Adaptory, a 2D sci-fi base builder from Stormcloak Games, will touch down at the Indie Arena Booth during Gamescom from August 20 to 24. If you’re into building bunkers on strange planets while trying not to let your crew lose it, you’ll want to check it out. The game is set to launch later this year on PC via Steam Early Access and Itch.io.
“Adaptory is the culmination of my passion for base-building titles,” said Jevon Wright, the studio’s founder and lead developer, in an email. “It takes the deep systems of colony simulators and blends them with emotional narrative and enriching character development.”
You’ve crash-landed on a dusty little rock, and your job is to make it livable. That means digging out tunnels, setting up power and plumbing, and figuring out how to keep everyone breathing. It’s not luxury—just barely enough to keep your four crewmates from losing it. And even that might be a stretch.
This isn’t one of those games where the people are just machines in jumpsuits. Your crew has personalities, history, and the kind of messy emotional baggage you’d expect from folks stranded in space. You’ll find diary scraps, overhear arguments, and read between the lines of system logs that hint something’s gone sideways.
If you’ve played RimWorld, Oxygen Not Included, or Space Haven, you’ll recognize the vibe, though Adaptory trades out some of the min-maxing for a little more heart. It’s still about survival, sure, but also about what it takes to hold things together when everyone’s tired, scared, and running on half a sandwich.
And the planet? Not helpful. Meteor showers, solar flares, crashing junk from orbit—it’ll all wreck your base just when things start to work. You’ll spend as much time fixing broken pipes as you will expanding your outpost. Once things get really messy, automation systems can help take the edge off.
Adaptory doesn’t have a release date just yet, but you can wishlist it now on Steam or Itch.io to keep tabs on development. If you’re planning to hit Gamescom, you’ll find the team camped out at the Indie Arena Booth with a playable demo and plenty of space drama to go around. Otherwise, keep an eye on their socials or hop into the Discord for dev updates, character teasers, and probably some memes.