A town-builder with no combat and zero stakes
Townscaperis a town-builder without the usual hustle, bustle, and minutia that so often defines larger-scale simulation games likeCities: SkylinesandAnno. In fact,Townscaperis “more of a toy than a game,” according to creator Oskar Stålberg. He’s launching it later this month onSteam Early Access. Check it!
🌟The#TownscaperSteam page is live! 🌟
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Go wishlist!https://t.co/5OC4PFoTFVpic.twitter.com/By8qpC0xYD
— Oskar StÃ¥lberg (@OskSta)June 26, 2025
Instead of building homes and streets for a greater purpose and bracing for the dire consequences of poor urban planning, here, you’re meant to construct for the sheer joy of it. That’s the big idea – and a lot of behind-the-scenes work went into making the tool as seamless and simple as possible.
Here’s the one-sentence pitch: “Pick colors from the palette, plop down colored blocks of house on the irregular grid, and watchTownscaper‘s underlying algorithm automatically turn those blocks into cute little houses, arches, stairways, bridges, and lush backyards, depending on their configuration.”
There’s no inherent goal to speak of. “Just plenty of building and plenty of beauty.”
That might sound a littletoosimple. If so, this will be one to watch. Over the next four months or so of development, Stålberg intends to add “auxiliary features such as a mesh exporter, a GIF recorder, a free camera,” and other new features based on “how people interact withTownscaper” in Early Access.
I think this should catch on with people – especially kids – who appreciate care-free building.
