“Collect berries and plant greens to avoid scurvy and ensure a healthy diet,” reads the Steam description for Farthest Frontier. Yes, this is exactly what I want from a middle ages-ish citybuilder – one from the makers of action-RPG Grim Dawn. Come watch its first trailer below.
Farthest Frontier is promising the “most detailed farming system ever,” in which you’ll need to not only choose crops but plan crop rotations to “maintain soil fertility, avoid heat and frost damage, and prevent the accumulation of diseases.” The diseases it’s possible for your townspeople to get include dysentery and cholera. You’ll also need to make sure your peeps are properly housed, clothed and shoed to avoid tetanus, rabies and frostbite.
In many ways it seems like a refresh of Banished, 2014’s most misery-inducing – yet excellent – citybuilder. The Steam page also lists randomly generated maps, the ability to turn off invaders and disease, and a frightening list of pitfalls to consider such as the need to manage underground water supplies.
Farthest Frontier is being made by Crate Entertainment, makers of Grim Dawn, which we quite liked and which was supported by umpteen post-release expansions. Given the punishing take on agriculture management, they should have named this new game Grim Lawn. I will forgive them.
Crate say Farthest Frontier is aiming for a 2022 release – they initally hoped 2021 – and it’ll be an early access release when it first arrives. For now you can find more details on Steam and more screenshots on the official site.