As someone who no longer has the time to run 10-20-hour Civ/EU4/Stellaris campaigns, this is the perfect game for me. After work, or when I wake up, I can always find time to play a 1-2 hour game (Prestige 1, lower difficulties can run as short as 20-30 minutes). On some lazy days, I could also choose to play multiple runs in a single session if I want to. I have been playing colony sims and city builders for the most of my "gaming timeline," and Against the Storm really has me hooked, considering the lack of combat and multiplayer. If you're looking for a roguelite city builder/colony sim experience, you've found it.

The roguelite meta-upgrades also help evolve the game beyond what you start with, such as unlocking other races, more advanced mechanics like Rainpunk Engines and better trade with other settlements. Sure, each run may not be truly unique, but similar runs are really spaced out, with very varied runs in between!

Often times, you are forced to work outside your comfort zone. There may be runs where you won't have Beavers to help you out with wood production, or where you won't have any fertile soil to grow any renewable plants on. Of course, if it's too outside your comfort zone, you could always choose to play these runs on lower difficulties to get the hang of the game.

The game has regular updates, and release dates of major updates are indicated on the main menu. When I first played the game, we only had Beavers, Humans, and Lizards. A few days later, Harpies were introduced. As of writing, we also have Foxes. There has been a number of QoL changes as well, such as recipe tweaks and the crucial "unassign Woodcutters" button. You can also personalize your building-specific keybinds to further make your experience better. Can't wait for the Steam Deck Verified update soon! They are always consistent with their roadmaps.

Against the Storm is actively developed, and there was a period (3-4 months) where I stopped playing due to grad school, and I had to start on a fresh save so I could experience everything and keep track of what I've unlocked so far. Of course, if you have an older save, you'll always have the option to keep that, but I preferred to have a fresh start.

As someone who no longer has the time to run 10-20-hour Civ/EU4/Stellaris campaigns, this is the perfect game for me. After work, or when I wake up, I can always find time to play a 1-2 hour game (Prestige 1, lower difficulties can run as short as 20-30 minutes). On some lazy days, I could also choose to play multiple runs in a single session if I want to.

The roguelite meta-upgrades also help evolve the game beyond what you start with, such as unlocking other races, more advanced mechanics like Rainpunk Engines and better trade with other settlements. Sure, each run may not be truly unique, but similar runs are really spaced out, with very varied runs in between!

Often times, you are forced to work outside your comfort zone. There may be runs where you won't have Beavers to help you out with wood production, or where you won't have any fertile soil to grow any renewable plants on. Of course, if it's too outside your comfort zone, you could always choose to play these runs on lower difficulties to get the hang of the game.

You may want to avoid reading this if you'd like to form your own strategies instead. Here are some personal tips I've gathered when playing on the higher base difficulties (Viceroy), excluding Prestige:

• In the game settings, you can choose to pause on the start of each season, on cornerstone prompt, as well as when traders and newcomers arrive. Since I constantly play on 3x speed, it's easy to miss these opportunities.
  
• Off the bat, start with 2 woodcutter camps, 1 food harvesting camp of your choice, then paths. Depending on your situation, you may want to delay building shelters if you'd like to rush materials from the Crude Workshop or the Makeshift Post. Set the woodcutter camps to "Avoid Glades (unless marked)."
  
• Ban coal from the Hearth (uncheck its usage) unless you can make a steady supply of it. Coal can be used in certain glade events, and it may be unwise to open a glade without at least 20.
  
• Cut wood (hold Ctrl when marking to avoid glade border trees) in the direction of a Dangerous Glade. You'd prefer to open one after your first Storm, and you'd also want to avoid opening regular glades as they usually aren't worth the Hostility.
  
• I prefer to delay picking my blueprints, unless there are some "must-pick" blueprints on the first roll (e.g. Kiln)
  
• I also usually delay my newcomers if they come at a bad time (e.g. bad Storm), as well as when they come before the cornerstone prompt (some cornerstones benefit the arrival of newcomers)
  
• Always go for Complex Food (Jerky, Biscuits, etc.) since raw food will eventually become unsustainable, even if you have plenty of farms and gathering nodes for them.
  
• On the topic of food, you can also disallow your villagers from eating raw food once you unlock Consumption Control from the Citadel.
  
• If you have some orders like "Need for Jerky (0/20)," you can also stockpile Jerky by disallowing these at the cost of -1 Resolve.
  
• If you're only a few Reputation points (1-3) shy of a victory, you can Favor your best race in order to generate Reputation.
  
• Similarly, you could also Favor a race during a Storm to keep villagers from leaving. Best used on Harpies.
  
• Don't forget to have fun. Even during times when you struggle. I had a (Viceroy) run where ~12 villagers left during a Storm, only leaving me with <10 total. I still managed to win thanks to some adaptation and carefully-picked rerolls and trades. Personally, getting "good" at the game doesn't mean consistently winning at high difficulties; getting "good" is when you're able to win, or trying your best to win, when dealt with a really bad hand. That's me though, don't let me define your enjoyment. Have fun!