Rimworld with rats. It's a simple concept, yet a tremendously appealing one. Cute colony sim Ratopia has just left early access after 18 months, and developer Cassel Games has a special Steam sale to celebrate. Boasting an impressive 88% rating, its adorable art style and clean UI gives its detailed social simulation and intricate systems an immediately eye-catching look, and 1.0 brings a whole swarm of upgrades to the table.
Opting for a 2D presentation akin to the likes of Oxygen Not Included, strategy game is packed with all the policies, building potential, and resource management that you'd expect from the best colony sims. Ratopia's detailed systems enable you to do intricate, creative things like setting tremendously specific tax laws to fine-tune the way each part of your population is managed and financed.
As your town grows, you'll be able to explore the surrounding area and the underground tunnel networks, discovering the stunning ruins left by the Great Old Rats. Perhaps you'll discover valuable treasures, rare resources, or new technology to bring back with you. Be careful, however, as careless or over-eager exploration might awaken deadly apex predators. You'll also have to ensure that your Ratizens don't feel too overworked, or you might find yourself with an uprising on your hands.
Among the new additions in 1.0 is a perk system for your leader. Points are earned as your prosperity increases, allowing you to apply various bonuses to increase your efficiency at certain tasks or general aptitude. A fully fledged encyclopedia allows you to and read important information about all the animals, plants, and enemies you encounter.
The variety of biomes on the map has been expanded, with more natural placement of tiles and objects. Additionally, you can now configure your preferred starting biome composition in the world setup screen. There are more custom difficulty settings, including the ability to adjust the order of seasons, turn off crime, set the invading enemy types you'll see, determine whether said forces can dig their own underground tunnels, and even tweak the composition of mid-to-lower-level biomes.
Beyond that come more structures, a new natural disaster spawning a plague of plant-devouring locusts, new hotkey settings, and a range of balance tweaks. If you've been looking for a new colony sim, Ratopia's 1.0 launch is looking like the perfect time to try it, especially as a special Steam sale discount lets you grab it cheaply.
Ratopia 1.0 is out now on Steam, with a 20% sale meaning you can expect to pay $15.99 / £13.40 for your copy through Wednesday May 14. There's also a demo that you can for free from the store page if you'd like to try it out first.
Alternatively, take a look through more of the best management games instead.
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