Frostpunk 2 has a fantasy rival in city builder and survival game Dark Switch

I’m surprised by how well city builders and survival games seem to go together. In theory, the genres are mutually exclusive. Cities Skylines and Manor Lords are premised on expansion, growth, and the accumulation of wealth and industry. Survival games (Project Zomboid is my personal favorite, but I’ll go to bat for The Long Dark and The Forest, too), are the total spiritual opposite: it’s all about having nothing, and being grateful for even the most meager progress and gains. And yet, between Frostpunk 2 and Endzone, I’ve seen city builders and survival sims unified. Dark Switch, just announced during the PC Gaming Show, is a new, ambitious example of this genre hybrid. Oh, and Silent Hill’s Akira Yamaoka is doing the soundtrack.