Against the Storm Hits 94% on Steam During Free Weekend

Against the Storm, a roguelite city-builder from Eremite Games, is hosting a free weekend on Steam while publisher Hooded Horse keeps up a steady stream of post-launch patches documented through GameWatcher’s patch notes hub and roadmap. Right now, the game boasts a 94% positive rating based on 20,701 Steam reviews — a remarkable score for a strategy game that’s this mechanically complex.

Launched on December 8, 2023, Against the Storm tasks players with rebuilding civilization in a constantly rainy environment, managing various species with differing needs across procedurally generated maps. It’s currently priced at $8.99 on Steam, making this free weekend a great chance for players who missed the trial period to jump in.

The Games Press announcement about the free weekend aligns with Eremite’s commitment to ongoing support after launch. GameWatcher’s patch notes hub neatly compiles the game’s update history, serving as a handy reference for a title that’s seen consistent balance and content patches since it launched. Active player counts hover around 2,176 concurrent users, which is a solid number for a strategy game not in a major update cycle.

Eremite Games aims to position Against the Storm as a long-term live game rather than just a one-off release. The roadmap hints at more content drops in the future, though specific dates and features remain under wraps beyond what’s already outlined in the patch notes. For a game priced at $8.99 and with such a high review score, the ongoing development certainly deserves attention from strategy enthusiasts who might have overlooked it at launch.

One area where the game faces ongoing criticism is accessibility. Many recent reviews point out the lack of font scaling options — a real issue, considering the amount of text players need to read regarding buildings, species traits, and resource chains. Eremite hasn’t addressed this concern in any of their confirmed roadmap updates.

By The Numbers

Steam Review Score	94% Positive
Total Steam Reviews	20,701
Current Steam Price	$8.99
Current Concurrent Players	2,176
Release Date	December 8, 2023

Community sentiment around the free weekend highlights one repeated issue. A Steam reviewer mentioned that “this game is good fun but it’s another game that doesn’t care about accessibility options — there is no way to increase the font size, which is very small,” and noted that the problem gets worse because the game requires players to read a lot of text to play effectively. This isn’t an isolated opinion; similar sentiments pop up in multiple recent reviews.

What To Watch

• Whether Eremite Games introduces font scaling or additional accessibility options in future patches — the existing gap could lead to more negative reviews that might hurt the score over time.
• The trend in player counts after the free weekend, which often leads to a noticeable spike and a smaller, lasting retention for well-received strategy games.
• The next confirmed milestone on the roadmap from Eremite, as the GameWatcher patch hub continues to monitor updates that might introduce new species, biomes, or gameplay mechanics.