Banished-style Settlement Survival is a city builder you can try during Steam Next Fest
City-building games set in the present day tend to take it for granted that citizens will be able to feed themselves and find shelter during the cold seasons. That's not the case in Settlement Survival, a colony management game that blends city-building with the survival game genre. It has a demo coming out as part of Steam's Next Fest, so you'll be able to try it out ahead of its Early Access launch next month.
Settlement Survival has a friendly and colourful low-poly art style that could lull you into thinking it's a placid experience, but developer Gleamer Studios warns that it'll present a stiff challenge. You'll act as the leader of a group of plucky survivors who have been cast out into the wilderness to start a new community. You'll have to quickly decide where to find the necessities like food and water, and source raw materials like wood and stone in order to build shelters and gathering facilities.
Gleamer specifically cites Banished as an influence, so there's not going to be any free lunch in Settlement Survival. Your farms will need to produce food according to the cycle of seasons, so you'll need to plan carefully to make sure you're growing enough of the right crops to see you through the winter.