I find myself with an ever-growing affinity for the base-building subgenre of strategy games. You know the type, like RimWorld, Valheim, and 7 Days to Die, among countless other popular titles. But here and now, stepping forth into 2020, we have numerous upcoming base-building games vying for attention.
What draws you to the best base-building games on the market? Is it expansion and conquest? The minute details of a bustling colony? The relationships that form amongst your pawns?
Diplomacy is Not an Option
Slated for release in late January 2022, Diplomacy is Not an Option aims to combine the base-building subgenre with the wave-based tower-defense gameplay of, say, They Are Billions or Age of Darkness: Final Stand.
Developer Door 407 promises over ten thousand units on-screen, assaulting your castle walls, at any given time. If you’re a keen base builder with an eye for detail, especially defensive structures, like walls and gates, you can construct a keep and an expansive colony behind stone fortifications to protect your colony and its riches.
You’ll have access to plenty of structures to build your base from a simple hovel to a bustling kingdom, as shown in one of the game’s promotional screenshots above. But it’s the use of magic alongside catapults and other defensive siege engines that impresses most of all.
You can get a copy of Diplomacy is Not an Option on Steam on January 26th, 2022.
The Wandering Village
The Wandering Village, from developer Stray Fawn Studio, does not have a firm release date thus far, but all roads point to a 2022 release for this unique base-building game set atop moving behemoths like the one above.
The premise is fun. The world is overrun with plants that emit toxic spores, and now survivors, led by you, want a home and shelter on the back of the ‘Onbu’. You’ll construct a functioning society, with resource and production chains, while forming a unique bond with your host.
I’m keen to see what happens should you overstay your welcome.
You can wishlist The Wandering Village on Steam!
Manor Lords
The base-building genre and the medieval landscape go together perfectly. And with the upcoming release of Manor Lords, we’re reminded why.
Manor Lords, from developer Slavic Magic, features organic and realistic building, tactical battles, and gorgeous graphics for a strategy game. You’ll lay down roads, and plot land, but the overall layout of your fiefdom grows organically in a gridless, freedom-inducing environment like old times.
With a focus on historical realism and fun gameplay, Manor Lords aims to provide countless hours of base-building fun!
You can find Manor Lords on Steam!
Dwarf Fortress
While we do not have a concrete release date for Dwarf Fortress, rumors around the mill point to a 2022 release into Early Access on Steam.
With the upcoming refresh to Dwarf Fortress, the complex nature of the ultimate base-building and colony sim game becomes more accessible to newcomers. Tarn is currently hard at work on a brand-new UI, while the art team crafts new sprites for every item, creature, and monster in the game.
In what is possibly the most expansive strategy game in the world, with the simulation running as deep as languages and lore for the game world, Dwarf Fortress promises hundreds, perhaps thousands of hours of gameplay once it hits Steam in an official capacity.
You can wishlist Dwarf Fortress on Steam!
The Day Before
The Day Before, from developer FNTASTIC, appears to combine the gameplay of The Division and DayZ into a single, survival-oriented package.
You play as a survivor after the zombie apocalypse in post-pandemic America. Other survivors will face off for food, weapons, vehicles, and real estate at the end of the world.
According to the game’s Steam page, players will take a role in rebuilding society. To what extent, we’re curious to know. However, recent gameplay trailers have shown modest base-building features.
You can wishlist The Day Before on Steam in preparation for its summer release!
There you have it! A few upcoming base building games to keep an eye on in 2022!