WARDOGS
WARDOGS
Game
Game2023
Against the Storm
Developer Eremite Games
Against the Storm is a 2023 city-building video game developed by Eremite Games and published by Hooded Horse. Unlike traditional city-building games, it incorporates elements of roguelike games and has a short playtime with goals players must achieve. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
504 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
90
LovedLoved
360 positive · 39 negative
95% range 87–93%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 360 | 39 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 49 | 1 | 34 |
| Mastodon * | 10 | 0 | 9 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
20,443 of 21,579 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
88% recommend · 249 yes, 34 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 283 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (35,587 of 37,680 positive).
Players praise the roguelite-city builder hybrid for its engaging short-run loop. [1][2][3] Many highlight the game's focus on the early settlement phase, avoiding late-game boredom. [4][5][6] Some criticize the grind for unlockables and the timer-based failure mechanic. [7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
This is really mixed feeling, the thing is, game is really good for first 25-50 hours, but then you realize what level of grind many unlockables are. How you have to heavily optimize your gamestyle into this tight meta-sweat to fight against time instead of Queen's Impatiance to get past Gold Seals and beyond, how you have to increase prestige difficulty five times to get one more shard and keep trying to beat every …
- [1]
I got this when I bought my Steam Deck and then quit because it was too hard. Slay the Spire 2 of all things helped me with this game: the problem was that I was treating this like a normal city builder instead of a roguelike. You shouldn't build everything; instead focus on what you need based on the orders, the available resources, and the population types you have (much like focusing on one deck strategy in StS …
- [2]
This game is absolutely incredible. I "finished" it a few weeks ago and wanted to make sure I left a review before I forget all my thoughts on it. I've found I can't stop talking about this game to friends, trying to describe a "rougelite citybuilder resource management game" that somehow is engaging by not micromanaging has been tough. I legit could not stop playing this, the gameplay loop of ~1 hour "runs" within …
- [3]
AtS is best described as "roguelike with city builder mechanics". I say this because there seems to be a consistent confusion in about 5% of players that this is "a citybuilder with some randomness elements". That is not the case. This is a roguelike, with a 1-3h run loop, lots of RNG, many runs - don't get attached to your settlement. Beneath that are the mechanics of a citybuilder rather than a turn-based game, …
- [4]
Let's face it, barring some exceptions (ie Anno 1800), the worst part of most city builders/logistics builders/colony sim/survival builder/whatever crap term you want to bequeath a genre that barely ever plays the same from franchise to franchise (don't act like SimCity 4 belongs in the same category as an Impressions builder like Caeser III, bambaclot not the same), is the endgame. Decision-making slows to a crawl, …
Summarised from 34 of the 375 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 9, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Against the Storm talk about engaging roguelite loop with short, varied runs; those who didn't talk about heavy grind for unlockables at higher difficulties. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Against the Storm received "universal acclaim" on Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received "mighty" approval, being recommended by 95% of critics. The game won Best Design at the Taipei Game Show 2024 and was nominated for Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year at the 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. The game had sold over a million copies on Steam as of May, 2024. Eurogamer gave the game a perfect score and described it as a "rare gem" and "one of the most novel and well-crafted city builders". PC Gamer described the game as "one of the most clever, engaging, and endearing strategy games", and particularly liked how the game's premise upended traditional…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 504 · most liked firstFor the strategy/city-building gamers out there: I was skeptical of Against the Storm but it lives up to the hype. Terrific game and one I think I will be playing for a long time. Very deep.
positive · AI labelView post →[Disclosure: Game provided by publisher] Hey folks, adding Whiskerwood to my curator page with a big thumbs up. It's another survival city-builder in the vein of Timberborn or Against The Storm, except this time with mice under the thumb of colonial cats. store.steampowered.com/app/2489330/...
