City builder New Cycle is about rebuilding following catastrophe, Steam demo out now
Rebuild to survive and then thrive
New Cycle developer Core Engage has dug deeper into what the post-apocalyptic city builder is all about at Future Game Show Summer Showcase Powered by Intel, also revealing that a demo is out now on Steam.
The new trailer leans heavier into the gameplay loops over the narrative, though you do get a sense of the atmosphere. We start with the mention of a “great collapse”, followed by some gameplay segments showcasing settlers doing manual labor in a primitive town.
The middle section of the trailer takes us through a minor time skip to see that town further built up. Alongside being notably bigger, you’ve also got some local politics thrown in alongside all the labor.
As we reach the end of the trailer, we see what is possible in a thriving town built against a post-apocalyptic backdrop. Technology has returned, and everything is looking a touch more industrial. Mind you, that doesn’t mean disaster isn’t far away, with the odd outbreak of fire never far from undoing progress.
New Cycle is set in a world thrown into chaos by an apocalyptic solar flare. It’s your job to piece together a civilization out of the rubble to survive before you can thrive. Doing that means gathering resources through foraging, mining or trade to build while keeping a weather eye on the horizon – seasons still change, though some are now much more destructive than others.
One of the more important resources, though, is your people. You’ll need to keep their morale, efficiency, and workforce size in mind to both keep them happy and ensure you don’t risk being overthrown.
New Cycle is due to release this year on PC, though you don’t have to wait to play it as a demo is available now.
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Iain joins the GamesRadar team as Deputy News Editor following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When not helping Ali run the news team, he can be found digging into communities for stories – the sillier the better. When he isn’t pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new hat, you’ll find him amassing an army of Pokemon plushies.