Against the Storm Is Free to Play This Weekend
If you’ve been curious about one of the highest-rated city builders of recent years, this weekend is the perfect time to jump in. Hooded Horse and Eremite Games have made Against the Storm free to play on Steam until July 13, giving players several days to experience its distinctive blend of roguelite progression and fantasy settlement management.
The free weekend arrives shortly after the release of another substantial update, which expands the game with new World Map Modifiers alongside gameplay balancing, UI improvements, bug fixes, and a range of quality-of-life features inspired by community feedback.
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A City Builder That Reinvents The Genre
Unlike traditional city builders that focus on growing a single settlement indefinitely, Against the Storm challenges players to establish multiple settlements across a hostile wilderness while serving the Smouldering City, humanity’s last bastion against the Blightstorm.
Each expedition presents a fresh combination of biomes, resources, weather conditions, and fantasy species (including humans, beavers, lizards, foxes, harpies, and frogs) each with their own needs and strengths. Rather than perfecting one city over dozens of hours, players must constantly adapt their strategy to changing conditions before moving on to the next settlement, with permanent progression carrying over between runs.
The game has continued to build a strong following since its full release, surpassing 1.5 million copies sold while maintaining a “Very Positive” Steam user rating across more than 32,000 reviews. It launched on PC in December 2023 but has since received console launches too, with the most recent being for the Switch 1 in July 2025.
Latest Update Adds New World Map Challenges
Alongside the free weekend, Against the Storm continues to expand with another substantial content update that introduces new World Map Modifiers, giving each Smoldering City expedition fresh strategic twists. Rather than simply changing settlement conditions, these modifiers affect the wider overworld, encouraging players to rethink which routes to take, which resources to prioritise, and how much risk they’re willing to accept before the Blightstorm resets the map.
The update introduces a selection of new modifiers, including conditions that alter biome generation, increase the rewards available from dangerous expeditions, or add new restrictions that force players to adapt their usual settlement-building strategies. Combined with existing world events, Seals, and Prestige difficulty levels, the additions further increase replayability across each cycle.
Elsewhere, the patch delivers a broad range of balance adjustments, quality-of-life improvements, and bug fixes inspired by community feedback. The user interface has been refined in several areas to make important settlement information easier to read, while various systems have been streamlined to reduce unnecessary micromanagement during longer runs. Building balance, resource generation, and event tuning have also been adjusted to improve pacing across different biomes and difficulty settings.
Two DLC Expansions Add Even More To Discover
Players who enjoy the base game also have the option of expanding their settlements with two paid DLC packs. Keepers of the Stone introduced the industrious Frog species alongside new buildings, Orders, world events, and progression systems, giving players additional strategic options for tackling difficult expeditions.
More recently, Nightwatchers expanded the roster again with the Bat species, introducing fresh production chains, new Cornerstones, perks, Orders, and biome encounters that further diversify each settlement.
Both expansions build naturally on the core gameplay without fundamentally changing its structure, making them worthwhile additions for players looking to deepen the already highly replayable campaign after the free weekend.