neutral · AI labelView post →This game is excellent, I've been playing it with an accessibility mod as I am blind and am having a great time
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this when I bought my Steam Deck and then quit because it was too hard. Slay the Spire 2 of all things helped me with this game: the problem was that I was treating this like a normal city builder instead of a roguelike. You shouldn't build everything; instead focus on what you need based on the orders, the available resources, and the population types you have (much like focusing on one deck strategy in StS instead of just picking every card). I really like how each scenario is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to write this review for a while, but I decided to experience the game a "bit more" before doing it. =) This is the BEST city builder/economic strategy game I've ever played in my life! It's really hard for me to express how much I love this game! The first thing that instantly hooked me in is the athmosphere, which - in a HUGE part - is thanks to the soundtracks by Mikołaj Kurpios (big fan! <3). But after you get to know the ropes, it also becomes an extremely fun problem-solving…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I spend a lot of time on this game but you dont need to spend a lot of time reading review so I try to be short. But overwhelmingly positive, is in my oppinion, fully deserved. Why you should buy this game. - You like roguelike. - You like having different valid choice\route and challenge. (Never the same game) - You like "Possible" harder challenge if you choose so. - You like city builder, but you rather be up close and personal with your population rather than plan thing around stat and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Happy New Year, guys! My new year's resolution would definitely be to play more different games. Too many "endless" games like The Finals and Against the Storm took most of my free time. So I ended up finishing only 1 (one) game in 2025. Just a few years ago I was completing 50+ games in a year...
positive · AI labelView post →One of my favorite games! Instead of applauding the game, I would like to answer some recent criticism that I found in negative reviews. 1. The game always have a win condition. Some people say that it might be impossible to fulfill the orders, but YOU DON'T NEED the orders to win the game. In one scenario you don't receive any orders (1) at all, and you have to win by gaining points through opening dangerous glades (2) or resolve (3). You win a typical party by a combination of orders (1),…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is absolutely incredible. I "finished" it a few weeks ago and wanted to make sure I left a review before I forget all my thoughts on it. I've found I can't stop talking about this game to friends, trying to describe a "rougelite citybuilder resource management game" that somehow is engaging by not micromanaging has been tough. I legit could not stop playing this, the gameplay loop of ~1 hour "runs" within a ~10 run "campaign" with upgrades along the way was just perfect, and is great…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Against the Storm is getting a board game! Learn more and follow the project on Gamefound: gamefound.com/projects/min... Developed by Mindclash Games, Against the Storm: The Board Game is a co-operative, heavy Euro-style game where players build a settlement at the edge of civilization.
neutral · AI labelView post →Coming to Game Pass news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/0... Ultimate: -FBC: Firebreak (today) -Lost in Random: The Eternal Die (today) -Rematch (6/19) -Volcano Princess (6/24) -Against the Storm (6/26) -Warcraft I/II/III: Remastered (PC, 6/26)
neutral · AI labelView post →Most games have a shelf life. You play them, you finish them (or get bored), and you uninstall them to make room for the next big release. Against the Storm is the rare exception. It is one of the very few titles that has earned a permanent spot on my SSD. And i have over 200 hours of nplaytime xD No matter how many flashy new games I play, Against the Storm always pulls me back. It is the ultimate "comfort game" for my brain Why it Sticks: The Perfect Loop: Because it’s a roguelite city…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Let's face it, barring some exceptions (ie Anno 1800), the worst part of most city builders/logistics builders/colony sim/survival builder/whatever crap term you want to bequeath a genre that barely ever plays the same from franchise to franchise (don't act like SimCity 4 belongs in the same category as an Impressions builder like Caeser III, bambaclot not the same), is the endgame. Decision-making slows to a crawl, your city is either in shambles or operating smoothly, there is no in-between.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Play Against the Storm for FREE on Steam this weekend and build settlements in a roguelite city builder ravaged by apocalyptic storms ⛈️ Free Weekend ends Monday, July 13. You can also save 70% when you buy the game. 🔁 Reshare and help us spread the word!
neutral · AI labelView post →Gonna echo Casey's recommendation. Against the Storm rules. Somewhat of a grimdark narrative, but the friction between game and gamer hurts so good. It's a city builder like any other but focuses more on launching the city over the minutiae of perfecting the city. You have a job, get it done.
