Genesis of a Small God by Pierre Nury
Genesis of a Small God is both unhinged and strangely charming. It scratches that classic god game itch while poking fun at the genre’s clunky mechanics. Despite the constant reminder that I’m not a particularly competent deity, the sandbox world drew me in, and I couldn’t stop playing.
Reminiscent of the 2001 god game Black & White, Genesis of a Small God leans into world-building and civilization guidance. Your divine influence shapes the fate of your followers—sometimes for the better, sometimes… not.
I love a quirky game, and developer Pierre Nury absolutely delivers on that front.
In the Beginning, There Was…
When I put on my big girl shoes and ascended to godhood over an enchanted island, I got a basic tutorial – just enough to set me loose. Imagine it’s your first day on the job, but the job is “being a god,” and your only instructions are to keep people happy and provide them with resources. Simple, right? Not even close.
I also had no idea how many followers I had or even what time of year it was. Turns out, you have to earn that knowledge by spending Faith, the in-game currency granted by your believers. Even as a god, you don’t just get to know things. You have to work for it.
The upgrades you unlock carry over between islands, whether your civilization flourishes or collapses in disaster. I quickly learned that staying attentive is the key to survival. Otherwise, locusts will devour crops, a homicidal bear will rampage through the village, or ghouls will rise up and convert everyone into the undead.
And that’s just a small sample of the chaos waiting to unfold.
Faith, Fate, and a Few Divine Mishaps
There’s very little handholding here; Genesis of a Small God expects you to figure things out as you go. Frustrating? At times. But it’s also refreshing. There’s no guarantee you’ll be great at governing on your first try, and failure is part of the process.
Followers will sometimes display a glowing question mark above their heads, signaling a request. Sometimes it’s practical: eliminate enemies, assign a job. Other times, it’s…less so. One early-game follower asked me to help him fly. Naturally, I obliged, hurling him skyward with my mighty god hand.
Unfortunately, I may have overestimated his flight capabilities.
It’s all about trial and error, my friends.
Genesis of a Small God delivers plenty of surprises, but it also has its fair share of frustrating oddities.
Some mechanics aren’t well explained, and the Steam Community forum became my lifeline more than once. Even then, I still couldn’t figure out why my toolsmith refused to do his job. Meanwhile, buildings seemed to pop up at random; I unlocked the barracks but was never given the option to actually construct one.
The Verdict:
Technical issues and performance hiccups occasionally get in the way, but there’s something undeniably fun about trying (and mostly failing) to keep my followers’ faith in me. Genesis of a Small God isn’t perfect, but the ability to rain fireballs on my enemies is more than enough to keep me coming back.
Genesis of a Small God is available via Steam.