Platforms: PC
Genre: Roguelite, Strategy, Building Management

Against The Storm has finally hit its 1.0 milestone after being in Early Access for 2 years. It is a roguelite citybuilder. Yes, I know; a weird combination. But hear me out.

Against The Storm is a hidden gem that reels you in slowly. You are the Viceroy of the Queen in a post-apocalyptic world that has been ravaged by a deadly weather pattern called the Blight Storm. This storm wipes civilizations off of the world every few years whereas survivors retreat to the Smoldering City. The city is ruled by the all-powerful Scorched Queen and she protects the land from harm.

Now as Viceroy, my job is pretty easy. On an overworld map, you will get to choose where you start your new settlement. There are many different biomes, and of course, different biomes will mean different resources you can find. Not only that, but you will also have different settlers who will come to the settlement. As you start, you will see a bunch of question marks surrounding the overworld map, these are Points of Interests, which can alter your settlement around it.

ALL HAIL THE QUEEN

The game works in cycles. You will build multiple settlements around the city and secure yourself some resources, but then the big storm will come along and well, let’s just say goodbye to your efforts. You will get a bunch of rewards and start aaaaaaall over again. In a game, you will be given various orders by the Queen and if it takes you too long to finish her orders, well, she gets hella impatient. Once she’s reached maximum angy, your game is over. That is just one of the ways the game can end. There are other ways of course, that the game can end in.

City-builders are known for their ability to be chill and frantic at the same time, and Against The Storm is no stranger to this. There is no combat, although you will face a different kind of enemy here: hunger. My villagers are always hungry and lord, let me tell you it always feels like I never have enough food.

I was surprised at the amount of decision-making that I had to do throughout my many many playtime(about 200 hours). It is an economy-based city-builder, hence, you create a bunch of different things out of the resources you have gathered and then sell them to traders or trade routes. You start in a clearing with a hearth and a warehouse. You will also need to keep the fire burning or else… the villagers go poof.

The forest will have different ‘modifiers’ depending on where you choose to settle down in. I had a modifier in which I had to win a game without any of my villagers dying or leaving… which… I have not been able to complete. I’m surprised at just how detailed the devs put thought into building the game.

Even the preferences of what the villagers like to eat is different. Which means you can’t just stock up on one kind of food. The game is definitely simple to pick up, but hard to master. I spent the first few hours trying to figure what the heck was even happening, but once I learned, I was hooked. I simply could not get enough.

YOUR ORDER IS SERVED

The orders you get are simple and very doable. However, here’s the catch. They don’t always give you the buildings that you need. You really just have to pray to the RNG Gods. My favourite is to satisfy the villagers’ appetites for certain food, like biscuits or skewers. As I mentioned earlier, they are definitely doable, but if you don’t get blueprints for something that can make these things you will have to rely on caches, or traders to get what you need. Remember I said there was a ton of decision-making? Well, what if I need the Clothier for some warm clothes for my dear villagers? BUT THE BAKERY? Maybe I want to make some pie for my villagers to keep them happily fed. So many options….

I’ll tell you a funny story of how I do my runs. Since I always run out of food, I’ve always picked blessings(cornerstones) that give me meat or food every time a villager dies or leaves. It’s horrible honestly, but you gotta do what you gotta do to stay alive! Sometimes, you can even get Amber when they leave or die. This is a gem that is very valuable that you can get from trading.

On each map, you will see Glades (skull-like icons) hidden within the trees. These hold special events or resources that you can plunder. Some may even earn you reputation for the Queen’s favour. Another day to live. There could also be totems that will wreak havoc on your settlement.

I once had a lightning totem that would strike lightning on my buildings every now and again. They will destroy buildings and even kill my villagers. It feels like a lot, but don’t worry, the game gives you space to breathe and helps you out here and there. Some of the tasks can feel difficult but the game never treats you unfairly.

You will fail many times and you will also succeed many times. How it happens, well, it’s all different. You will never lose the same way. The roguelite element is a delight. Even in failure, you learn something that will help you in the next playthrough. It tests your ability to think on the fly in different situations thrown your way. A game can go up to over an hour sometimes depending on your difficulty levels.

Against The Storm is wonderfully done and each playthrough feels fresh. Even though I am terrified of the Queen’s wrath, and the storm, come what may, I will run it back over again.

Pros:

• The Roguelite element keeps you on your toes
• The visuals are gorgeous
• The overworld map keeps each game interesting

Cons:

• There is none :’)

Final Score: 90/100

Review copy provided by the publisher.