immediately be ground into pieces of wood. Comfortable!
That's the great appeal of Fallen; It has room for a lot of physics-based antics. While I'm building my base, I can move an awkwardly placed building by picking it up and throwing it away. My base attracts NPC villagers to help with daily chores. I can also pick them up. So if someone is a little too tired, I can just tuck them into bed like the kind monarch that I am.
Fallen I just got into Early Access and haven't had a chance to try it out with a group of friends yet. So I'll have to wait and see if the game continues to tickle my pleasure nerves. For now, I'm just glad I don't have to collect sticks and laboriously build my first axe. If you're going to make me punch trees, then make tree punching at least a little novel.
