Roguelike city builder Against the storm is one of my favorite strategy games of recent years. The colorful dark fantasy world is a welcome alternative to the pleasant ordinariness of Cities Skylines 2, and despite its post-apocalyptic setting, it feels much warmer and more comfortable than the harsh brutality of Frostpunk 2. As developer Eremite Games tests a new biome coming with the next update, you can access the experimental branch now to try it out and give your opinion on how it works.

If you haven’t tried yet Against the stormyou can read our Against the Storm Magazine to find out why Josh hailed it as a “near perfect roguelike” strategy game» at launch. If you’re already a fan, whether you’ve been playing since Early Access, recently purchased, or were enticed by the launch of the new Keepers of the Stone DLC and the addition of playable frog characters, there’s even more to look forward to. . If you own the expansion, you’ll soon have another biome to explore: the Ash Thicket.

Eremite Games has already done some testing on the biome and is in the process of fine-tuning the identity of the new area. An ancient forest of towering spruce trees, the effects of the ancient mining industry and the Blight Storm have made it a ravaged and dangerous area. Venture there, however, and you can gather shards of Thunderblight to use in the new Cornerstone Forge, where you can create entirely new cornerstones – the powerful modifiers applied to your settlements.

You’ll find Thunder Shards by mining the Ash Thicket, and you’ll get more as you collect additional ore, coal, and salt. The last of these is a completely new resource, which you will obtain by building a mine near the salt veins, and by collecting it you can also gain additional sea marrow. Salt has now been added to a range of recipes such as biscuits, pasta and jerky – either as an additional ingredient or replacing one of the existing components.

Fortunately, the rich resources of the Ash Thicket amplify the chances of earning double yield when you have multiple workers in a given mine. There are also additional salt-related commands and a perk to increase the overall yield of salt production. If you’re curious to explore the new biome before update 1.5 officially launches, simply right-click Against the Storm in your Steam library, click Properties, navigate to the beta tab, and choose the option “experimental” in the menu. drop-down list. Saves are separate from the live version, so they will not affect your progress in the game itself.

The test version of Against the Storm update 1.5 is live on Steam. You will need to upgrade to the experimental beta testing branch to try it out. Note that the Ashen Thicket biome requires possession of the Keepers of the Stone DLC. You can check out the full patch notes for the latest update courtesy of the Eremite Games.

For more racing-based fun, the best roguelike games are always winners. Or you can put your settlement management skills to the test with the best city building games on PC.

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