Topic: Against the Storm

Coming both digitally and physically to the Switch on June 26th. Regarded as one of the better recent city builders. I think I'm in for a copy.

https://opencritic.com/game/13940/against-the-storm

Looks real good. I'll pick it up eventually.

My order for a physical copy should be in my hands on Monday. Question is, will I finish the Warframe update before it arrives? While juggling time between Ys X, No Man's Sky, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Power Wash Simulator? I'm curious to see how AtS compares to SteamWorld Build.

I've had this one sitting in my Steam library for a fair while. I should really try to find time to give it a go sometime.

Played through the tutorial missions and one run into the map.

Four...hours...later...

I was not expecting this to be a time sink like this. But I'll tell you what. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. One of those experiences where time goes right out the window. Blink and you'll miss it.

There's some micro-managing. Your production houses could be producing items your orders (run goals) don't want or need. And with resources being constantly thin, you'll want to make the right choices in production, otherwise your run will result in failure.

Successful runs gives you currency for passive progression. Like a good roguelite should, your beginning resources and resource gathering options expand and enhance as you play. The fog of war you're fighting against provides a glimpse of what's ahead, giving you agency over how your town grows and how much challenge you're willing to take on in its expansion.

I don't know. If you were to ask me what the GotY of 2025 would be, I would probably lean towards Monster Hunter Wilds or Split Fiction. But Against the Storm probably has the strongest first impression for a game I've had this year. And I've only scratched the surface.

Edit: P.S. - Playing this...makes me want a Warhammer 40k-flavored variant. Maybe where you could control Necron or Tyranid in your struggle against the Empire of Man?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and that's high praise indeed - how did you find playing it on Switch? Looks like a great game but I wonder how I would go playing it with a controller instead of keyboard/mouse.

Looks good, but I’m not understanding what the rougelite part of the city builder is. Can someone explain?

I think the roguelite elements are (1) the map is set up differently each time so no two runs are exactly the same; and (2) you can choose between unique powers which make the city building easier each run.

Performance wise, it's a better experience than say...Cities Skylines. But the settlements I've build on here have been small. Not much of a stress test. I assume the frame rate will get progressively worse as settlements get larger, but we'll see.

Control wise, I've only ever played on consoles. I'm unable to draw a comparison between playing with a controller and that of a mouse and keyboard. I assume navigating menus would be better experience on PC. Thankfully, like most other city builders you're able to pause time, giving you amble time to navigate control issues while making production choices.

Lots of random. As Stockpot said, no two runs are alike. Random fog of war, random run objectives, random resources, random side objectives, etc. What worked in your previous run might not work in your next run, because the resource avenues you're given might be completely different.

Thanks to both of you! This sounds like something I should give a try

Two tutorial missions and three settlements successful...after 12 hours played, according to the in-game clock. Even though the game gives you the ability to save-&-quit during the building of your settlement, it feels almost wrong to stop. I think I haven't had this much fun with a city builder since...Sim City 2000? It has been a while.

Anywho, I find myself waiting to see what my orders will be before I choose my one-of-three buildings. I don't want to be stuck with manufacturing products my orders don't need. Although I have yet to find a balance as to when the most opportune time would be to enter dangerous glades. But I'm sure I'll get more comfortable as I play.

Typically I prefer to pop open a dangerous/forbidden glade either before the end of storm season or right at the start of drizzle (start of new year); gives enough time to comfortably solve the event with little risk of said event clashing with storm season (if say, an event has a 'worked on' effect that increases hostility or lowers villager resolve etc.)

With that said, last time I played AtS (on Steam) was last year (cleared Prestige 20 difficulty once). It's currently on my PS5 wishlist in case I do fancy a double-dip. How's the controls on Switch at least?

No complaints.