Against the Storm version 1.0 dated, day one Game Pass release confirmed

23rd November 2023

I’ve got a date for your diary, Dear Reader, as Against the Storm is finally leaving behind the confines of Early Access on December 8.

If you’re unfamiliar with this particular game, then please allow me to free you from ignorance. Against the Storm is a characterful blend of real-time strategy, Warcraft-inspired fantasy vibes, and end-times drama, all wrapped up in lovely roguelite gameplay.

This deep and involving city builder tasks the player with leading a selection of unusual fantasy races including foxes and beavers. Together, you must reclaim the wilderness and rebuild civilisation in the wake of the Blightstorm. It’s intense stuff, where instead of a single city focus, you’re stretched across a growing network.

What’s coming in Against the Storm 1.0?

As per tradition, the release of version 1.0 means that we’re going to get a significant addition to the game. In this instance, we’re getting a new expert mode called Queen’s Hand.

The Queen’s Hand may be of interest to some of you as it features permadeath. In this challenging mode, which is intended for those who’ve already poured hours in the game, players only have one cycle to reforge the Adamantine Seal. Good luck with that.

This popular and highly-rated city builder has been moving through Early Access on Steam, GOG and Epic, where it costs $29.99 / £24.99 / €29.99 / ¥3,980. Having confirmed that, if you’ve got Game Pass on PC, version 1.0 will be launching on the service on December 8.

Against the Storm is the work of Polish studio, Eremite Games, with publisher Hooded Horse providing support. The pair put out a launch trailer to mark this announcement, and you can watch it below!

Update: Against the Storm just got its last content update before the big one on December 8. Here are the highlights via Steam:

New conversations with Lori
Rebalanced Ancient Seal objectives
Mouse buttons rebinding
Option to disable all ingredients and/or recipes by default
9 New Achievements (for already existing Deeds)
And more!

Would you like to know more?

Still with us? Of course you are! If you want to keep reading about great hand-picked rogues, the following articles represent a huge collection of the best roguelike games ever made.

The Best Roguelike Games: great roguelites, deckbuilders, RPGs, bullet heavens, and more

Next, there are genre-specific lists that delve into the best roguelike games of all types. I’ve pulled out the best examples from each category, alongside the links to more in-depth articles!

The best turn-based roguelikes: Caves of Qud | There are some seriously incredible turn-based roguelikes out there. Of all the modern games, these are the closest to the original Rogue.

Great bullet heavens and auto-shooters: Vampire Survivors | There could be only one choice for this category, given how all other games are called survivors-likes for a reason!

Awesome first-person rogues: Gunfire Reborn | We almost went with Blue Prince for this spot, but most people checking out first-person rogues probably want to wield a gun, you know?!

Cool roguelike deckbuilders: Balatro | Sorry, Slay the Spire fans, but this poker-solitaire deckbuilder has stolen Mike’s heart and won’t give it back.

Brilliant roguelite top-down and third-person shooters: Returnal | Bit of a broad one, but with our other favourite action-roguelites featured elsewhere, we were obliged to mention Returnal here.

Exciting roguelike platformers: Spelunky | Now, don’t get us wrong, Dead Cells is an incredible game, especially with all the DLC switched on. But when it comes to impact, you just can’t beat Spelunky.

Strategy Roguelikes: FTL Faster Than Light | Another classic roguelike that we’re still playing years after launch.

Amazing action-roguelites: Hades 2 | And finally, let’s wrap things up with our favourite of them all. There’s no beating the original Hades, although Hades 2 comes pretty close!

Rogueliker