Before Darkness Falls Blends Frostpunk Survival with Insectoid Terror
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Maverick Souls, featuring veterans from Frostpunk 2 and Dying Light 2, has revealed Before Darkness Falls, a tactical survival game that combines base management with squad-based combat against subterranean bug monsters.
If you have ever wanted to manage a crumbling industrial colony while desperately fighting off subterranean swarms of terrifying bugs, developer Maverick Souls has a project on the horizon worth keeping on your radar. Comprising industry veterans from the teams behind Dying Light 2 and Frostpunk 2, the studio recently showcased an early build of their upcoming tactical survival game, Before Darkness Falls, at Digital Dragons. Rock Paper Shotgun's Edwin Evans-Thirlwell went hands-on with the prototype, noting that the experience channels major Aliens: Dark Descent energy while carving out its own identity inside a rusted, atmospheric sci-fi setting.
The gameplay loop splits your time between two distinct layers of management and tension. Above ground, players oversee a decaying industrial compound called Scrag, balancing base management, life support repairs, and civilian needs. Below ground, you send squads of disposable operatives into dark, fog-of-war-drenched corridors to scavenge for vital medical supplies and investigate the creeping monster plague. Controlling these squads requires careful positioning and tactical awareness, especially when navigating environmental hazards like flaming vents while hostile creatures close in from the shadows.
While the early prototype is still rough around the edges and lacks the deep oppression of its tactical inspirations, the core premise of surviving inside a collapsing mechanical labyrinth with an exotic parasite problem is a compelling hook. For players who love high-stakes strategy games, resource management under pressure, and squad-based combat, this is definitely one to watch as development continues. You can read the original hands-on report over at Rock Paper Shotgun.
Tags: Tactical Survival, PC Gaming, Strategy Games, Indie Games, Base Building
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun