2013 was the goldilocks period for indie gaming on PC, the point at which there was surging interest in games from outside the mainstream publishing sphere, but not so many indie games struggling for prominence that some became lost in the crowd. It was during this period that we got Reus, a 2D sort-of god game that let players assume control of giants so powerful they could reshape entire worlds. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't its biggest fan, but that didn't matter one jot, as it went on to sell a million copies.
Reus' developer, Abbey games, has made a bunch of interesting titles since, including Renowned Explorers and the more typical god game Godhood. Now, it's teaming up with publisher Firesquid Games for a direct follow-up to Reus, ten years on since the original released.
"The original Reus is a decade old, and much has changed in the gaming world. We're excited to bring Reus 2 to this new era, and show what it can bring to all those who want to create their own perfect world!" say the three founders of Abbey games, Maarten Wiedenhof, Manuel Kerssemakers & Adriaan Janseen.
The big new feature of Reus 2 is that players can create and manage multiple planets and "explore how different human tribes react to the world that has been shaped for them." Each playthrough apparently "leaves a lasting legacy in the stars." It's not entirely clear what this means, but if the game has multiple planets existing in the same simulated cosmos, then perhaps your older planets can interact with your newer ones.
As for how you play, you'll still be taking control of giants and using them to shape these planets, but it sounds like the interactions between these giants and their worlds will be far more nuanced. For example, players can combine flora and fauna to discover new interactions, which will affect how human societies in that world behave. You'll also be able to more directly shape those societies as they advance through the various stages of civilisation and watch them become "obsessed space explorers or self-destructive warmongers."
There's no word about when the game is set to release, Firesquid simply says that Reus 2 is "currently in development." In any case, you can check out the game's Steam page here.
