There's nothing like the joy of creation, and the flood of pain when that's taken away. You can spend hours on a Minecraft build only for your friends to rig it with TNT and pressure plates, and while this was painful at the time, these are the memories I treasure most. You look back on these hardships with glee, and it's something this brand-new physics-based strategy game perfectly understands. Inspired by RTS royalty Warcraft 3 and the thrill of building with Lego, this is Cataclismo, and it's out now.
Published by Manor Lords' Hooded Horse, Cataclismo is essentially two games in one. During the day you scavenge for resources and build a physics-based castle, intricately placing your troops for the next inevitable battle. Then you engage in an RTS and tower defense blend at night, as all manner of horrible beasts come for your blood. Think of it like running around your house to find Jenga pieces, building the tower, and then turning the lights off as you swat away your friend's hands as they try to undo all your good work.
Cataclismo has over 100 building blocks to pick from, alongside traps, weather, and troop positioning you need to take into account. Archers work best at an elevated position, but without a sturdy base for them to stand on, they'll come tumbling down in no time. Your castle isn't just for combat though, as it needs to house an array of buildings for production and housing for workers - you even need to think about oxygen too.
Our Cataclismo preview heaps praise on developer Digital Sun's blend of city building, RTS, and siege warfare. There's never a "dull moment" in Cataclismo's day and night cycle, as you're engaged in the act of creation, and then tasked with defending that work with all your might.
Cataclismo will remain in Steam Early Access for around a year, but that doesn't mean today's launch is without content. The game already has a main campaign across 11 levels, a skirmish mode with two biomes to play in, an endless mode on procedurally generated maps, and a detailed level editor. Every single one of these modes will be getting new content throughout early access, but there are already more than enough reasons to jump in.
Cataclismo is out now on Steam for $29.99 / £24.99, and you can head here to either wishlist or buy it.
There are plenty more strategy games and city building games you can play alongside Cataclismo, but this is an RTS that already blends these genres so well.
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