Underrated city builder gets massive free update with "OP AF" new warship

It never fails to impress me when someone makes a game on their own. Even if it's a text adventure with no 'graphics' per se, it's a pretty impressive feat. I've tried to make games myself and never came close to completion. It's such a huge effort, a Herculean, sometimes Sisyphean task that I'll always be amazed by. But when you realize that games like Bulwark Falconeer Chronicles were made by one person, it's even more impressive. And that one person (Tomas Sala) has just released a gargantuan update that adds numerous new dimensions to the gameplay of this underrated city building game.

I didn't know what to expect from Bulwark Falconeer Chronicles when it was announced. I loved The Falconeer, but the action game didn't exactly set up for its successor to be a strategic city builder. Nevertheless, Bulwark has quietly become a great game in its own right, building on the world of The Falconeer with strategy mechanics to rival the best of the genre.

The Behemoth update adds a bunch of new stuff to Bulwark. The main event (for me, at least) is the enormous new surveyor flagship. The eponymous Behemoth is a "chunky boy," in the developer's own words, and comes equipped with a naval cannon and other large guns. Sala admits that it's "OP AF" (that means overpowered as fuck, for any non-millennials out there), but it'll cost a small fortune to acquire.

My next favorite addition is curved walls. This may sound like a small detail, but in a strategy game focused on building your perfect city, the ability to make it look exactly how you imagine is important. The new curved walls make for perfect sea defenses, and I can't wait to see players' new-look spiral cities.

Entagon Subterfuge Events are an interesting addition, as they're new to the Falconeer universe. Intended to disrupt your mission in the late game, this sneaky new faction has also been retconned into the Falconeer Remaster coming later this year, offering plenty of new meat to sink your teeth into for the lorehounds out there.

Trees, too, are more frequently appearing in the game thanks to arbology towers. These freebooter experiments will also be added to the Falconeer remaster, which is fast becoming a beast in and of itself.

Bulwark Falconeer Chronicles is on sale for $8.99 / £7.19 until Monday, October 6, 55% off its full price. You can buy it here.

If you want more games with OP AF ships flying around a ruined world, why not check out our list of the best apocalypse games? If curved walls are more your thing (I get it, really), the best building games will have you covered.

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