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Restore a ravaged world in reverse city-builder Terra Nil

Take a sad brown rock and bring it to life

The folks behind Broforce have a new game on the horizon that is not at all about running, gunning, or blowing stuff up. Quite the opposite, Terra Nil is what they're calling a "reverse city-builder" about rehabilitating an environment that's been completely decimated. You'll turn it green again with the power of irrigation and renewable energy sources to fix the climate and the wildlife. It looks quite lovely and chill in this new trailer and even has a free demo coming up this month if you'd like to try out your planetary green thumb.

I'm an extreme liker of Stardew 'em ups and Animal Crossing-likes and all manner of other crafting and creating games. Even I'm known to lament that they often have an undertone of taking away from a place you love and imposing your own vision on it. That's not all bad, maybe, but I'd been loosely hoping for an experience that lets me cultivate a place to care for it instead of changing it to suit me own needs. Although it's a different style of game, Terra Nil seems to be in that kind of spirit and I'm well up for it by the looks of this new trailer.

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"Terra Nil presents players with a task of global environmental rejuvenation," developers Free Lives say. "The open-ended strategy progresses through multiple stages of restoration, including cultivating biodiversity, fixing the climate and even recycling the buildings players used to get there. Traverse the planet, restoring different geographical regions, each with their own unique challenges, flora, and fauna."

Terra Nil is offering a demo as part of the Steam Next Fest which runs from June 16th-22nd. You'll also be able to find the full version over on Steam when it launches, though that date hasn't been announced yet.

If you want an early taste right now, you can also find the game jam version of Terra Nil over on Itch where it's available on a pay what you want basis.

Speaking of biodiversity: bears!

Terra Nil - A bear emerges from a rejuvenated forest near a renewable power source.

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