Godhood spontaneously wills itself into early access
Theology for thee and for me
Godhood is out today in early access, the latest deity simulation from the fittingly theological-sounding Abbey Games. Not the first time they've taken on the concept of being a god (and in the game), but instead of steering the world-altering titans of Reus, this time your influence is a little more subtle. Create a god, set what virtues and traits you want to embody, then try and nudge your followers into going out and converting others to worship you, whether through music, violence or sexy dancing. Below, a debut trailer showing the undoing of a god of light and peace.
The focus of Godhood appears to be on your tribes-people. Your disciples have their own names, stats and appearances, and there's an RPG-like class and levelling system behind them. As god, you're more of a team manager than front-line commander. You can spend your godly power on nudging followers into acts of worship (like building temples in your name), but you can't just plop one down like any RTS. Other games have tried this style of god sim before, including Crest. It's a tricky tightrope to walk, making the player feel godly without Populous-style volcano powers.
This early access version of Godhood looks quite far into development, and Abbey Games reckon that it'll take "just a couple months" until they finish it. They plan on adding three more religious commandments, more enemy gods, a bigger world map and more customisation options, although nothing too game-changing. They do warn there's some placeholder interface bits in the current release, and they reckon you'll get a taste (2-4 hours per play-through) of what it means to be a god of War, Peace, Lust or Chastity. Still, they say nothing is set in stone, and plans can change.
Godhood is out in early access, and you can find it on Steam and GOG for £20.15/€22.49/$24.29. They plan to increase the price a little at launch.