Play Populous (Europe) on gb Online

Terraform tiny worlds on your Game Boy—raise mountains, flood valleys, and watch your pixel people scramble to build while you drop disasters on rival villages. It’s clunky but weirdly addictive once you get the hang of playing god with 8-bit earthquakes.

Developer: Bullfrog Productions

Genre: Strategy

Released: 1991

File size: 48 bytes

Game Overview

Populous on the Game Boy came out in 1991, developed by Bullfrog Productions. It was one of the more ambitious strategy games for the handheld at the time, trying to translate a complex PC god game into something you could play on the go.

You control a deity shaping the land and guiding your followers. Your main goal is to help your people outnumber and overpower the enemy tribe by raising and lowering terrain, placing buildings, and unleashing disasters like volcanoes or floods on opposing villages. You explore the map screen by screen, using your powers to make the land more habitable for your followers while making it harder for the enemy. The pace is slow and deliberate, and it can be quite difficult to manage your limited power while keeping an eye on both populations. It feels strangely satisfying to terraform a tiny world and watch your little people thrive because of it.