Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).
Bullfrog accepted their offer, although Molyneux later described the contract as "pretty atrocious:" 10% royalties on units sold, rising to 12% after one million units sold, with only a small up-front payment.
The game received a 5 out of 5 stars in 1989 in Dragon #150 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column.
In a 1993 survey of pre 20th-century strategy games the magazine gave the game three stars out of five, calling it a "quasi-arcade game, but with sustained play value".
MegaTech magazine stated that the game has "super graphics and 500 levels.
Maxwell Eden reviewed Populous World Editor for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "Now all Populous fans wanting to be apprentice wizards can share in the magic of that gift.
Compute! named the game to its list of "nine great games for 1989", stating that with "great graphics, a simple-to-learn interface, and almost unlimited variety, Populous is a must buy for 1989".
Orson Scott Card in Compute! criticized the game's user interface, but praised the graphics and the ability to "create your own worlds ... you control the world of the game, instead of the other way around".
STart in 1990 gave "kudos especially to Peter Molyneux, the creative force behind Populous".
By October 1997, global sales of Populous had surpassed 3 million units, a commercial performance that PC Gamer US described as "an enormous hit".
In 1996, the magazine named it the 30th best game ever, with the editors calling it "the father of real-time strategy games".
In 1999, Next Generation listed Populous as number 44 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "A perfect blend of realtime strategy, resource management, and more than a little humor, it remains unsurpassed in the genre it created.
In 2018, Complex placed the game 98th on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time".
IGN ranked Populous 70th on its "Top 100 SNES Games of All Time."
With over four million copies sold, Populous is one of the best-selling PC games of all time.
Populous was released in 1989 to almost universal critical acclaim.
The simple design and layout were praised, as were the game's colourful graphics.
Orson Scott Card in Compute! criticized the game's user interface, but praised the graphics and the ability to "create your own worlds ... you control the world of the game, instead of the other way around".
By 2001, Populous had sold four million copies, making it one of the best-selling PC games of all time.
Bullfrog accepted their offer, although Molyneux later described the contract as "pretty atrocious:" 10% royalties on units sold, rising to 12% after one million units sold, with only a small up-front payment.
Computer and Video Games reviewed the Amiga version, giving it an overall score of 96%.
By October 1997, global sales of Populous had surpassed 3 million units, a commercial performance that PC Gamer US described as "an enormous hit".
The game was released in the same month that The Satanic Verses controversy gained publicity in the United States following the publication of The Satanic Verses in the United States.
In 1991 it won the Origins Award for Best Military or Strategy Computer Game of 1990, the 1990 Computer Game of the Year in issue 25 of American video game magazine Video Games & Computer Entertainment, and was voted the sixth best game of all time in Amiga Power.
Bullfrog accepted their offer, although Molyneux later described the contract as "pretty atrocious:" 10% royalties on units sold, rising to 12% after one million units sold, with only a small up-front payment.
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