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They Are Billions

They Are Billions

Numantian Games · released Jun 18, 2019

Strategy

They Are Billions is a Steampunk strategy game set on a post-apocalyptic planet. Build and defend colonies to survive against the billions of the infected that seek to annihilate the few remaining living humans. Can humanity survive after the zombie apocalypse?

Steam page ↗OpenCritic ↗
78
VGC Score
▼Declininghigh confidence
72%
At launch
85%
Steam all-time
75%
Press
70%
Player sentiment
80%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 297 sampled Steam reviews (227 positive / 70 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

  • Difficulty & balance16% mention it
  • Story & writing6% mention it
  • Progression & loot6% mention it
  • Controls & UI5% mention it
  • Visuals & art5% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

  • Difficulty & balance26% mention it
  • Progression & loot14% mention it
  • Grind & repetition14% mention it
  • Controls & UI10% mention it

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

43%

14 reviews

5-15h

64%

36 reviews

15-40h

59%

37 reviews

40-100h

76%

59 reviews

100h+

87%

151 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)–7521
All-time Steam reviews85%791000
Metacritic user ratings––0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)80%7454
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 153 reviews sampled · 151 total reviews in window · weighted 109.2 up / 26.6 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (44)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 70
    TheReviewGeekTheReviewGeek
    trust 79Jul 11, 2019

    “Armed with a decent aesthetic and a unique twist of horror and real time strategy, The Are Billions is let down by a rigid gameplay loop, a lack of building variety and a steep difficulty curve. While there is fun to be had here, and the game certainly has its fair share of stand-out moments, veterans of the genre will be disappointed with the simplicity of building whilst newbies may find themselves struggling to work out the best strategy for expanding and progressing.”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    Cubed3Cubed3
    trust 70Dec 16, 2019

    “They Are Billions does a lot of things great. The survival twist of a city-builder is unique, and lots of fun. Dealing with the huge waves is always as fun as it is stressful, including the huge final waves. Things that hold the game back are difficulty playing a computer game on console controls, and various UI and graphics issues as well as slowdown. This being said, it's a solid and unique RTS title.”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    Nexus HubNexus Hub
    trust 70Jul 2, 2019

    “They Are Billions on console is still a great survival RTS, but is let down by poor controls and variable performance. Despite those issues, I’d recommend it to RTS fans craving new content (it's not as though we get many RTS games on console), but take note it still requires some work.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    Too Much GamingToo Much Gaming
    trust 69Aug 6, 2019

    “I played They are Billions on PS4 and loved what the folks at Numantian Games created, but feel the console version is not the best way to properly appreciate this zombie apocalypse.”

    read full review ↗
  • 42
    GamerheadquartersGamerheadquarters
    trust 67Jul 8, 2019

    “They Are Billions has some interesting concepts, but doesn’t deliver a satisfying console RTS that I can get into.”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    Worth PlayingWorth Playing
    trust 67Oct 14, 2019

    “They Are Billions boasts strong central ideas about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps to industrialize in the face of grave danger. This is done incredibly well, from the aesthetics to the music and especially the upgrade trees. All of these work in tandem so well that it's cool to see, but unfortunately, the follow-through for the console version isn't done well enough. This on its own is pretty damning, and coupled with the strange aesthetics makes the game considerably less enjoyable. The PC version may run better with the controls, interface and menus.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    FingerGunsFingerGuns
    trust 66Jul 20, 2019

    “If you’re into your steampunk with a side of apocalypse, then you’re covered. If you’re a WarCraft alumni who fancies a bit of a twist in the not-technical-zombies mold, this will inject some fresh life into the RTS catalogue.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    GameSpotGameSpot
    trust 66Jul 2, 2019

    “It's a smartly designed game at its core, despite the distractions. Just like a lone zombie can bring about your demise, sometimes one strong idea is enough. ”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    TheSixthAxisTheSixthAxis
    trust 65Jul 10, 2019

    “They are Billions is a great game that is lacking in content. The idea behind it, a survival strategy with "realistic" zombie mechanics, is fantastic and the actual mechanics behind it are well thought out and make for a deep and enthralling strategy, if one that may be a little too challenging for some. If that sounds great to you then being light on content may not matter, as there aren't many, if any other games that fit into this particular niche.”

    read full review ↗
  • 82
    AusGamersAusGamers
    trust 63Jul 19, 2019

    “Watching an infection spread rapidly through your small town because a stray zombie managed to wander in from an unguarded direction early on? A lesson in perception, readiness, and the seriousness of the threat.”

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    GamefaGamefa
    trust 62Jul 30, 2019

    “They Are Billions in one word is "entertaining". It's probably not your classic strategy game, but it's really tense when it comes to its battles. The graphics are beautiful and new campaign mode is well-made though not complete. It's definitely worth trying.”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    GBAtempGBAtemp
    trust 62Aug 8, 2019

    “"They Are Billions" is a kernel of a great game. I'm sure that the more complete PC release is thoroughly satisfying, but the console release, in its current state, feels incomplete. The developers forgot that the game is no longer in Early Access and have released a game that, ultimately, lacks some basic features. Nevertheless, I recommend it to fans of Tower Defense games and RTS'es, or at least I recommend picking it up once the title is actually complete.”

    read full review ↗

…and 32 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

  1. New Version 1.0.8: Improvements and New Features
    Jun 24, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  2. New Version 1.0.5: Campaign Improvements
    Jun 20, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  3. The New Empire and V.1.0 Available Now!
    Jun 18, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  4. Development Update
    Jan 16, 2019
  5. New Version 0.9.2
    Oct 20, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  6. Development Update v.0.8.2
    Jun 7, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  7. Big Update! The Six Wonders
    May 4, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  8. Development Update: The Incoming Wonders
    Mar 1, 2018
  9. Development Update: The Incoming Wonders
    Mar 1, 2018
  10. New Languages and The Community Challenge!
    Jan 26, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  11. New Languages and The Community Challenge!
    Jan 26, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  12. Update #9: Preorder the Special Editions!
    Oct 31, 2017
  13. Update #9: Preorder the Special Editions!
    Oct 31, 2017
  14. Update #8: Ready for the Survival?
    Oct 23, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  15. Update #8: Ready for the Survival?
    Oct 23, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  16. Update #7: Build your colony!
    Oct 2, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  17. Update #7: Build your colony!
    Oct 2, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  18. Update #6: Defend your colony!
    Sep 14, 2017
  19. Update #6: Defend your colony!
    Sep 14, 2017
  20. Update #5: The Villages of Doom
    Aug 23, 2017
  21. Update #5: The Villages of Doom
    Aug 23, 2017
  22. Update #4: The Old Fortresses
    Aug 6, 2017
  23. Update #4: The Old Fortresses
    Aug 6, 2017
  24. Update #3: Units (Part I)
    Jul 14, 2017
  25. Update #3: Units (Part I)
    Jul 14, 2017
  26. Update #2, Plot, campaign and more!
    Jul 1, 2017
  27. Update #2, Plot, campaign and more!
    Jul 1, 2017
  28. Update #1, Glad you're here!
    Jun 9, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  29. Update #1, Glad you're here!
    Jun 9, 2017significant · resets scoring window