If you love big trucks, establishing trade routes, and the phrase 'post-apocalyptic survival business simulator' then I've got just the strategy RPG for you

A large truck in the desert during sunset

(Image credit: Lilith Games)

I have fond memories from childhood of endlessly playing a strategy trading game for the Apple 2 called Taipan! (I'm not shouting at you, the game name included an exclamation point.) Based on the novel by James Clavell of Shōgun fame, I'd spend hours in Taipan! sailing back and forth between ports, buying items like silk and guns and opium as cheaply as possible and then selling them at their most expensive. You can actually play Taipan! in your browser if you want to check it out yourself.

Strategy RPG Dustland Delivery reminds me of Taipan! only instead of being set in China in the 1800s it takes place in a Mad Max-style wasteland of a post-apocalyptic future. You've got a huge truck to upgrade and maintain, trade routes to set up between distant outposts, random encounters to deal with on the road, and best of all, a crew of misfits to manage—which may include irradiated mutants, the undead, and even a clown. Take a look:

Dustland Delivery 1.0 Preview Trailer - YouTube

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There's also fishing, if you're one of those people who is delighted whenever a game has fishing. (I am one of those people.)

Driving supplies from city to city to earn a fortune in scrap by buying low and selling high isn't the only thing you do in Dustland Delivery. You actually get to found and build your own city in the wasteland with the help of the characters you recruit. As you might expect in an apocalyptic landscape, you'll also run into enemies: in this case, swarms of infected, armored pirates, and more. I haven't played a whole lot yet, but so far I'm digging the wasteland vibes and loving my mobile base.

As a bit more enticement, Dustland Delivery entered early access back in July but it's just hit 1.0 and is now 20% off on Steam, meaning you can build your wasteland trade empire for under $7 for the next week.

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.