Rome has crumbled, the dead rise at night, and the gods have fallen silent. I’ve been waiting quite some time for Romestead to hit early access, and it’s finally here. This gorgeous co-op survival game leans into the fantastical, tasking you with rebuilding civilization after the fall of Ancient Rome. Officially supporting up to eight players at once, but with the freedom to invite more, it most closely resembles the likes of Necesse (if you’re not familiar with that, imagine the exploration and action of Terraria infused into a perspective that feels like Stardew Valley). It’s out now in early access, with a discount to celebrate the launch.
Developed by indie studio Beartwigs and published by Three Friends, a team of industry veterans which helped bring classics such as Minecraft, Valheim, and Deep Rock Galactic to fruition, Romestead tasks you with rebuilding civilization from the ground up. You’ll need to establish settlements, recruit survivors to join you, and even find ways to reconnect with the gods. Its creators want to bring players into the mix “as early as possible” in order to build “a deep, engaging survival crafting experience.”
All of the fundamentals of gathering, mining, crafting, building, and farming are present and correct, but alongside the traditional inventory system, Romestead also treats heavier resources such as lumber and rocks as more substantial, physical objects that need transporting around the world. This means you’ll need to work a little harder to haul them around, or use carts to smooth the collection process. It also allows you to do things like hurling them at enemies in a pinch.
Speaking of enemies, there are plenty of them – ranging from low-level hordes to deadly dungeons and even some giant boss battles. You can build into either melee, ranged combat, or magic, or embrace a mixture of all three. If you’re bringing a group along, you’ll of course be able to delegate specific tasks out as you please. but you can also employ features such as automated production and trade routes. Connect your settlements across various biomes to take care of the fundamentals while you get on with other business.
If you played the previously available demo version of Romestead, you’ll find an additional volcanic biome to uncover alongside the two that were included there. That means new dungeons and two more bosses (bringing us to a total of five for the launch). Citizen occupations have also been expanded, with fresh roles such as carpenter that let you assign your citizens to all manner of specialities. There’s also a new decoration tool to help turn your towns into proper homesteads.
Beyond the essentials of crafting and building, turning to the gods might be your best bet to get stronger. You haven’t heard much from the pantheon since Rome fell, but with enough offerings (or sacrifices) you can hopefully restabilize the connection between the heavens and the mortal world. Win them over to your side to get your hands on their buffs and upgrades.
Romestead is out now via Steam Early Access, with a 10% launch discount meaning it’s priced at $12.59 / £10.71 until Monday June 8. Grab it here. Three Friends has also teamed up for several bundles with Valheim, Necesse, Core Keeper, Satisfactory, V Rising, and Kingdom Two Crowns, so if you already own at least one of those you can make an extra saving.
Beartwigs says it expects the early access period to run for “approximately one or two years,” introducing additional biomes, bosses, progression tiers, points of interest, decorations, and more world content. It will also continue to improve performance, balance, accessibility, and polish, along with plans for full controller support. It notes that the price is likely to “gradually increase” with future updates as the game moves towards version 1.0.
