We love a roguelike here at Indie-cent Exposure. The randomness, controlling chaos and essentially mastering a world where so many factors can change on any given run. Perfect for Steam Deck and a way to pass 20 minutes here and there. Well, what about a city-builder? SIM City is a staple of our childhood! So when I first saw Combolands, a city-building, deck-building roguelike. My jaw dropped, just at the concept alone.
With a free demo out now, and a full release only a few weeks away. It seems like an ideal time to talk about it a little, as I get a little too excited at the prospect of a new roguelike time-sink. Combolands, looks like it might just be the next one, for me.
Combolands
Developed by Crux Games, a two-person studio featuring Skye Scott and Sam Alfred (designer of Terra Nil)—and supported by indie publisher Landfall, Combolands expands on the concepts of their viral Itch.io hit Tiny Towns into a full-fledged strategy experience.
This is a great time to mention how Indie Gaming is becoming a bastion for “Human Made” content. Anti-AI, anti-slop. A two person studio crafting something beautifully, has way more to give than something generated from prompts!
How it plays: Bite-sized runs and chain-reaction combos
At its core, Combolands flips the standard city builder on its head by treating your map as the deck and your cards as buildings. Rather than managing endless resource bars over hours, each session is engineered to deliver deep strategic choices in fast 30-minute runs.
- Tile-Based Synergy: Placing a structure isn’t just about expanding your border. It’s about triggering explosive score multipliers. Positioning a farm next to specific guilds or resource nodes creates cascading combo chains that supercharge your city’s growth.
- Procedural Islands: Every run takes place on unique, procedurally generated island terrain, forcing you to adapt your grid layout and building placements on the fly.
- Deep Progression: With 21 different guild combinations, unlockable councillors, side quests, and game-altering relics, no two runs play out the same way.
Demo reception: Strategy fans are hooked
Ahead of its official launch, Crux Games released an updated free demo on Steam. The player response has been overwhelmingly positive.
The demo currently holds a 97% positive rating on SteamDB tracking, with players highlighting its incredibly satisfying feedback loops and “dopamine-fuelled” combo animations.
Community feedback from early playtests has already led to several quality-of-life updates, improved progression systems, and refined visual polish, making the current demo build feel exceptionally crisp.
Launch details & how to play
- Release Date: August 24, 2026
- Platform: PC via Steam
- Try It Now: A free playable demo is live on Steam right now, allowing you to test out the procedural island map and initial guild mechanics before release day.
- Where to Purchase: You can head directly to the Combolands Steam Store page to play the demo and add the game to your Wishlist ahead of its August 24 launch.
Looking forwards
I’ve wish-listed the game, I’m waiting excitedly for the release to get stuck in. Hopefully we see nice Steam Deck compatibility, and Combolands becomes that next “just one more run” games that keep me up in bed.
On the face of it, Combolands is doing all the right things, and the demo reactions are exactly what I’m looking for. I’ll be holding-off on the demo, and going all-in at launch, instead. All being well it’ll be Steam Deck ready from day one, so I can really sink into it.
It’s easy to get excited and get these things wrong, but the gut instinct is that Combolands is going to be one to watch. Check back here at the end of August to see how things go post-launch. I’ll be sure to review it.
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