A new Iron Harvest gameplay trailer reveals 2020 release date
Steam-driven mechs do battle in the early 20th century in an alt-history RTS.
Iron Harvest is a mech game with a twist. Instead of giant, fusion-powered war machines battling across the stars for dominion over the galaxy, these mechanical beasts are just barely post-WW1, and they're all driven by steam.
It's been in development for the past couple of years at King Art Games, and got a big boost in 2018 with a very successful Kickstarter campaign. Earlier this year it was picked up by Deep Silver, and at Gamescom the publisher announced that it will be released on September 1, 2020.
Iron Harvest's powerful visual style can be largely attributed to the fact that it's rooted in visual art: The game is based on work by Polish artist Jakub Różalski, and is part of his "World of 1920+," an alt-history setting that also includes the board game Scythe. Różalski's Facebook page (which also has some great 1920+ art) describes it as a time when "tradition clashes with modernity, and the world is still full of secrets and blank spaces on the map."
The new trailer delves into that history a bit, and also showcases some gameplay that I think looks very promising: I don't play many RTSes but I'm eager to get my hands on this one. Iron Harvest will be available on Steam and GOG, and there's a website with more information at iron-harvest.com.
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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.