6 Great Strategy Games About Climate Change (Earth Day!)

Some of you probably know that on April 22, we celebrate the international Earth Day. This event – which some people refer to as "holiday" – aims to draw our attention to the fragility of our planet's ecosystem (as if melting icebergs weren't enough of a wake-up call) and to promote pro-environment attitudes.

What did you do to celebrate this day? People often plant trees or go and collect garbage. But it's worth remembering that we have to care for our environment not just on holidays, but primarily on a daily basis – by segregating waste, saving water, food, and electricity, etc.

You can learn why behavior like that is a must in some strategy games. There are actually plenty of games that tackle ecological problems and let us to see what disasters can be brought by them. Below, you will find six such games along with the best places to currently get them.

Frostpunk

In an alternative version of the 19th century, the Earth gets consumed by ice age. The remnants of humanity try to survive by establishing small enclaves near huge steam generators. If skillfully managed, they can allow post-apocalyptic cities to grow around them. However, this requires making many difficult, morally ambiguous (or plain grim) choices and constantly fighting the weather.

"The game is exactly what I expected from 11 bit studios," read the reviews on Steam. "Choosing between evil and evil, making grisly decisions [...] for the good of the public, who will not appreciate it anyway, not seeing what prospects they bring, and will riot – this is Frostpunk's bread-and-butter."

Where to get it cheap?

• You can buy the basic version of the game on Steam for just $6 (the offer ends on April 29).
• You can even get it for less – about 5 bucks – in the Fanatical.com store (also until April 29).

The GOTY Edition of Frostpunk, which included all expansions, is also discounted in both of these stores. Is it worth your time? Well, to be honest it's an outstanding game. The game was already great a few years ago, around when it launched, and now with more DLCs, it's completely enchanting. It's one of the few games that gives you a "hangover" – the feeling that you won't be playing anything as good for a while.

• On Steam, Frostpunk: Game of the Year Edition goes for a little over 12 bucks (also until April 29).
• At Fatatical.com, it's marginally cheaper again.

Against the Storm

Although the action of this game is set in a dark fantasy world inhabited by people, as well as beavers and lizards, the struggle with the climate has been depicted quite realistically. The land is regularly devastated by the eponymous storm, the Blightstorm. Laboriously built settlements are destroyed by it, and we have to raise new ones.

Against the Storm is available in Early Access, but – as we read in the reviews on Steam – "at its current level of development, it offers more content than many released games. One hundred hours flew by who knows when. We write more about this promotion here.

Where to get it cheap?

• On Steam, it currently costs $15 (at -25%) Available until April 27.

Oxygen

Oxygen is one of the two new games of this list. A natural disaster changes the composition of the atmosphere, making it unsuitable for humans. So, humanity (or its scientists) invents oxygen centers, which generate Oxygen through electrolysis.

However, this process is powered by burning coal. If we want to survive, we must switch to renewable sources, while taking care of the inhabitants and enduring severe weather conditions; frosts, droughts, sinkholes, etc. Does it get boring quickly? "[...] after more than twenty hours of fighting for survival, I'm still not bored," one gamer wrote on Steam. They'd played it for 44 hours, so it looks like it's a gripping experience.

Where to get it cheap?

• On Valve's store, you can get Oxygen (without discounts) for $15. However, if you want to save a few dollars, you can opt for this set. You will spend $18 and get two games: Oxygen and Garbage (till April 28).

Flooded

The second new game here is Flooded – a "reinvented city-builder," in which we build various structures on an increasingly shrinking island. The ocean is biting the land away – because, you know, glaciers melting – and we have a limited amount of time to increase production speed and dodge the catastrophe. The task is even more difficult because we're not the only survivors in the world.

Flooded's stylized, minimalist visuals have their charm, and while the concept of a shrinking map isn't new, it does work amazingly well. It is very engaging. The Steam reviews also state that "...the mechanics are both addictive and demanding, which allows you to feel the satisfaction of achieving new goals and overcoming difficulties."

Where to get it cheap?

• Steam offers Flooded for a little under $12 (until April 24). However, the discount is just 10%, so if you prefer, you can buy the GOG version for a little more.

Cliff Empire

Compared to the other games on this list, Lion's Shade's offering is distinguished by its theme. In Cliff Empire, we find ourselves in a quasi-cyberpunk version of Earth, covered with radioactive fog after a nuclear war. Our task is to restore life on the planet, which is hampered by a violently changing climate. In addition, we must decide whether we will achieve this by using green energy sources, or stick to fossil fuels.

Although relatively niche, this production is strongly recommended by players on Steam. “If you like Frostpunk , you will like this game. If someone likes "Settlers," they should be happy as well." "A great game that can keep you hooked for hours if you're patient." "Good game and interesting concept."

Where to get it cheap?

• Cliff Empire is currently not discounted and costs $15 on Steam. However, judging by the players' reviews and the time they spent with this title, the price to quality ratio is excellent.

Endzone – A World Apart

Endzone – A World Apart is also set in a post-apocalyptic vision of the future. However, the game is a bit more mundane than Cliff Empire. Instead of futuristic constructions, we create a relatively ordinary settlement. But as is becoming more industrialized with time, we cannot escape farming. The crops, however, can be destroyed by sandstorms or acid rains, so every decision should be well considered in advance.

Steam players compare Endzone – A World Apart to games like Banished or even Fallout – one in which we control the entire colony, not one character. "Quite an interesting and demanding (at the beginning of each scenario) game [...]". “Geared towards mechanics […] rather than story and quests. It's a strategy, not an adventure game – and it works great as such."

Where to get it cheap?

• You can buy it for about $7 at Humble Store. You've got to hurry up, however, because the promotion ends on April 24, while Endzone – A World Apart goes for $10 on Steam and GOG.

Civilization 6: Gathering Storm (bonus round)

Leaving Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm out of this equation was never the plan. Since it's a non-standalone expansion, we're including it as a bonus. The Civ seems to need no introduction. As for this particular piece of DLC, it introduces natural disasters – such as tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, floodings or sandstorms. They may plague our civilization since the antiquity.

What's more, various decisions made over the centuries result in climate changes. These manifest, for example, in the melting of glaciers, which in turn causes sea and ocean levels to rise, just like in real life. Therefore, you have to carefully choose the location of the cities at the beginning of the game – after several hundred turns, it may turn out that some of them have been claimed by the ocean.

Where to get it cheap?

• In order to play the Gathering Storm DLC, you need both the expansion and the base game.
• You can find some great deals on Civilization VI currently, with the game often goes for a song (Humble Store has a 90% discount on the base game).
• You can also get Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Anthology set, which provides access to all the game's DLCs – also substantially discounted right now. Apart from those mentioned above, the expansions are mainly limited to introducing new civilizations and leaders. The price of the pack currently flits with $30-mark.