Hooded Horse has announced that Eremite Games’ survival city-builder, Against the Storm, is leaving Early Access on December 8th. Not only that, but they’ve also revealed that it will be available as part of (PC) Game Pass.
If you’re unfamiliar Against the Storm is a city-builder where you’re dropped in the middle of the forest and need to get a settlement up and running before the world’s monarch gets pissed off at you. Your job is to obtain enough reputation points to complete the expedition, at which point you’ll be rewarded for your success with meta-resources that you can spend to progress up the technology tree.
It’s sort of a roguelite city-builder, but I feel that implies a level of simplicity that Against the Storm doesn’t feature. It’s more of an anti-SimCity. Whereas that game was created to be open-ended and was lauded for not having a final goal, Against the Storm has you hurry to create a functional settlement, then after you’ve finally got some control and function, it has you do it again under different circumstances.
To keep things interesting, you level up, unlock more buildings and technology, and can bump up the difficulty for better rewards whenever you feel you’ve gotten the hang of things. It’s maybe not something you’re going to finish in a weekend, but it gives you reason to keep coming back.
Against the Storm released into Early Access in November 2022, and has been receiving steady updates during its Early Access months. These have added big new features while incorporating feedback to improve the strategy layers and progression. Personally, I’ve been playing it off and on in months, and it’s easily one of my favorite post-Banished survival builders. I’m happy to see it get a full release, especially since the Early Access felt so complete and polished.
Against the Storm is currently on PC via Early Access. Its full release is set for December 8, 2023. It will also be available through PC Game Pass.