positive · AI labelView post →This is really mixed feeling, the thing is, game is really good for first 25-50 hours, but then you realize what level of grind many unlockables are. How you have to heavily optimize your gamestyle into this tight meta-sweat to fight against time instead of Queen's Impatiance to get past Gold Seals and beyond, how you have to increase prestige difficulty five times to get one more shard and keep trying to beat every settlement under 5 years to match the requirements. It simply stops being fun.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →AtS genuinely could be my favourite roguelite of all time. It is the only game I ever bought supporter pack for, because I felt I haven't payed enough for all the fun I had (and will have) with the game. Gameplay wise it is a city builder, but a boring late game slog is cut off and only the most interesting part remains - exploring, establishing your settlement, building economy and production chains. There is a layer of randomness on top of that - enough to provide diversity between runs but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is good fun but its another game that doesnt care about accessibility options. There is no way to increase the font size which is very small. This is a big issue because there is a lot of text to read in the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really enjoy this game. I love city builders, but they often get dull once you stabilize your economy. Against the Storm solves this by focusing almost exclusively on the most engaging early 'struggle' stages, where you are figuring out how to balance resources and needs. If you plan well, you can at some point skyrocket your productivity, beat the scenario, and move on to the next one before things get boring. It keeps the genre fun without ever getting old. My only complaint is the DLC. I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We can’t stress enough what an honor it is to see Against the Storm included in PC Gamer’s Top 100 Games list 😌 We’re grateful to the @pcgamer.com team for this recognition, and to our players for helping us shape a game worth playing! www.pcgamer.com/games/the-to...
neutral · AI labelView post →Thoughts on each level: 1 - "This is kind of basic. Hopefully there's more than this..." 2 - "Oh, I see, it's actually quite a balancing act trying to get it all sorted out." 3 - "What kind of monster creates such a complex game? It's getting light outside, I should probably go to sleep."
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lost workers Lately been playing Against the Storm, it's an indi rogue-lite settlement builder game, and I really dig it's atmosphere, music, setting, and most importantly gameplay. I recommend everyone to check it out, it's available on Steam
positive · AI labelView post →AtS is best described as "roguelike with city builder mechanics". I say this because there seems to be a consistent confusion in about 5% of players that this is "a citybuilder with some randomness elements". That is not the case. This is a roguelike, with a 1-3h run loop, lots of RNG, many runs - don't get attached to your settlement. Beneath that are the mechanics of a citybuilder rather than a turn-based game, hack'n'slay or otherwise, which sets it apart. The gameplay simplified: You…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sometimes ramping up only one's species resolve is the only way to get these last reputation points. Also I still didn't figure out how to use food consumption planner. This lil comic is about roguelite citybuilder game - Against the Storm. Check it out on Steam! I plan drawing more of these.
positive · AI labelView post →Howdy! I play against the storm because I am bad at it. It punishes me for mismanaging my time. It punishes me for forgetting to address a threat 4 minutes ago. It punishes me for being too ambitious. It punishes me for lacking mindfulness. I play this game because it punishes me. If you like X-com or the souls-like genre, this game will fit a special place in your heart. I want to get better at time management and mindfulness, therefore I fail again and again and thank the gods for bringing…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you play "these sorts of games" for the economy component, this is the THE BEST game for you. If you play these games for aesthetics, SIM elements, vibes, whatever, probably not so much for you.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played so much Against the Storm, 15 hours straight overnight & 23 hours since Thursday It's a good fantasy city builder w style but slow, not sure about the roguelike village after village--it's hard to pull away, be warned. I just reforged my first seal & the game looks 150 hrs? Maybe too much 😅
neutral · AI labelView post →Against the Storm releases on consoles TOMORROW! We've already received our copies and couldn't be happier to finally own our game in a physical box 🥹 We hope you’ll enjoy everything about the console version of Against the Storm just as much as we do.
