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Get Ready for the 2025 Polytopia World Championships!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Hey Polytopians,[/p][p][/p][p]Compete for a $10,000 prize pool and a spot in the live finals in Stockholm. Qualifications start September 13th, 2025 Free registrations are now open for the Qualifications for the Polytopia World Championship 2025. The concept is ‘The Battle of the Tribes’ with 12 winners (one for each tribe) advancing to the Face Off Round that determines the 6 top players who will compete in the live finals in Stockholm. 🔥 [/p][p][/p][p]Details HERE: World Championship - The Battle of Polytopia (Official Page)[/p]

Ghostrunner 2, one of the few games I've scored 9/10, is currently free

Night City is one of the greatest virtual worlds ever created. It perfectly encapsulates the juxtaposition of advanced, world-changing technology and sheer, unadulterated poverty. Our neon-tinted cyberpunk dreams often forget about the grit and grime that keeps these neo-dystopian metropolises going: for the rich to stay rich, the poor have to stay poor. But Cyberpunk 2077 is just one evolution of an age-old concept: One More Level's Ghostrunner 2 is another. Trading out open-world exploration for fast-paced, high-octane hacking and slashing while maintaining that sense of seediness, it's an absolute must-play if you liked CD Projekt Red's troubled masterpiece - and it's free right now.


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RELATED LINKS:

Free Epic games this week September 2025

Stunning parkour FPS Ghostrunner 2 is free to keep if you're fast

Cyberpunk parkour hit Ghostrunner 2 gets final DLC one year after launch

What’s That? The 2025 Balance Pass is Here?!

[p]Hey Polytopians![/p][p][/p][p]What’s changed? Let’s talk about it, but before we do, we’d like you to know that there are ZERO Cymanti changes in this update. We agree with you that they need to be adjusted, and we tested out some ideas in the beta, but we feel that they need more time in the workshop before we’re happy with them. We’ll be implementing a Cymanti Rework in the near future, so stay tuned.[/p][p][/p][p]Without further ado, here’s the changes:[/p]
  • [p] Ai-Mo now starts with Philosophy instead of Meditation, and a Mind Bender to go with it[/p]
  • [p]Extra starting Stars for some tribes to help them out:[/p]
    • [p]Xin-xi begins with 7 Stars[/p]
    • [p]Oumaji begins with 6 Stars ( that’s not a typo, they begin with 6)[/p]
    • [p]Hoodrick begins with 7 Stars[/p]
    • [p]Quetzali begins with 7 Stars[/p]
    • [p]Yădakk begins with 7 Stars[/p]
    • [p]Luxidoor begins with 2 Stars in addition to their upgraded Capital (to match their wealth)[/p]
    • [p]All other tribes begin with 5 Stars[/p]
  • [p]Tech can be researched “backwards,” so Vengir can go from Smithery to Mining without Climbing[/p]
  • [p]Forges can be built on Forests[/p]
  • [p]Temples give 100p per level of growth instead of 50p[/p]
  • [p]Cost of “Burn Forest” down to 3*[/p]
  • [p]Polytaur cost up to 3*[/p]
  • [p]Cost of new Embassies begins cheaper, but increases based on the number of Embassies you have[/p]
[p]Polaris changes:[/p]
  • [p]Corrected Glide ability to give 1 extra move (instead of double)[/p]
  • [p]Adjusted Skate ability so Battle Sled only has 3 movement on ice (instead of 4)[/p]
  • [p]Ice Fortress now has Escape and Static[/p]
  • [p]Ice Archers get 1 attack[/p]
[p]General changes:[/p]
  • [p]Multiplayer should not fall back to “60 days” turn time limit[/p]
  • [p]Multiplayer should not fall back to “Perfection” game mode[/p]
  • [p]Solaris Crater stays a Crater when an opponent takes over territory[/p]
  • [p]Solaris Lava Bank stays a Lava Bank when an opponent takes over territory[/p]
[p]That is all the changes for now, but don’t be surprised if we make more adjustments over time. If you’d like to give us your feedback on these changes, or just want to say “Hi”, stop on by our Discord![/p][p][/p][p]Have fun out there![/p]

Battle of Polytopia shows 4X games don't need to be big, and it's free right now

When I think of the leading 4X games, names such as Stellaris and Civilization 7, scale is one of the first aspects that comes to mind. If you're going to explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate, you want an extensive space to do it in, right? The Battle of Polytopia proves conclusively that this way of thinking isn't always the answer. On the flat, simple landmass of the Square, this small-scale strategy squeezes packs surprising depth into a tight package, and you can grab it for nothing as one of two Epic Games Store free games this week.


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Dwarf strategy game Drill Rift shamelessly mines Baldur's Gate 3's dice rolls

Heads up, chaotic WW2 base builder Ground of Aces just expanded aerial combat

New survival crafting game Solarpunk lets you build a world I'd love to live in

Cymanti Rework and Balance Pass Beta?!?!?

