As a species we’ve always feared the dark. There’s something deep in our DNA that tells us to stay near the light, huddle together, and wait out the dawn. That fear is something The Tribe Must Survive heavily draws on. Night after night you’ll work to keep your tribe safe, because who knows what’s out there in the gloom, far away from your campfire. If you’re bold and brave enough to check it out, it just launched into its full release.
After a brief three months in early access, The Tribe Must Survive has arrived at version 1.0. Combining a survival game with base building all wrapped up in delicious Lovecraftian stone age horrors, it contains an intriguing mix of different influences. On the surface it looks pretty simple, by day you’ll build your base located around your campfire, by night you’ll face down dark horrors emerging from the tenebrous depths. There’s a lot more going on, however, with plenty of meaty systems to chew on.
First of which is the tribe itself. Similar to games like Rimworld or Dwarf Fortress, every member of your tribe is an individual with their own wants and needs. You’ll have to assign them to work details carefully, managing their happiness and fear levels appropriately. This all helps make sure you view your tribe as a gathering of people, rather than a bunch of numbers, so when something goes wrong – and it will go wrong – it hurts.
Exploration is also key to what you’ll be getting up to. You can stay around your campfire but eventually resources will run out, so you’ll have to head out into the wilds to find more. Just make sure you’re well equipped and able to weather the oncoming night, you wouldn’t like to know what happens to tribespeople lost and alone in the dark. Successful trips may unlock new trade routes and resources, which all leads into the core theme the game seems to want you to explore – risk vs reward.
In The Tribe Must Survive you’re constantly judging whether or not an action or decision is worth the risk. You might lose resources, tribespeople, or even encounter some horrible monsters that will overrun your base. If you don’t take risks, you won’t get rewards, and eventually you’ll lead to stagnation and a smaller death for your proto-nation.
The Tribe Must Survive is out now and you can save 20% until Thursday, June 6. If you’d like to test your mettle against the dark, head over to the Steam page to check it out.
You can also take a look at our guide to the best building games you can play, or if you want to set your sights a little higher, our best city building games guide will see you creating your own metropolises in no time.
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