Steam has launched a dedicated City Builder & Colony Sim festival on its storefront, offering deep discounts on a range of fantastic games. If you’re looking for a challenge, the post-apocalyptic survival game Frostpunk is going very cheap, and you can also grab newer titles like The Wandering Village, Against the Storm, and Go-Go Town! at 20-40% off.
If you’re one of the few people who hasn’t checked out Rimworld yet, now is the perfect time.
I will admit, I was a latecomer to Rimworld. It was only amidst the controversy of it temporarily not being available in Australia that I really took the time to hop in – but when I did, I found myself losing whole days. It’s an excellent city builder / strategy sim with ample freedom, and it’s so much better than its aesthetics might suggest.
To look at Rimworld via Steam, you’ll underestimate it. I know I did. With cartoony, blocky characters and graphics that look very “early 2000s Flash game chic” it’s not the best game to look at. But in lieu of fancy graphics, you get a wonderful strategy sim with rich mechanics that allow you to build up a colony of folks, and then watch them get into all sorts of shenanigans.
Read: Cult of the Lamb, Clanfolk, and moving on from the legacy of Rimworld
Rimworld doesn’t hold your hand, and it won’t tell you exactly which way to go, where to build, or really even how to build. But the joy is in piecing its systems together, figuring out how to get electricity going in your settlement, and then working towards strengthening your defences as enemies approach.
If you pick up any game in the latest Steam sale, consider Rimworld. Otherwise, here’s a highlight list of all the other great deals. (All prices are listed in Australian Dollars $AUD.)
- Against the Storm – $19.97
$39.95(-50%) - Cataclismo – $25.96
$39.95(-35%) - Cities: Skylines – $4.29
$42.95(-90%) - Cities: Skylines 2 – $55.96
$69.95(-20%) - Foundation – $38.21
$50.95(-25%) - Frostpunk – $6.59
$43.95(-85%) - Frostpunk 2 – $46.16
$65.95(-30%) - Go-Go Town! – $27.99
$34.99(-20%) - Manor Lords – $41.96
$59.95(-30%) - Rimworld – $35.96
$44.95(-20%) - The Wandering Village – $25.16
$35.95(-30%) - Timberborn – $35.66
$50.95(-30%)
