Stranded: Alien Dawn

Stranded: Alien Dawn is a strategy game with survival elements. It was developed by Haemimont games, also responsible for three games from the Tropico series and Surviving Mars, a game from a similar genre.

Plot

Stranded: Alien Dawn is set in a sci-fi universe, on an alien planet where a group of colonists have crash landed. The fates of the survivors are in our hands - it's up to us to help them live through the titular alien dawns.

Mechanics

Stranded: Alien Dawn makes use of the top-down perspective. The player's overarching goal is to create a well-protected, prosperous base. Though we start with a small, relatively simple camp, by acquiring resources and constructing more buildings we can gradually transform it into a mighty stronghold. In order for our outpost to be able to defend itself from wildlife, unpredictable and drastic weather conditions and diseases, we must make sure it can develop technologically. Researching unlocks more effective weapons (like automatic turrets), medicine and many others.

Of course, there's no colony without colonists. This makes it necessary to satisfy their basic needs, providing them with food (acquired by cultivating land or hunting wildlife), warmth and light. We must also fulfill their whims, the most important of which is entertainment. One should remember each survivor has their own backstory, unique strengths, weaknesses and talents. It's up to us to have the colonists develop their greatest skills.

Random events make each run different, tasking us with overcoming different challenges. We must plan out our steps in advance to avoid failure. Newcomers have nothing to worry about though, as the game features plenty of tutorials to introduce them to the basics.

Technical aspects

The visuals of Stranded: Alien Dawn are colorful and detailed.