One of the best city building games of recent years, Against the Storm, has come out of early access and into proper release. The survival city-builder beautifully blends roguelite and city-building mechanics into a series of well-balanced, bite-size city building experiences. Developers Eremite Games released the 1.0 update on December 8, adding an ironman challenge mode to cap off the game's launch features.
In Against the Storm each city you build is a settlement that exists on the map for future cities, sending supplies and material back to the sheltered capital because, inevitably, a new storm cycle will scour the outside world clean. Of everything. Including those cities you built—but in obvious roguelite fashion, the resources you return and the queen's orders you fulfill empower your future series of city-building attempts.
There's also an overarching goal to meet, with magical seals to muck with that'll help the future of the world be less grim. Probably.
Against the Storm has been a standout of the last few years of city builders, bringing something both challenging, interesting, and unique to the table that most other city builders, both survival and non, didn't quite have. It's perhaps the blend of roguelike gameplay with a traditionally non-roguelike genre that does it.
There's also the very nontraditional fantasy setting going on here. You're running a colony of Humans, Beavers, Lizards, Harpies, and Foxes trying to build settlements in a world ravaged by a catastrophic magical storm. You're also working for a queen who's very clearly not a lot of fun to be around, but everyone seems to need anyway.
"The past year has been a hell of a ride and thanks to you, the Community, the game has grown and developed into something we can all be really proud of. Without you, Against the Storm wouldn't be half as good as it is today. We hope you have enjoyed this wild ride with us, and that you are as excited about the future as we are. For now, let’s just say this probably isn’t the last content update for Against the Storm," said developers Eremite Games in their update.
Which is thrilling because, while I normally am quite patient with the pace of game development, I'm greedy for more of this one. You can find Against the Storm on Epic, GOG, and Steam. It's US $30, though currently 35% off on GOG and Steam until December 15.
