This clever survival RTS has such a fun and in-depth building system that it's got me making little roofs to keep my soldiers dry when it rains

GamesRTSCataclismoThis clever survival RTS has such a fun and in-depth building system that it’s got me making little roofs to keep my soldiers dry when it rainsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Digital Sun)

A wizard and her soldiers standing in front of a castle in Cataclismo.

Here at PC Gamer’s office in the city of Bath in the UK, there is only one constant: it is always raining. So when my soldiers in this fantasy realm ask me to build a bit of overhead cover to keep their bowstrings dry and their spirits up while they defend my castle walls, I feel a lot of sympathy for their plight. But what they don’t know is, I am aterrible architect.

The perpetual rain is a feature of this specific map, and its effect is significant—soldiers without a roof over their heads suffer a hefty accuracy penalty, which isn’t what you want when you’ve got an endless horde bearing down on you. Figuring out how to incorporate shelter into your defences while also juggling the many other nuances of the game’s fortifications is a lovely little building puzzle, and it gets me wondering what other fun wrinkles I’ll have to work around in the final game.

But there’s no time for day-dreaming about that—I’ve got monsters due to strike from the south, threatening to bulldoze through my vital stone quarry, so I get to work shoring up my defences. A stone wall is simple enough, and building mine across a hill allows it to have positions at different heights—that’s important, because walls need to be tall to be at their strongest, but some soldiers operate best at lower heights than others.

(Image credit: Digital Sun)

A horde of monsters descending on a castle wall in Cataclismo.

Along the walls I run a set of range-boostingmerlonsinterspersed with damage-buffing banners, and set up a load of wooden scaffolding so my soldiers can easily get up to their posts. Now all I need is the roof over their heads—surely that’ll be pretty simple?

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Thanks to the generous recycle function, that lets me safely delete a load of my ill-advised initial placements, I’m able to cobble together the world’s worst roof. It looks frankly bizarre, and it literally only just covers the thin strip of wall the soldiers will be fighting from, but damn it when I click on a unit and see they’ve cleared the “Rain-Drenched” debuff, I still feel a swell of pride.

(Image credit: Digital Sun)

A stone wall with wooden scaffolding and crude roofs to keep the soldiers dry in Cataclismo.

That pride only grows when I confidently repel the first wave of creatures—my archers firing arrows from above, my lobbers chucking bombs from lower down to clear out the densest clumps, and my wizard finishing off the stragglers with magic missiles, all of them with perfect accuracy thanks to their bone-dry scalps. What a sight!

When I see that the second wave is due to come from the same direction, I even allow myself a moment of smug confidence. With my economy now in full swing, churning out building materials and soldiers, I’m flush with ways to secure my wall even more tightly. I recruit a gang of trappers, a new soldier type that can slow enemies to make them more vulnerable to my other troops; I make space for new emplacements, such as one that grants any archers adjacent flaming arrows; and I lay out wooden spikes across key chokepoints to chip away at the horde as it advances. This wall could not be more impregnable.

(Image credit: Digital Sun)

Monsters charging at a stone wall in Cataclismo.

Which is great, except for the part where I didn’t notice there would also be a second horde attacking simultaneously from the east. RIP the people of Robin Town, who all die to this dastardly flanking manoeuvre, terrified but wonderfully dry.

Oh well—like last time I got to play a chunk of Cataclismo, my defeat leaves me not despondent, but full of new castle-crafting ideas. A loss this complete is just an opportunity to skip back to the previous day using the generous auto-saves (explained in-universe as time magic, brilliantly) and try a different approach. The rain never stops, and neither does the building.

Cataclismo is due out July 16, and you can check out a chunk of the campaign mode for a great taste of the experience withthe free demo on Steam.

More about rtsFormer Age of Empires developer says the RTS genre’s stuck in a rut: ‘you’re still playing the same game’Creeper World IXE breaks the RTS mold and adds a dash of Noita’s alchemy to the gooey warLatestMarvel Rivals ranks: everything you need to know on your journey to the topSee more latest►

More about rts

Former Age of Empires developer says the RTS genre’s stuck in a rut: ‘you’re still playing the same game’Creeper World IXE breaks the RTS mold and adds a dash of Noita’s alchemy to the gooey war

null

Former Age of Empires developer says the RTS genre’s stuck in a rut: ‘you’re still playing the same game’

Creeper World IXE

Creeper World IXE breaks the RTS mold and adds a dash of Noita’s alchemy to the gooey war

LatestMarvel Rivals ranks: everything you need to know on your journey to the topSee more latest►

Latest

Marvel Rivals ranks: everything you need to know on your journey to the top

Marvel Rivals tier list - A big group of heroes fighting

Marvel Rivals ranks: everything you need to know on your journey to the top

See more latest►

Most Popular

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

6 games that could be bigger hits than you’re expecting in 2025

What are your 2025 gaming resolutions?

The FBI put a $5 million bounty on the ‘Cryptoqueen’ last year but still hasn’t found her, so take your pick: Russia, South Africa, or murdered on a yacht in 2018

The Witcher season 4: Everything we know about Hemsworth’s debut on The Continent

8 bold gaming predictions for 2025

The PC game releases we’re most excited about in January

Twitter is dead, X is a cesspit, let’s make 2025 the year of the message board

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals