I love a good twist on Tetris. There is Tetris with sand. Tetris with hot wax. Tetris, but it is an interactive documentary that spans the game's 40-year history. And now, I loved learning about a game that is essentially “Tetris but about city building.”
River Towns is the name of the game where you jump between levels to “place buildings of different shapes and make them fit into a limited area.” Those buildings are basically shaped like Tetris blocks, so placing them in the right places is where all the fun is.
“As the city grows, more inhabitants move in and bring life back to this old, broken world,” the game's Steam blurb explains. “Throughout the game you will encounter other objectives, such as gold to collect, trees to regenerate and ancient monuments to rebuild. This completely turns the difficulty and the possibility of accumulating points on its head.”
River Towns – Official Announcement Trailer | Healthy snack 2024 – YouTube
Look
For such a creative idea, developer Frogsong Studios had a difficult time getting to this point in development. On Kickstarter, studio co-founder and lead artist Anders Thelin explains that the studio had to lay off virtually the entire team because, well, 2024 was a particularly brutal time for developers simply trying to stay employed. That's when Frogsong's founders met indie publisher Stray Fawn and decided to seek crowdfunding to help the game cross the finish line.
Fortunately, River Towns has already met its funding goal of $10,300 and raised almost $13,000. That means backers have reached a new goal and Frogsong will be adding “new challenge maps on a regular basis with unique mechanics.” And more importantly, the game can be financed and published.
River Towns aims to release sometime in 2025, but for now, you can check out its free demo on Steam.
For more information, please refer to the other. upcoming indie games of 2025 and beyond.