Name: CodeKnight
Price range: $

I was SO excited when I saw the announcement for this. I was recently wondering what the next SteamWorld game would be, having played through both Dig games again. I was intrigued to see them branching out in to yet another genre, having already done mining, card based battler and turn based tactics game, now they're adding city builder to the list. This demo is beautifully executed, runs well, looks gorgeous, and is a joy to play. The UI is really well done, and they're demonstrating yet again that they can take an existing genre and add their own unique, high quality spin to it. This initially feels like an Anno clone, but quickly turns into a unique city builder / mining experience.

Pros

Really pretty
Buildings have really nice animations
Demolishing buildings gives back all resources
Same high quality as all the other SteamWorld games
Although the start is very much an Anno clone, it gets much more interesting when you realise you don't just have the normal ground-level to build in. You repair a mineshaft and can dig down, where you can dig, find new resources, and automate an operation
The game ties into the previous mining games by having you dig down. People who've played both SteamWorld Dig games will know about the machine world deep underground and the possible plot twist coming in this game
In the mine you can designate areas to dig, and have to stabilise the ceiling when you open up large areas
There are chasms underground that require building bridges to get to, using resources that you mine, unlocked by the number of engineers you have above-ground
Unlike the surface where you plonk down pre-designed buildings, in the mine you can build Miner and workshop quarters, which is a click and drag affair to make them whatever size you like (and the size affects how many people you have)
Like my favourite Anno game, there is a window which tells you EXACTLY how much you're over or under producing something rather than guessing at watching up and down arrows
Aside from just digging blocks which give immediate payment, you can also find veins, which require tier 2 miners, which give you a steady income of scrap (and can have mining machines installed)
The game mentioned finding "all 6 pieces of the rocket to escape the planet" so I assume that's the end goal. It also sounds like there might be waves of attacks whenever you find a new rocket part that you have to defend against with turrets

SteamWorld Build

Pros

Cons