[p]Hey Polytopians![/p][p][/p][p]In this new beta, we're going to test out some pretty interesting changes, and we'd like your feedback! We've made some general balance changes, some reworking of Cymanti, and some adjustments to Polaris, and we'll go in that order.[/p][p][/p][p]Note: This Beta is just that, a Beta. Everything is subject to change, nothing is finalized, you may find bugs that don't belong to Cymanti, and your feedback does actually matter![/p][p][/p][h2]General Changes?[/h2][p]Yes, we're making some adjustments to the base tribes and game systems, hoping to make some of the weaker tribes a little more competitive. We're going to list this tribe by tribe, so you can see how your favorite tribe has been changed.[/p][h3]Ai-Mo:[/h3]
  • [p]Ai-Mo now starts with Philosophy and a Mind Bender instead of Meditation[/p]
[h3]Xin-xi:[/h3]
  • [p]Xin-xi now starts with 7 stars instead of 5[/p]
[h3]Hoodrick:[/h3]
  • [p]Hoodrick now starts with 7 stars instead of 5[/p]
[h3]Oumaji:[/h3]
  • [p]Oumaji now starts with 6 stars instead of 5[/p]
[h3]Quetzali:[/h3]
  • [p]Quetzali now starts with 7 stars instead of 5[/p]
[h3]Yădakk:[/h3]
  • [p]Yădakk now starts with 7 stars instead of 5[/p]
[h3]Luxidoor:[/h3]
  • [p]Luxidoor now starts with 7 stars instead of 5[/p]
  • [p]Luxidoor always begins with 3 fruit in their capital[/p]
[h3]∑∫ỹriȱŋ:[/h3]
  • [p]Polytaurs now cost 3 stars instead of 2[/p]
[h3]General Changes:[/h3]
  • [p]You can now research "backwards" from a T3 technology, so Vengir can get Mining and Ai-Mo can get Meditation without needing Climbing first[/p]
  • [p]Forges now grow 2 levels (one pop per level) per Mine instead of giving 2 pop per Mine (and one level). This is so that they synergize better with Markets. Forges are now buildable on Forests and Mountains, as well[/p]
  • [p]Temples give 100 Score per level of growth instead of 50 Score[/p]
  • [p]The cost to use Burn Forest reduced from 5 to 3 stars[/p]
  • [p]The cost of new Embassies increases based on the number of Embassies you have. You want more friends? Spend more[/p]
  • [p]The maximum level for Markets is now 6 down from 8[/p]
[p][/p][h2]You Said Something About Reworking Cymanti?[/h2][p][/p][p]The moment you've all been waiting for! A rework of Cymanti! After all these years, we're finally doing something to hopefully make them a little more fun to both play and play against. We've given them some new units, reworked old units, and adjusted their personality a little bit. A lot of the changes were to adjust them better around the Path of the Ocean content, but there's plenty of general balance changes, as well.[/p][p][/p][h3]New Units:[/h3][p]Boomchi[/p][p]We sliced the Raychi in half, turning the Raychi into a more general naval unit, while giving its more explosive properties to the new Boomchi. Want to spread Algae more effectively on the water? The Boomchi is the solution, a 5 star unit that is designed to be more expendable than the Raychi. Go, blow up your enemies without breaking the bank! You can find the Boomchi in Sailing and the Raychi now in Ramming.[/p][p][/p][p]Living Island[/p][p]The Cymanti aren't exactly the best at crossing the oceans, so they came up with an idea. "What if we could infest a sea creature and have it spread Algae for us automatically? And that's just what this unit does. As it moves, it creates Algae for free! It's analogous to the Juggernaut, causing area of effect damage, also. The Living Island has the Stomp, Algae, Static, and Stiff traits.[/p][p]Any resemblance to units that were removed in the past are completely coincidental. Don't become attached, people.[/p][p][/p][h3]General Changes:[/h3]
  • [p]Algae is now a tile feature, not an improvement, so buildings like Mycelium can be built on them. They spawn with a free fruit on them, and no longer slow down naval units[/p]
  • [p]Fungi now start at level 0 and will decrease in level whenever they're stepped on by an enemy unit[/p]
  • [p]Cymanti Explorers can now move on the water, just like other tribes[/p]
  • [p]Units with Explode can attack and then explode, giving them more punch![/p]
  • [p]Hexapod attack has been reduced from 3 to 2.5[/p]
  • [p]The Clathrus is now a land building more analogous to the Market, growing from adjacent Fungi instead of Algae. It now Poisons units that step on it, but no longer makes trade connections (since Mycelium do that job even on Algae).[/p]
  • [p]Poison now slows down units[/p]
  • [p]Boomchi and Raychi have been given the trait "Crawl", allowing them some ability to slowly work their way on land. "Amphibious"? Well, kinda? They're not exactly land-dwelling critters[/p]
[h2][/h2][h2]And Polaris Got Some Changes, Too?[/h2][p]Not nearly as extensively as what Cymanti has gotten, but changes, nonetheless. We'll keep this as a simple bullet list, as the changes aren't exactly Square-shattering.[/p]
  • [p]Glide now gives +1 Movement, not double movement[/p]
  • [p]Skate has been adjusted so Battle Sleds now have 3 movement, not 4[/p]
  • [p]Ice Fortresses now have Escape and Static traits[/p]
  • [p]Ice Archers now have 1 Attack[/p]
  • [p]Attacking a frozen unit will unfreeze that unit[/p]
[h3][/h3][h2]So, How Do I Join the Beta?[/h2][p]All players on Steam are eligible to join the beta by doing these simple steps:[/p]
  1. [p]Right-click on Polytopia in your Steam library[/p]
  2. [p]Click "Properties" from the dropdown list[/p]
  3. [p]On the new popup window, click the "Betas" tab[/p]
  4. [p]Use the access code "polytopiabalance" to join the beta![/p]
[p]It should look something like this:[/p][h3][/h3][p][/p][p]Note: We're using a new backend for this, so it will look like you have lost all of your friends. You have NOT lost your friends, they'll re-appear if you leave the beta.[/p][p][/p][p]And that's it! Hop on the beta, give your feedback on our Discord or in our Steam Discussions! We look forward to hearing what you have to say![/p][p]-Zoythrus[/p]