The space-centered construction and management sim RimWorld has been consistently attracting players since it was fully funded on Kickstarter and released in 2018. Its next big expansion, Anomaly, will introduce tons of classic horror elements and additional sci-fi themes to the game on April 11.
The free major Update 1.5 will also be implemented for all players on the same day, adding books, more varied decor, the ability to crawl, and a slew of improvements, adjustments, and bug fixes. Colonists can read books to improve certain skills or for recreation.
For anyone hoping for more stress and difficulty during their RimWorld playthrough, Anomaly will increase the number of terrible accidents and monster attacks that will happen on your planet.
“Inspired by classics like Cabin in the Woods, The Thing, The Cthulhu mythos, Hellraiser, and many more, Anomaly goes beyond fighting monsters. This expansion presents ominous, puzzling, mind-controlling, and earth-shaking threats to build your personal horror story,” the full announcement reads.
“The expansion begins when your colonists accidentally provoke a mad superintelligence. From then on, madness manifests: Monstrous creatures, mind-bending mysteries, infiltrating parasites, and sanity-shredding phenomena that twist the whole world around you.”
The founder of Ludeon Studios also weighed in on why Anomaly was created in the first place.
“I wanted to give players new kinds of emotions they haven’t encountered before in RimWorld. We’ve explored feelings around dramatic combat tension, family warmth, problem-solving and many more. Now I wanted to provoke new emotions – dread, psychological tension, suspicion and mystery. The horror theme unlocks a new emotional landscape for us to explore,” he said.
RimWorld is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. In 2018, the game was voted Steam’s Top User-Rated Game from all categories and it was nominated for Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year at the 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.
