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Rise to Ruins
A brutal godlike village sim that melds the god game, management, and tower defense genres! Fight off hoards of monsters at night, and expand your village in the day time. Inspired by games like Black and White, Rimworld, and Dwarf Fortress but not quite like any of them.
In short, Steam reviewers most often praise “Colony building with tower defense” (30 of 65 reviews) and “Challenging but manageable survival” (10); the most common complaint is “Steep, unforgiving learning curve” (11). What reviewers agree on ↓
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-26 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-12.
What reviewers agree on
30 of the 65 reviews raise this.
10 of the 65 reviews raise this.
6 of the 65 reviews raise this.
“Very unique in nature, done by a single dev. Feels very complete at that point. Played over 100 hours and enjoyed every single one. It might feel unforgiving at first, and it gets harder the longer you stay in one area.…”
“Not for everyone but if you love it you love it. Ive enjoyed the growth the developer has put into this game from start till now. I would support them again if they would develop another game. True grit was given to…”
5 of the 65 reviews raise this.
“Love this game and always seem to play it year after year for atleast 10 hours! 100% recommend.”
5 of the 65 reviews raise this.
11 of the 65 reviews raise this · 8 of them still recommend the game.
“I've gotta say, it's been years since I played this game and the game still feels like it's... incomplete. Once you've established one settlement, there seems to be no point on building another as you will just do the…”
“Throws you into the game with a "figure it out yourself" attitude. I gave it 8 tries before giving up. Not for me. Also the zoom level is way too close. It felt like playing at 640x480 on my 4k monitor.”
“My partners review since he for some reason can't post this as he's been playing through my family library and doesn't "own" the game himself. He has over 200 hours and 80/113 achievements. "Despite the routine…”
9 of the 65 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“The game simply lacks content, a half finished product abandoned by the developer. Which is an absolute shame as it has potential to be so much more.”
“The game was objectively better before they introduced the Trash system that not only bogged down the logistics, but drains resources, manpower, and adds literally nothing of actual worth. And that was basically the…”
“abandoned far too soon”
6 of the 65 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“The game was objectively better before they introduced the Trash system that not only bogged down the logistics, but drains resources, manpower, and adds literally nothing of actual worth. And that was basically the…”
“I've gotta say, it's been years since I played this game and the game still feels like it's... incomplete. Once you've established one settlement, there seems to be no point on building another as you will just do the…”
5 of the 65 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“I've gotta say, it's been years since I played this game and the game still feels like it's... incomplete. Once you've established one settlement, there seems to be no point on building another as you will just do the…”
“Good Game. Would love more content but the loop is solidly grindy enough as it is :) E.g. some super duper expensive late game buildings that require setting up supply lines to a region to realisticly build it there.…”
4 of the 65 reviews raise this · 2 of them still recommend the game.
“The game simply lacks content, a half finished product abandoned by the developer. Which is an absolute shame as it has potential to be so much more.”
“I've gotta say, it's been years since I played this game and the game still feels like it's... incomplete. Once you've established one settlement, there seems to be no point on building another as you will just do the…”
“Good Game. Would love more content but the loop is solidly grindy enough as it is :) E.g. some super duper expensive late game buildings that require setting up supply lines to a region to realisticly build it there.…”
Counted across 65 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 87.7% positive rating · as of 2026-05-12
“Don't listen to "game is abandoned" bull-crap reviews. It's a complete, released game, amazing city builder / tower defense. You pay for this, a "finished product" not "free updates forever product".”
— a player, Steam review · 67 hrs played“Definitely challenging, and definitely takes time to learn. Enjoyable experience if you don't mind the learning curve and grind. Charming enough.”
— a player, Steam review · 271 hrs played“Some recent reviews claim it's "abandoned" when it is actually complete.”
— a player, Steam review · 58 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-06 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-10-21.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-10-21). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Update 2d - Even More Minor Fixes and Balance Update - Released!
This is a small patch addressing a few bugs, as well as a few minor balance tweaks. Enjoy! :) If you want to read more about the enormous Update 2 patch, click here. Check out the change log for all t
Update 2c - Minor Fixes and Balance Update - Released!
This is a small patch addressing a few bugs, as well as a few minor balance tweaks. Enjoy! :) If you want to read more about the enormous patch that was just released on Saturday, click here. Check ou
Update 2 - The Achievement Update - Released!
https://media.tenor.com/AO9kGgay3RUAAAAd/its-about-time-starcraft.gif Introducing the largest update patch ever in Rise to Ruins history. Update 2, the Achievement Update. This patch adds a massive am
Build Update 2 Unstable 4 Released
Click here for help on accessing the Unstable branch! *Brushes dust off podium* Hello? *tap tap* Is this thing on? Hello? *clears throat* Ahem.. anyway.. Rise to Ruins Update 2 Unstable 4 has finally
Build Update 2 Unstable 3c Released
Click here for help on accessing the Unstable branch! Update 2 Unstable 3c is a minor release addressing a few bugs and balance issues that creeped up. Check out the changelogs and enjoy! If you find
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-12.
| Genres | Indie, Simulation, Strategy |
| Player tags | Tower Defense · Colony Sim · City Builder · Strategy · Survival · Pixel Graphics · Base-Building · God Game · Simulation · Indie · Sandbox · Singleplayer (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Steam Trading Cards · Steam Cloud · Includes level editor · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English * * |
| Achievements | 113 |
| Official site | http://risetoruins.com |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS *: Windows XP (64 Bit) Processor: Intel i5 or equivalent (Dual Core with Hyper-Threading) Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: Intel HD 4400 or equivalent, 1280x720 resolution or higher. Storage: 1 GB available space Additional Notes: Java 8 or Higher Required (Bundled with product)