Against the Storm

Lore & Background

The game is set in a fantasy world eternally ravaged by the 'Blightstorm'. The only safe haven is the Smoldering City, ruled by the Scorched Queen. Occasionally, the storm subsides and the Scorched Queen sends her viceroys to establish settlements to gather supplies for the Smoldering City until the Blightstorm hits again, destroying all settlements in the process. When the storm subsides, a 'calm' period begins and players build villages around the Smoldering City before the storm grows stronger. These villages push back the forest that corrupts anything in it. Players gather resources from the forest and craft them into goods such as food, fuel, and building materials. The maps, resources, population, and available buildings are all procedurally generated. Villagers are divided into seven species: Humans, Beavers, Harpies, Lizards, Foxes, and the DLC exclusive Frogs and Bats, each with their own necessities and specialties; each village is populated with three species only. Each village is given tasks it must complete, complicated by lack of easy access to required resources. Villagers may abandon the village due to discontent or die by hunger, decreasing the workforce, which is replenished by clearing events or caravans arriving every year. If players maintain villagers' happiness and complete tasks, they gain reputation. The player must fill the Reputation gauge completely to clear the map before the 'Queen's Impatience' gauge fills completely, but gaining reputation points makes the Impatience gauge recede a little. Like modern roguelite games, players retain unlocked abilities to make building the next village easier. Once the calm ends, the storm destroys all settlements, and a new map is generated. Players can gather 'seal fragments' to enter a special map where they can reforge a seal for extra rewards; once a seal is reforged for the first time, the storm grows weaker, extending the calm period.

Reader's Guide

Against the Storm is notable for its successful fusion of city-building and roguelite mechanics, a combination that critics found surprisingly compatible. The game condenses the best parts of city-building games into a short, addictive experience with a brief playing time of about an hour, unlike traditional city-building games. It was described as a 'rare gem' and 'one of the most novel and well-crafted city builders' by Eurogamer, while PC Gamer called it 'one of the most clever, engaging, and endearing strategy games,' particularly praising how its premise upends traditional genre tropes. Rock Paper Shotgun designated it a 'Bestest Best' and noted how the cities have definite goals for success. Ars Technica likened it to a 'rogue-ultralite' for its coziness and praised the depth, strategic options, and replayability. Sports Illustrated highlighted its unique blend of genres. The game won Best Design at the Taipei Game Show 2024 and was nominated for Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year at the 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. It sold over a million copies on Steam as of May 2024. An expansion titled Keepers of the Stone was released on September 26, 2024, introducing new biomes and a new species.

Did You Know?

• The game was initially released in early access in October 2021 before its full Windows release on December 8, 2023.
• It was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on June 26, 2025.