If you’ve heard of Dwarf Fortress, which is a cornucopia of complexity even for hardcore fans of the game, then Ludeon Studios’ RimWorld might have popped up on occasion. Despite being in Steam Early Access, the title has crossed 1 million units in sales releasing in 2013 and heading to the digital storefront in 2016.
Designer and programmer Tynan Sylvester acknowledged the milestone and noted that the original Kickstarter only needed 1,000 sales. “That seemed like a lot. This is…crazy. Many thanks to all the players for buying the game, to Piotr Walczak, Ben Rog-Wilhelm and all others who worked on it, to modders for making a huge variety of mods that are intricate, scary, useful, and amusing. Also to everyone who ever made a video about RimWorld, or streamed it, or just told a friend about it.
“And to those making comics and art interpretations, to those moderating forums and chat channels, and everyone else bringing life into the community. I can’t thank you enough. Here’s hoping RimWorld and its community keep going strong for a long time to come.”
The base-building/survival title starts you off with three survivors and effectively generates stories depending on what you do. You can establish a colony and manage your denizens, constructing defensive structures, training pets, trading with ships and caravans, surviving against hostile weather conditions, capture refugees and prisoners to bolster your forces…and then watch it all fall apart thanks to the game’s AI Storyteller. Each storyteller has their own little quirk so you’re never sure what’s going to happen next.
Head on over to Steam to check out RimWorld and see if it’s up your alley. Be careful though – it’s likely to siphon all your time away.