The reveal for apocalyptic base-building survival game Chimera paints a stark future for humanity. Among the streets of a futuristic city, loud beeps flash from the on-arm readout of its inhabitants. “Warning: Extreme Temperature,” reads the display. A group of people look solemnly up to the sky as a giant, low-hanging sun crackles with intense heat. Light and flames wash over the group, screams heard ringing out beyond the roar. A barren, burnt wasteland remains, before fresh life begins to grow anew – this is the world of Chimera.
Coming from Creepy Jar, the development team behind popular Amazon rainforest survival game Green Hell, Chimera tells the struggle of man versus nature. As a convict exiled to a sentence “mining and expanding industrial production alongside researching new technology on a seemingly hospitable new planet rife with mystery and danger,” you’ll face “elemental cataclysms of extreme heat and cold” as you attempt to survive and prosper.
Chimera builds on everything the team learned making Green Hell, offering you the ability to explore the world, mine and gather resources, and build structures and complex machinery to help you outlast the terrifying extreme conditions. Chimera can be played solo or as a co-op game with up to four total players.
There’s a focus on the base-building elements, tasking you with managing your resources and researching new technology to handle the “eviscerating conditions on an otherwise beautiful planet.” It’s not just heat, after all – you’ll also face blistering cold spells. Thankfully, the trailer seems to promise that the land itself is capable of rapid recovery following these extreme bursts. The question remains, are you?
Chimera is planned to launch via Steam Early Access. Along with folding in the team’s knowledge from building Green Hell, Creepy Jar game director Michał Stawicki says, “We’ll tap into the most important resource we have – our players and community – to expand and enhance the game when it releases in early access.”
There’s currently no Chimera release date, but you can wishlist the game on Steam to keep track of its progress or visit the official website for more details.
In the meantime, take a look at more of the best upcoming games for 2023 and beyond, or check out the best city-building games for plenty more flavors of the format.