The world that you knew is gone, and now you're left in the aftermath of a world-spanning apocalyptic war that survivors name The Fall. A century after that catastrophic event, Afterworld sends you out into the ruins of North America, where resources are scarce and the environment wants you dead.
There are several playable Origins that you can select, including shelter dwellers emerging from a failing nuclear bunker or roaming religious zealots in search of their goddess. Whoever you are, your first task is to establish settlements in the wastelands and secure enough resources to keep your group alive. Over time this band of survivors will learn fresh skills under your guidance, so you can start expanding by exploring the North American continent, and seeing what the procedurally generated map has in store for you this time.
Afterworld is the first original grand strategy setting from Paradox since 2016's Stellaris, moving the action from the depths of space to the remains of planet Earth. It has been designed to appeal to a broad audience of strategy gamers, so you don't have to be a regular Paradox player to get involved here. The experience starts out small-scale and approachable as you get to grips with the immersive post-apocalyptic setting, but as your nation expands this will gradually grow into a rich and complex grand strategy as you manage survival on a macro scale.
Discoveries are key to your progress in this unforgiving land, and Afterworld features a dynamic Ideas Tree where new advances are unlocked based on what you actually locate and experience as you explore – for example, finding a river will teach you about irrigation or encountering a fresh tribe may introduce organized religion. This is especially true for any lost technology you discover, which could help develop new ways for you to assert your authority – the surviving tribes fight to control these technological relics so they can dominate the dustland.
As you grow your nation, you have to decide what your approach is going to be. You can negotiate trades with rival factions and maintain a truce, or raid them and take the supplies you need by force. Wandering tribes can be absorbed into your flock, though if resources are scarce you may have to turn them away to fend for themselves, potentially creating a future threat. Do you have what it takes to rediscover America, meld your group of survivors into a proper society, and ultimately establish a great empire?
Afterworld does not have a release window for PC just yet, but you can wishlist it now on Steam to stay up to date with future announcements as they happen. You should also visit the official Afterworld homepage to read more about the game, sign up for the newsletter to receive dev diaries explaining design philosophy and features, plus you can explore an interactive map that's connected to the in-game lore to get yourself prepared for the post-apocalypse.
