Greetings! My name is Łukasz, and I’m here to tell you a little about your new duties as Viceroy for the Scorched Queen, our protector and ruler of civilization’s last bastion against the Blightstorm.
Against the Storm is a roguelite city builder where every run is a bite-sized city-building experience with a distinct variety of problems to solve. It’s set in a fantasy world inhabited by Humans, Beavers, Lizards, Harpies, and Foxes who stand united against hidden dangers and never-ending rains.
Your task is to settle the untamed wilds and gather valuable resources necessary to rebuild the Smoldering City – the only safe haven from the apocalyptic storms. You are responsible for managing resources, allocating workers, and building up supply chains across multiple production buildings.
However, the Queen wouldn’t send her elite overseers if these expeditions were so mundane – there’s a catch.
You only have a subset of all the buildings at your disposal and it is up to you to draft or otherwise acquire the best blueprints for the job. Due to the scarcity of resources and limited workforce, you will often find yourself wrangling with both recipes and villagers within this industrial pyramid.
This is done while you’re also tending to your villagers’ needs and deciding which tasks to accomplish to keep the Queen content. She is not indifferent to your struggles and will occasionally offer you powerful perks. Different combinations of effects can create synergies that may change the fate of the settlement.
Your guiding principle is to “play the hand you’re dealt”. Trying to repeat the same strategy over and over will quickly get you in trouble. Adapt and experiment. Make the most out of the tools at hand. Short on meat? No problem. Turn insects into skewers instead. The lizard gatherers may not love you for that, but they’ll appreciate it more than raw veggies!
But beware – there are forces at work that are constantly trying to halt your efforts. The recurring Storms are a true test of the town’s worth and your management skills. Meanwhile, the forests will fight your progress with seasonal curses and ominous beasts that guard rich glades. Not to mention that our Queen is not the most patient of rulers and will pull the rug out from under your settlement if you fail to prove its sustainability.
Yet, should you succeed, she will reward you handsomely with meta resources which can be spent on permanent upgrades. After that, it’s time to move on to the next settlement! Study the world map for promising locations and lucrative events. If you’re brave enough, you can even attempt to reforge the Ancient Seals and delay the Blighstorm by a few years.
Against the Storm offers the complexity and depth of multi-layered city builders condensed into accessible sessions, each completable in a single evening. The generous progression system and vast upgrade tree always give you something to work towards.
With six mechanically distinct biomes, dozens of gameplay modifiers, and hundreds of perks, each new settlement feels as novel as the first and poses a different set of challenges to deal with. And that’s what you’re here for, Viceroy. May the storm be gentle on you!
Add Against the Storm to your Play List and reclaim the wilderness when the game enters PC Game Pass on December 8.
Against the Storm
Hooded Horse
You are the Viceroy – a leader charged by the Scorched Queen to reclaim the wilderness and discover lost riches for the Smoldering City, civilization’s last bastion against the Blightstorm that destroyed the old world. Unlike most survival city builders where your focus is on a single city, in Against the Storm you must build a vast, prosperous network of settlements populated by diverse fantasy races, each with their own specializations and needs.
The wilderness holds many hidden dangers, and never-ending storms will batter your population into submission. If your settlements should fall, then the expedition may end – but not the game. Against the Storm is a roguelite city builder, meaning you will carry forward the resources, upgrades, and experience of your past expeditions each time you set off for a new journey into the wild.
MANAGE A DIVERSE POPULATION OF VILLAGERS
Foxes, Beavers, and lizards stand alongside humans and harpies in the struggle to survive. Utilize each group’s strengths as you balance their varying needs, from housing and culinary preferences to taste in luxuries and recreation. Will you manufacture raincoats, brew ale, and bake pies to boost morale in the face of the oppressive hostility of the forest, or will you prioritize the needs of one species over another to operate more swiftly for the Scorched Queen?
CITY BUILDER MEETS ROGUELITE
Experience core city builder gameplay enhanced by roguelite replayability. Build and manage multiple settlements spread out across a large world map, all while collecting valuable meta-progression resources to upgrade the Smoldering City. Feel the pressure of an expectant monarch as the Scorched Queen demands constant progress while recurring Blightstorms pose an inevitable threat to your settlements. Manage your reputation to secure your success at any one settlement before moving on to establish another, constantly seeking new opportunities for growth, taking on unique challenges across multiple biomes, and bracing for the inevitable destruction of everything but the Smoldering City itself. How will you maximize each cycle to not just ensure the best fate for the Smoldering City, but for your career as Viceroy as well?
NEVER THE SAME GAME TWICE
With hundreds of gameplay modifiers and five distinct biomes, every city location presents unique challenges for even the most resourceful Viceroy. Adjust your strategy to changing weather conditions and experiment with rosters of building blueprints and perks that can help your society thrive or bring it to ruin. Will you take on and complete additional objectives and delve deeper into the dangerous forest for potential boons, or will you approach with caution to ensure you operate within your capabilities? All the while, you never know what wares the Trader will bring next year, and the forest holds treasures and resources, but also ancient threats.
BUILD AN ENDLESS NUMBER OF CITIES
Laying the foundations for a new city is one of the most exciting moments in a city-building game. In Against the Storm, you’ll have the opportunity to repeatedly experience this by creating new settlements, while still interacting with your network of previously established cities in a growing world.
