The latest Against The Storm update adds a much requested feature: a custom game mode. The fantasy city-building game now has unlockable ‘Training Expeditions’ that allow players to set custom start conditions for a session, allowing them to experiment with pretty much everything the game has to offer.
Against The Storm is a survival city builder that takes an almost roguelike approach: each time you set out, you’ll have different conditions to contend with and a different set of tools at hand. Training Expeditions allow you to choose all these deliberately, picking the three races (from humans, lizards, beavers, and harpies), the biome you’ll build in, starting resources and bonuses, and more.
You’ll need to unlock the mode first, however. To do this, you’ll need to reach level 10 and buy the Obsidian Archive level 10 upgrade in the Smoldering City. Developer Eremite Games says it decided to gate the mode in order to avoid “spoiling the fun too early” and to keep the core gameplay and progression loops intact.
Training mode sessions won’t yield any rewards, Eremite notes – instead, it’s there more for experimentation and fun. Plus, the developer adds, balancing a fully customisable mode with the rest of Against the Storm’s progression mechanics would be nightmarish, both for the devs and for players.
The latest update also addresses a few bugs and makes some UI/UX tweaks, such as increasing the camera speed when you move between buildings.
Check out more of the best roguelike games on PC if you’re looking for some unpredictability in 2023.