Paradox Interactive is taking on the post-apocalypse with Afterworld, a grand strategy game that aims to turn the end of the world into an elaborate sandbox. I recently had the chance to play an alpha build of this ambitious title, and even in its early stages, it’s clear that Afterworld offers a unique and engaging experience.
A World Reborn
In Afterworld, you lead a band of survivors in the desolate landscape of North America. Like its spiritual predecessor, Stellaris, the game offers a variety of starting options, each with its own unique challenges and opportunities. In this alpha build, I focused on the “Shelterborn” origin, where my tribe emerged from an underground vault just as it was about to be destroyed.
Unlike Stellaris, these origins allow for more player input. As a Shelterborn tribe, I had to make crucial decisions about food riots and whether to rebuild America or dominate the remaining territories. These choices shaped my tribe’s character and determined its starting resources.
From there, I built settlements, forged alliances with other bands, explored ancient ruins, established laws and belief systems, and clashed with powerful “Dominions”—vast empires ruled by immortal leaders who predate the collapse of civilization. These Dominions are similar to Stellaris’s fallen and awakened empires, offering immediate power but also posing a significant threat.
One Dominion, led by the seemingly benevolent Citizen Farouk, immediately sought my allegiance. He promised to rebuild America through an election, but his methods were…questionable. Refusing to join him inevitably led to war, as he deployed massive, mechanized armies that seemed insurmountable in the endgame.
The Grind of War
While I initially resisted Farouk’s demands, the resulting conflicts felt like a grind. The UI and map weren’t optimized for large-scale battles, making it difficult to manage my forces effectively. However, once I acquired some bikes and guns, I could easily steamroll over weaker foes.
The combat system in Afterworld is complex, requiring careful management of manufacturing and supply chains. Every weapon and vehicle must be built or found, and you need to constantly produce fuel and ammunition. This adds a layer of depth to the gameplay, making it feel rewarding to maintain a well-equipped force.
End Times Economics
The resource economy in Afterworld is central to every playthrough. Scarcity drives exploration and conflict, forcing players to make difficult choices about where to allocate resources. While not a survival game in the traditional sense, Afterworld offers enough challenges to keep players engaged.
Resource scarcity can stunt population growth and negatively impact the health of individual band members. However, unlike hardcore survival games, death is not always permanent. Instead, it creates dissatisfaction within the tribe, motivating players to seek out new resources and improve living conditions.
Finding these resources requires exploration, theft, or settling resource-rich territories. However, simply acquiring raw materials isn’s enough; you also need to build infrastructure to extract and process them into usable goods. This adds another layer of complexity to the gameplay, forcing players to carefully manage their production chains.
Managing Your Tribe
As your tribe grows, you’ll manage multiple bands, each with unique characteristics, beliefs, and skills. You can assign them to different roles within the tribe, such as governing territories or managing resources. Each band member levels up, allowing you to enhance their abilities and tailor them to specific tasks.
This level of population management is a new addition to Paradox games, offering granular control over your tribe’s development. It works well in the zoomed-in setting of Afterworld, where players are focused on North America rather than an entire galaxy.
The Pace of Collapse
Afterworld is designed to be faster-paced than other Paradox games. A single playthrough can be completed in a weekend, and within a few hours, you can transform from a small tribe scrounging for survival into a burgeoning empire. The random events and discoveries that occur throughout the game keep things exciting and unpredictable.
While this rapid progression is generally positive, it can also lead to imbalances. It’s possible to become too powerful too quickly, requiring careful balancing on the part of the developers. However, the element of surprise and the potential for unexpected power surges are crucial to the game’s charm.
Accessibility Concerns
Despite its potential, Afterworld faces accessibility challenges. As an alpha build, the user interface is still under development and lacks many of the helpful tooltips found in other Paradox games. This makes it difficult to understand all of the game’s systems and mechanics.
Furthermore, the lack of a tutorial or comprehensive onboarding can be daunting for new players. While the developers are aware of these issues and working to address them, it remains to be seen whether Afterworld will ultimately achieve its goal of being Paradox’s most accessible grand strategy game.
A World Shaped by Belief
Afterworld features an intriguing system of beliefs that adds another layer of depth to the gameplay. While players cannot create custom religions from scratch, they can unlock various perks and bonuses by leveling up their chosen faith. These beliefs can also create internal conflicts within the tribe, as different factions may hold opposing views.
Players can even choose to worship unusual objects, such as carburetors or books, adding a touch of humor and personality to their tribes. Some of these objects have practical uses beyond simply providing bonuses, allowing players to exploit the faith of their followers for strategic advantage.
A Promising Start
Afterworld is an ambitious project with the potential to redefine the grand strategy genre. While it faces some challenges in terms of accessibility and user interface, its unique blend of gameplay mechanics, deep customization options, and engaging narrative make it a promising title. With continued development and refinement, Afterworld could become a must-play for fans of strategy games.
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