When I saw the announcement for Against the Storm more than a year ago, my immediate response wasn’t exactly filled with celebratory confetti and cake. I mean, I only had pictures to go by and no gameplay. Sure, they were some good looking pictures. But that was it. As a result my expectations were quite low, which is a worst-case scenario for any game no matter the genre. Luckily my job isn’t based on me dismissing a game at first glance. So I did what any respectable reviewer would and went to bed. Of course not! I stayed up and made a fresh pot of coffee and set out to find out more before adding it to my list of games to play.
- Game: Against the Storm
- Genre: City Builder
- Developer: Eremite Games
- Publisher: Eremite Games
- Release Date: September 23, 2021
- Platform: Epic Games, Steam (TBA), GOG (TBA)
- Price: $19.99 USD
- Reviewed on: PC
Unpack and settle down
Against the Storm is currently being developed and can only be purchased and played via the Epic Games platform. As such, it’s far from being a finished product. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a game here to play and review. On the contrary, there’s quite a lot to unpack here, as evident by the image above. And that’s just one of many locations and possible city center views you can encounter in the game. Believe it or not, but this game has so many views that contains eye candy and general information it’ll make your head spin.
A queen and her orders
Now, a spinning head isn’t necessarily a bad thing unless you’re possessed. Yes, it would be horrible if you were. But it could be worse. You could be in bad standing with the queen whom you work for in Against the Storm. I can’t stress this enough. You have to keep her happy. If you don’t you might as well pack up shop and brace yourself for the impending doom. But even if you manage to avoid that and keep her happy, you might piss your settlers off. Yes, they have demands as well. Quite a few actually. And they differ amongst the species as well. The only thing they have in common is the need for housing and clothes.
Lizards and pickled goods
No, you don’t have to worry about homeless lizards being naked and causing a scene outside the artisan house for some pickled goods. They are far more likely to leave your settlement before that happens. The same is true for the other spices. Against the Storm is so wholesome you won’t even see dead bodies on the streets. The settlers just disintegrate into the void when they die. But don’t worry. If that happens, you’ll get enough notifications to make a blind man understand that your settlers are dead. Especially if your entire settlement decides to tap out at the same time.
The road to cannibalism
I know this goes against what I just said about Against the Storm being a kid-friendly game. But I was given the option to go down the questionable road of cannibalism. A tantalizing offer, indeed. I mean, no one can say no to the thought of a cuddly beaver having to nibble on human remains to stay alive during Halloween. I hear you. You want to know if you can sell the meat of your fellow settlers to unsuspecting merchants in your trading post, right? I wish I could say yes. But I’d open myself up for scrutiny and maybe even a lawsuit if I did.
Stamp of approval
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this, but I will anyway. Relations are of importance, both in and outside of games. It’s as easy for you to lose track of them in Against the Storm as it is for me to lose my newly found journalistic integrity. And that’s the main reason why I will conclude this review on a more serious note. Who am I kidding? We all know that won’t happen. What I will do, however, is to finish this review and send it to my editor and see if he dares to give it his stamp of approval like I have done with Against the Storm.
Disclaimer: Against the Storm was provided to me by the developer Eremite Games for review.
Buy Now
Against the Storm is one of few city builders that keeps me interested enough to come back and experience the intricacies of managing a settlement.
