They are billions

The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in the style of steampunk inhabited by zombies. ^[5] The goal is to build a base, study maps and collect resources, and at the same time fight against zombies. Infected settlements, which are an ideal target for obtaining resources and developing nearby mineral deposits, when people appear, start an endless production of zombies.

There are eight types of resources in the game: wood , food , iron , gold , stone , oil , workers and energy spent on the construction of buildings and units. After the victory, the player also receives empire and science points ^[6] , which are used for different purposes: the former can be spent on troops and defensive buildings in offensive missions, and the latter on the study of new technologies. Resources are extracted during 8-hour shifts, the location of the building affects the final production. Also in the game there is a technological tree that allows you to open new buildings and units, as well as significantly improve existing ones. ^[7]

There are three types of missions in the game ^{[6] [8]} :

• Ordinary missions. The player is tasked with creating a settlement by repelling zombie attacks and achieving goals (a certain population size or setting up a fixed number of units of a specific resource). In a number of missions, zombies are not on the map from the very beginning, in this case the player will have to develop a settlement and repulse the final waves.
• Offensive. The player will, with the help of soldiers and defensive buildings, protect the imperial outpost and destroy the horde of zombies, thereby opening up access to new locations. As you progress through the hero, new additional bonuses open (perk).
• Tactical. During them, the hero explores abandoned fortresses for artifacts, valuable objects and ancient technologies, fighting alone with zombies. During the game, due to careful study of locations, he can get empire and science points. In such missions, the presence of allied units is possible, which can be given commands and orders.

Zombies themselves can attack either after seeing a person, or after a certain time by slow waves. Later, huge hordes will attack the base alternately from one of the four cardinal points, the final wave can go in all directions (the game warns in advance both about the day of the invasion and the place ^[6] ). The player will have to keep the undead away from the base, as it can infect civilian buildings, causing a domino effect (after infection, all building personnel become new zombies ^[8] ). Like people with access to a variety of protective equipment, there are various subspecies of zombies (like fast harpies or healthy butchers , while giants stand out for their large size, high attack and health. For the player’s convenience, the last type of unit is highlighted in a separate color ^{[7] [9]} ). Being a game in the real-time strategy genre, They Are Billions allows the user to pause at any time to think about the current situation, to calculate further actions and give orders. ^[ten]

In addition to the storyline campaign, the player can use the Survival and Apocalypse!?! Modes ^[11] .

The teaser trailer ^[12] released on February 6, 2018 indicates the start date of the game - the end of the 22nd century. The world has been hit hard by a disease that has turned people into zombies. ^[13] By this time, only a few thousand people had survived, living in the city of the Great Crater and managed by the ruler of the New Empire, Quintus Crane. The catastrophe led to technological regression, which is why current technologies are mainly based on knowledge of the 19th century ( Victorian era ^[8] ).

In the campaign, the player acts on behalf of the administrator and commander Kaelus or Kalliope, whom Crane instructs to conquer lands, establish new settlements and conduct a systematic search for artifacts and ancient technologies (in the alpha version, the player in the missions suggested choosing a governor who has advantages in the form of access to specific buildings and technology ^[14] ). He will also have to learn new technologies and learn the history of the world and the epidemic that hit him. During the game, the player learns about the history of the world both with the help of old newspapers, and during the study of gaming locations.

The player can only control combat units that are significantly different from each other. So, the archer is distinguished by fast speed and silent attack ^[8] , while the slower soldier is already armed with firearms. Units, as the number of killed zombies grow, get veteranism, improving a number of their parameters, as well as giving them golden clothes. Over the course of playing time, they can restore their own health ,

The game was announced by Numantian Games on May 30, 2017. ^[15] On December 13th, she appeared on Steam Early Access , having only a survival mode on a randomly generated map ^[6] . ^[16] “They Are Billions” quickly reached the top positions in sales on Steam and the Humble Bundle. ^[17]

On June 18, the New Empire add-on was added, adding a number of innovations and a storyline campaign for 48 missions ^[18] , as well as a number of changes in the gameplay (such as canceling the ability to replay a failed mission from the beginning ^[6] ).

The Metacritic review aggregator gives the following ratings: PC - 78% (based on 11 reviews), PS4 - 71% (13 reviews), Xbox One - 74% (12 reviews) ^{[19] [20] [21]} .

Gameinformer reviewer Daniel Taek gave the game 8 points out of 10 possible. ^[22] .

GameSpot columnist David Wildgus rated the game 8 points. To the positive sides, he attributed the game concept and balance, to the negative - the game design and mechanics of offensive and tactical missions ^[6] .

The author of " Rock, Paper, Shotgun " Nick Reuben gave the game the title of "RPS Bestest Best", at the same time noting the superiority of the original "Survival" mode over the single player campaign created in the future. In addition to the gameplay, he also praised the musical and artistic accompaniment ^[8] .

• They Are Billions on the developer's site