Empires in Ruins (2021)

Developer: Hammer & Ravens
Publisher: Hammer & Ravens, WhisperGames
Platforms: Windows
Genres: Indie, RPG, Simulation, Strategy
Rating: 3.9 of 5, 145 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 5.5 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More games like this Watch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

A cynical grand strategy game where you juggle empire management, tower defense, and turn-based combat, guided by a darkly humorous story about a grumpy sergeant's revenge.

darkly funnystrategicgrimnarrative drivenpunishingmanagement focusedmilitarycampaign based

What players say

Players praise the writing and humor, but many find the tower defense half undercooked and the UI clunky, with loading screens and repetitive notifications. There is a split: some enjoy the novel twist of destructible towers and worker units, while others call the resource management tedious and the campaign short, around 10 hours.

Screenshots

More games like this

More by Hammer&Ravens

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.