Developer: Eremite Games
Publisher: Hooded Horse
Reviewed on: PC
Purchased.
Against the Storm is a unique mix between a real-time city builder and rogue-lite. You’re tasked with building small, thriving settlements that are carved into dense, dangerous forests. You must balance your settler’s well being while also hitting milestones to satisfy a faceless, impatient Queen before moving onto your next town. The game offers a massive amount of upgrades and items to unlock, while also ramping up the difficulty at a steady pace. The randomness of the maps, combined with consistent progression and satisfying city management make for one of the most unique and best city builders to come out in some time.
You only spend a short time with each settlement before moving onto the next one. This is in stark contrast to most city builders where you can spend dozens of hours on single city. This can make the initial ramp up of each settlement a little tedious at first, but you quickly unlock upgrades to make that process faster. Things like starting each settlement with more initial villagers or having more advanced buildings right from the start help to accelerate the early game. You eventually get into a flow where you’re hitting important milestones faster, so you can prepare for late game challenges. Before you know it, you’ve completed the settlement and it’s time to move on. But just when you think you’ve mastered the game, it throws a curve ball that makes you rethink your process.
Outside of the the settlements, the game features a massive world map that you must explore. Each hex on the map is a possible location for a settlement and your goal is to slowly move towards important items on the map called “seals”. Each seal you acquire gets you closer to sealing away the source of the darkness plaguing the land, and thus completing a game. Your travel progress resets every storm season, so you only have a few settlements you can plop down before you have to start over again. However, you retain all your unlocked upgrades so each expedition becomes easier and more fruitful. It’s such a unique way to handle a city builder that it’s impossible to compare it, but the loop is extremely satisfying and you’re always discovering new challenges and ways to play.
It’s a testament to the game’s balance that all its systems, upgrades, and mechanics never become overwhelming. Whenever I felt like I was struggling there was always an upgrade I could unlock or a new building that would help ease the pain. Even failing a settlement isn’t necessarily game over, although too many set backs can put you in a tough spot. This balance almost certainly emerged from the game’s early access phase, which was a smart move considering how different Against the Storm is from anything that came before it. If you’re up for a dark, challenging, and unique take on city building strategy games then Against the Storm is a must play.