neutral · AI labelView post →As of writing this review, I'm about 12 hours into the game counting the demo. Safe to say, it's great. Against the Storm avoids the two biggest city‑builder problems: 1) Once you solve the game, you’re just repeating the same optimal build forever. The roguelite structure of AtS, where you don't know what will happen next + constant pressure means you can't autopilot — you’re adapting every settlement, and the real skill is taking whatever odd mix of blueprints and resources you end up with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Against the Storm is being adapted into a board game! 🎲 Mindclash Games will turn the dark fantasy world of Against the Storm into a cooperative, asymmetric city-building board game. Follow it on Gamefound! https://gamefound.com/en/projects/mindclash-games/against-the-storm--the-board-game
neutral · AI labelView post →If you don't like losing to a timer, this isn't the game for you. I almost feel bad posting a negative review about the game because you can tell the devs put a lot of heart and effort into it, but at a certain point you just have to admit when a game isn't fun and for all the interesting mechanics they put into the game...it's all gutted when you lose to a timer (which is the only failure mechanic for each level). What makes it even worse is that so much of the game is left to RNG. What…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gonna be honest, I think the DLC screwed over the balance of this game. This game might be one of the few case scenarios where early access felt better to play then before it got bloated by a crazy amount of extra buildings. It really sucks when you do a hour long run and not a single service building appears during your run. Which really sucks when some of your villagers teeter on the fact that none of their needs are being met. I might try down-patching in the the future to see if I'm crazy…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game takes the best part of city builders, the first 1-2 hours and makes it it's whole gameplay loop with actual goals and win conditions. game good
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Against the Storm is one of those rare gems that truly captivates you and doesn't let go. It's highly addictive and has kept me hooked for hours, which is saying a lot considering how many games I’ve played over the years. The beauty of the game is how it manages to keep you engaged without the frustration that often comes with more complex strategy games. I’ve never once gotten angry or frustrated while playing, which is an impressive feat! The soundtrack deserves a special mention — it’s…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The marketing describes this game as "the best part of a city-builder over and over again". But apart from repeating the beginning stages of a survival builder game, it is far from accurate. If you enjoy logistics, optimization, steady progression, automating the busy work through tech advancement, or planning your city as a way of self-expression, this game does very little to quench your needs. Conversely, if you love micro-managing, joggling scarce resources, and constantly relocating and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the best settlement builder i have played. This game scratches that stressful, yet calm and unpredictable itch that not a single game have ever done before. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Achievement hunters, rejoice! Against the Storm achievements on Steam are now organized into separate sets for the base game and each DLC. This means you can get 100% achievement completion in the base game without having to own the DLCs.
neutral · AI labelView post →Everything in this game clicked with me so hard. The music/sfx and art style is gorgeous and the gameplay can become brutally challenging while leaving you with a hugely rewarding feeling for solving logistic problems in the final seconds. This game has so many mechanics and they all build off each other in such complex ways that nothing in this game seems half baked. The devs truly did their best to mature all aspects of the game and take community feedback very seriously. This is what lead to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Posting this review is like pissing in the wind, clearly ppl love it and they are going to take that momentum and keep going, and good for them, truly. After playing multiple runs, finishing a seal, unlocking the races from base game, and seeing the loop, I personally don't want to keep playing. I'm just somewhat bored, harder difficulties as you branch out make you be more careful and can take longer because of bad events, but don't change the gameplay loop. Also, I don't feel like I'm…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A solid 10/10. This game (for me) suddenly came out of nowhere a few years ago. I played it quite a bit back when it was just released and now I catch myself coming back to it on a regular basis. It's got a sweet mix of simulation (city building), roguelike elements, and nice original lore. ---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In this roguelite-city builder hybrid, your task as a Viceroy is to build a line of short-lived, self-contained settlements in order to face this game's version of a boss encounter - repairing an ancient seal. Win or lose, the cycle begins anew afterward, resetting the world map and offering new opportunities and challenges. You're likely to enjoy this game if you: - liked the cosy vibes of Banished - enjoy roguelite mechanics (meta-progression, short playthroughs) - are partial to the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am not a strategy player. I dont like city builders. Or so I thought. I am just scraping the surface so far, but this game so far is phenomenal. They not just filled a neiche noone knew existed, they filled it with pure gold. Love, love, love this!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We’re happy to announce our fun little collaboration with Virtual Cottage 2 🏠 You can now listen to 7 lo-fi remixes of existing Against the Storm tracks in Virtual Cottage 2, and decorate your virtual study with items inspired by the game. Learn more: store.steampowered.com/news/app/133...
