City building games usually err on one of two sides. They’re either brutal and unforgiving, like Frostpunk, or they require intense thought and planning like Cities: Skylines. It’s not clear which of those Timberborn lands on, but it’s certainly a change from the usual. The game tasks players with advancing beaver society by building massive cities instead of dams. And for a limited time, Steam users can try out Timberborn thanks to a free demo.
At first glance, Timberborn is a city builder like any other. Players make paths for citizens to walk down, put together farms, and storage areas. There are even large residences, reservoirs, and water pumps. Then it’s made apparent that the citizens of this city are genetically altered beavers. They managed to survive the apocalypse and are rebuilding the world however they see fit. A new trailer for the game shows off the life of one such city. It goes from a burnt, desolate wasteland to a verdant field of green, spotted with large wooden homes and other buildings. The terrain is even altered with explosives to create small rivers. It should be no surprise that beavers make for industrious city builders.
However, not everything is perfect in this post-apocalypse. Players will have to manage the city and make sure every beaver is well taken care of. Like many other city building games, hunger and thirst play a key role in keeping your population happy.
What to build in the Timberborn demo
The Timberborn demo won’t give players a whole lot of time with the game. It lets players go through one of the game’s natural disasters — drought. The game’s developers, Mechanistry, recently implemented dry seasons and it’s up to players to figure out how to work around them. During these dry spells, rivers in the map will dry up. To prepare, players will have to build dams and dig canals to hoard what water they can to survive.
Those interested can try the Timberborn demo right now. It can be downloaded from the game’s Steam page until February 16.
