Superb city-builder Against the Storm will round off its roster with a DLC of bats, who ‘take pride in enduring what breaks others and cannot stand being favored’

Against the Storm is one of the best city-builders of recent years, taking the SimCity cycle of building cities destined to be destroyed by natural disasters and infusing it with a roguelike structure, such that the death of your city is merely a part of the game, rather than the end of it. Yet alongside this, one of the key secrets to its success is the diverse array of anthropomorphic animals—the citizens of your civilization in this grim fantasy realm—you have to manage.

Each of the game’s animal races has unique needs and desires, which can diverge wildly and outright contrast with other species’ requirements, as Len Hafer noted in her review. “Beavers, for instance, are fancy little lads who love tea parties and a good vintage of wine. They’re also quite hard to please. Lizards, on the other hand, delight in munching on beef jerky and engaging in recreational combat. It’s rare to be able to please all of the species in your settlement, so you usually have to choose which ones to favor.”