neutral · AI labelView post →It's like if someone went back to Warcraft 3 and made the game JUST resource gathering and building towns, but then expanded it and made it a lot more complex. As far as know there's no fighting, or at least not in an RTS sense. Great game to throw a podcast on in the background and try to keep your people from starving.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very comfy game. 1 run a night is enough to keep pulling me back. Good for Dad gaming, I guess
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →great settlement builder that ends the campaigns before it gets too tedious, the roguelike elements are great and very variable, and using a 'pick 1 of 3' random options instead of a traditional tech tree takes out a lot of the rote perfectionism that this genre can fall into
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →10/10 – A Masterclass in City-Builder Design Against the Storm is nothing short of exceptional. The level of care poured into the UI is astonishing: every panel, tooltip, and visual cue is crafted to keep you informed without ever overwhelming you. It’s elegant, intuitive, and beautiful to look at. The game’s core systems—Hostility, Reputation, and Impatience—form a brilliant puzzle of tension and balance. They intertwine in ways that constantly challenge you to adapt. Each decision…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't know if I've mentioned this lately but Against the Storm is a really good game.
positive · AI labelView post →I think this game really kills it stylistically. And for me, all the gameplay loops and systems are stellar, interesting, and well thought-out. The game just isn't fun. It feels like juggling knives and i'm continually trying to catch them before they hit the ground. There's no space to breathe and I never feel rewarded. Playing this game feels like not being sure if you closed the garage door.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As others have said, "city builder" is not the main category I would place this game in. I see it mostly as a rogue-like resource management game, and I would give a positive review if the game was marketed as such, but as a city building game it is very weak. On each game, you are given a random map scattered with finite resources and hidden areas. Some buildings allow you to collect those resources. Other buildings take those raw resources and make more complex ones. You are given access to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →OMG, what an incredible game this is. Sort of a city builder, but with a twist because of exploration of glades to find new resources. This, again, is burning away hours like it's nothing. Very much just getting started at only 7 hours in, but I know this is gonna be another one of those 500+ hours games. I\ve seen the main map, you can play a ton of different games to fill it all up. And the achievements/upgrade tree also supports this. If you like Dune 2, Command and Conquer, Starcraft, Avan…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Against the Storm is a game that just makes time melt away. This will make a weird Watch Out for Fireballs! episode, but I’m looking forward to talking about it.
positive · AI labelView post →THIS GAME BLOWS MY MIND. It sat languishing in my "to play" que for far too long... I was craving city builders, but picked up "Timberborn" (an okay city builder but not as good as this one!) first, and after struggling with the unforgiving and fiddly mechanics of that game AGAINST THE STORM was like coming home to steak and all the ale I could drink. This game takes the WORST elements of city builders and REMOVES THEM COMPLETELY. Bad/Blocked Pathing, ridiculous need for "coverage" or supply…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A refreshing take on the city builder genre. Instead of doing one very large run, its broken up into numerous settlements--a settlement can take around an hour--making the gameplay/timesink much more digestible. Each settlement you can choose roguelike boons. And the game has multiple elements in the city builder alone: hostility, resource management, luxury goods, trade, quests, events.... I haven't yet breached the rainpunk part of the game and have yet to get far on the long-form…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Recently found out that developers of Against the Storm are doing new game, in same universe and it'll be survival game. Looking forward to seing it. Got new inspiration to draw more AtS stuff
neutral · AI labelView post →Haven’t written a review before, but as someone with nearly 300 hrs in the game I figured this would be a good candidate for the first. As someone who grew up on Pharoah, I love the city builder game genre, but also hate how you can basically beat a level and then just have to wait it out until you complete random objectives you complete while not in any danger of losing the level. This game totally turns that idea on its head – always dangerous and different from city to city. Amazing game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →'Against the Storm' is coming to Xbox One/Series, PS4/5 and Switch on June 26th. Also Game Pass Day One. Already on PC. store.steampowered.com/app/1336490/... youtu.be/WVr9ccNLxXY?...
neutral · AI labelView post →On the plus side, at least I have an amazing game to fall back into while sick, Against The Storm. The DLC is fantastic. I adore the game.
positive · AI labelView post →Thank you @danieltheviceroy.bsky.social for the Against the Storm DLC, Keepers of the Stone!! 😭 I'm only 7 hours into the base game, only beat 3 settlements on lowest difficulty so far, but I'm committed to playing this step by step over time! Really appreciate this DLC gift!!
positive · AI labelView post →Probably my favourite roguelite of all time. Combining the best party of City building, the Beginning and Build up phase, with an every increasing challange to keep your city alive. Very addicting gameplay loop. A must buy for any roguelite, city builder or strategy fan!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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