Recent reviews by Anti

This is a completely unique and original take on the satisfying settlement builder game genre. However AtS feels like a complex strategy game too. You are not fighting an enemy with weapons and guns, but the ever-evolving hostile forest and the very forces of nature are alive, so there is a lot of complex mechanisms going on in parallel. A great annoyance of mine in these games is the planning of roads and house placement. Thankfully it is forgiving with free moving of most structures once built, so thankfully you can use more of your focus on actually planning what to build for each settlement attempt. This is important, because you will be changing your "perfect settlement" concept on the fly as each play-through is wildly different.

This game needs focus and checking-in. So far though it feels a little less focused on villagers micro-management and more about adapting resource production and buildings. I almost never find myself keeping one production building running all game (apart from woodcutters as this is the base resource in the game). Instead I am changing buildings used all game. Thankfully the in-game alert system for buildings and resources and villagers is all presented in a great UI.

The problem with most settlement/city building games is once you complete it once or even a few times, the only driving force to return to the game (in my opinion) is to try a harder mode. You normally figure out the best buildings and resources to exploit to reach the end-game "self reliance stage" where your settlement can last by itself. Against the Storm is not that game. There is a larger Deed/achievement & EXP system running in the background, so once you get to the end game of a settlement there is a tangible reward that pushes you onto your next settlement/game.

To get to the end of a settlement, you either lose, or complete enough in-game goals for the Queen. Each time you do well in a settlement (one full game session), you get points and resources towards the over-menu experience system where you can buy permanent bonuses to your future games. Loses are not entirely bad, as you can get something out of each run. This helps offset the difficulty going up and the complexity - the game adds a lot of buildings and resources to exploit in a very short time, so it is easy to get overwhelmed! To get more rewards, you can up the difficulty for your next settlement attempt, and also take harder maps for bigger rewards. It is a strange risk-reward system that really makes Against the Storm feel more rewarding to return to for repeat plays.

I highly recommend this game. Each game feels more frantic as I up the difficulty for more rewards, and it has a great motivation to keep settling new villages. Really feels like a full game already, highly enjoy this game!

Go it alone, or drop into the hotzone as a squad of four.

• Expect many early chases around towns with a pistol and a fistful of bullets.
  
• Over time you'll figure out your favourite guns and attachments.
  
• Curves and scars in the terrain will become ettched into your memory from past skirmishes.
  
  You will die, but you will know what to do next time
  
  
• Favourite hidden locations to land & loot will be discovered.
  
• You will die due to your poor driving skills (more often than you'll admit).

Yet you'll go another round,
always chasing that sweet,
succulent,
Chicken Dinner.

I've made a huge mistake.