'It was truly eye-opening to realize just how many people deeply love this type of game': Inzoi director hopes his life sim will 'bring comfort to many players' lives' - Related to new, people, frostpunk-likes, this, 'bring

As We Descend burrows beneath the other Frostpunk-likes with ornate card tactics and writing

This week, we're highlighting the best demos you can play during Steam Next Fest, which runs from February 24th until March 3rd. We call this Wishlisted.

Years ago I wrote a piece about what I presumptuously defined as the "emerging" subgenre of city games that respond to the climate crisis, with its attendant catastrophes of unchecked capitalism and. Resurgent fascism. Today, it feels dangerously like that subgenre is "sub" no longer.

We are engulfed in strategy sims where society is the rind between the formless terrors without and. The only-human abusers within. The geography is clogged by Last Cities and Final Bastions Of Humanity, all of them awkwardly avoiding eye contact. Like the prophets that line the alleyways of Life Of Brian. I guess it's in keeping with the "unchecked capitalism" bit that apocalypse fantasies have become a thriving business. I hope that's not my fault. On the brighter side, roguelike deckbuilder As We Descend is quite fun, combining moderately baroque turn-based combat with tales of Vernian dystopia. Here's Wot I Think of the demo.

In As We Descend, you dutifully take custody of another Terminal Metropolis, a crenellated steampunk diorama that huddles Frostpunk-style around a light source - not a coal generator, in this case, but an enormous golden hologram. Which is possibly the god of the draconian theocracy you'll have to wrangle with as the latest, unwilling First Ranger.

For reasons currently unclear to me, your city is also a huge circular drill that is tunnelling to the centre of the Earth. On each level, you spend turns playing cards to access facilities and stories within the city. You'll also send expeditions into the surrounding caverns to recover technologies such as reactor rods. Used to power the forcefields that safeguard your city's descent.

The local wildlife don't take kindly to this. That wouldn't be a problem if they were all roundworms and bacteria, but. As with Anoxia Station, As We Descend has a nasty case of the megafauna. Enemies range in scale and threat level from gristle-filled balloons to massive, skinless Skeletors. Against these foes you shall pitch Age Of Sigmar-esque battalions of fragile arbalests, iron-palmed monks, tanks with tower shields, and clockwork soldiers. Unlocked from run to run.

Battles see you distributing your units between two radial zones, while a smaller version of the big golden hologram slings ability cards from the rear. Units in the front zone auto-attack enemies between turns, but are naturally exposed to greater harm. The game's card alchemy feels appropriately compressed and dicey. There are cards that tether stat boosts to moving between zones, cards that cause units to "fixate", inflicting extra damage on a selected foe, while losing the ability to target others. And barrier cards to stave off unit wipes. All of which is powered by faith generated by your citizens, as long as you carry on completing quests for them.

I lost plenty of units in the demo - there's a nice sense of being fundamentally outmatched, and. The longer you linger on a level, the more you're provoking a chonkier predator to attack your city directly. During my first run, my dystopaville fell to a crablike rhino that had the bad form to materialise after a series of expeditions, with all of my units at half-strength.

I'm wooed but. Not wowed by As We Descend's strategy-tactics sandwich. What lures me more is the glowering enigma of the city itself, whose art deco crevices teem with small, branching stories involving supercilious overseers and. Buff blacksmiths and the like. There's an agreeable stink of medieval politicking. Yes, humans are probably the real monsters here. Read more and find the demo on Steam - the full game's out on 27th March.

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'It was truly eye-opening to realize just how many people deeply love this type of game': Inzoi director hopes his life sim will 'bring comfort to many players' lives'

Inzoi director Hyungjun 'Kjun' Kim is gearing up for his game to be the first one to actually stand toe-to-toe with The Sims—not that he views his life sim as competition to EA's own. Mind you. Considering this is the first time in over two decades that we're seeing something release that's seemingly close to the scale and scope of The Sims, I've been intrigued about Kjun's thought process throughout development.

During a recent interview for our latest issue of PC Gamer magazine, I asked Kjun what he had enjoyed about creating Inzoi the most, and what he was looking forward to in the days. Weeks, and months ahead of the game's launch. I was expecting something about the challenge, or the fact he's not having to work on an MMO anymore, but I found the answer a lot more surprising and. Endearing.

"One of the most fascinating aspects of developing Inzoi has been the enthusiastic reactions and feedback from fans of the genre," Kjun told me. "It was truly eye-opening to realize just how many people deeply love this type of game. The immense anticipation and valuable input we've received from players have been a tremendous source of motivation throughout the development process."

Kjun has been putting emphasis on the players and their input for much of Inzoi's development—he previously highlighted the desire to work closely with creators. And the game plans to launch with full mod support. That close developer-player relationship is something that won't stop once Inzoi ships, by the sounds of things.

"What I look forward to most is continuing to communicate with players in creating the game together," Kjun continued. "While there may still be areas for improvement, we want to release the game through Early Access and actively incorporate players' feedback to make Inzoi even more enjoyable."

Now if there's one thing Kjun can't resist, it's a little waxing lyrical about his game and the people who look to play it. And he made sure to squeeze just a little bit of that in as our interview wrapped up. "Beyond simply creating a successful and beloved game, we hope that Inzoi will bring comfort to many players' lives," the director showcased. "As the saying goes, 'Life is a tragedy when seen up close, but a comedy when viewed from a distance.' We believe that observing life from a broader perspective can help us enjoy it more.

"More importantly, we sincerely hope these experiences can bring players strength and solace in their real life as well."

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The newest issue of PC Gamer magazine is on stands right now in the UK, and hits the US on March 17.

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Islanders: New Shores is the follow-up to 2019's gentlest town-builder

Coatsink have revealed a sequel to Islanders, their pastelcore seaside town-arranger, which was the last game Alec Meer ever reviewed for RPS. Until he reviewed Kentucky Route Zero: Act V, a year or so later. If I didn't know more effective, I'd say Alec had planned that deliberately to screw me up. But I'll forgive him because the KRZ review is very good and thoughtful. And also because the first trailer for Islanders: New Shores is extremely calming. Here you go.

Out summer 2025, New Shores adheres to the first game's formula of carefully plonking down buildings to milk various adjacency bonuses and. Achieve a certain level score. Over the course of each stage, you unlock more and fancier buildings, each alighting in your inventory with that gentle kiss-pop effect that has become the cosy gaming genre's acoustic signature - a sort of Wilhelm Scream for creators of games about soft sunsets and rake-wielding bunnies making friends.

New Shores contains some new shores. Obviously - we can expect "50 dynamic island generators offering endless variety". It also harbours new elements. Foremost among them are boons - "one-time power ups unlocked on each stage as you collect points. Offering a helping hand that will become vital as you take on the game's tricker levels". These might let you duplicate buildings in your inventory or replace those you've already built, among other "intriguing new twists". Sounds like that might come in handy with the new "advanced scoring systems that reward clever tactics".

There's also a new Sandbox mode (with separate save files), "44 unique building types", seven "stunning island properties". And a juicy photo mode with a spread of filters and a turntable camera setting. Streamers, meanwhile, get Twitch integration which lets viewers vote on building choices.

It all seems like Good Stuff. Though I do consider it a little malapropos that one of the islands at the end of the trailer appears to be an active volcano. Did Islanders have volcanoes? I never unlocked any.

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