Underwater citybuilder Aquatico challenges you to build Rapture in January
A week earlier than planned
Underwater citybuilder Aquatico will submerge players on January 12th, 2023. This new release date comes a little more than a month after its release was set for January 19th, but I won't look a gift seahorse in the mouth. There's also a new trailer below which breaks down how you'll build your very own Rapture equivalent.
It's been a while since I've played BioShock, but was there a level where you explored a district run by a guy who was really good at laying pipes? Because Aquatico suggests that building an underwater city demands that someone be really good at laying pipes.
Aquatico is the kind of citybuilder that's concerned with logistics: how much fuel, oil, electricity, and oxygen you've got, and whether it's efficiently routed throughout your sprawling, multi-tiered city. From the menus, it looks like there are dozens of different resources to create, and a Dwarf Fortress-sized jobs board to maintain the necessary production chains. I can see everything from "Squid hunter" to "Fashion designer" listed, alongside 18 different kinds of drone.
In the higher levels of your multi-tier city, you'll also need to satisfy the demands of your growing population. Simulated from crade to grave in enormous domed districts, your peeps require not just food but luxuries, education, security, religious fulfillment and more.
Aquatico looks engrossing and daunting. Rebecca felt the same way when she selected it as one of the best demos from Steam Next Fest back in October. That demo is still available from Steam now, if you want to give it a go before its full release next year.
