Empluna Is a Sandbox City Builder with Automation Mechanics, Launches Demo on Steam

A city builder where placing pre-made structures isn’t really the point. That’s Empluna by indie studio BigCodersPlanet. The game wants players to build a city that reacts dynamically to their choices and evolves over time. There’s a demo available for Empluna on Steam, if you like the idea.

Basically, you design almost everything yourself. You can plan every room in every building manually, from industrial facilities to public buildings and housing. You can even create streets, neighbourhoods, and city layouts according to your vision rather than fixed templates.

The setting takes place in the modern era, where you lead a new urban project in the 21st century. As the city develops, new population groups arrive, each bringing their own expectations, desires, and needs. Those groups include craftsmen, families, professionals, researchers, artists, and tourists.

Your planning decisions determine everything from schools and healthcare facilities to leisure options such as sports venues, race tracks, mountain lifts, and amusement parks. The last one is the latest feature to be added to the game.

You can save building plans as blueprints and reuse them later. Maps are procedurally generated, and the terrain can also be reshaped, flattened, sculpted, and customised however you want. It includes multiple building types with different production capabilities, resource management through production, storage, imports, and exports.

The Empluna demo is live on Steam

Empluna has a demo available as part of Steam Next Fest, which runs until June 23rd. In the latest update, the devs have showcased a custom-built roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, and circus tents. The amusement parks are designed as part of a larger tourism system that will arrive later in the game.

Tourism plays a major role in the game, with different groups visiting the city for different reasons. Tourists want attractions, families are looking for experiences, and residents expect a lively city with places to enjoy. So, amusement parks fit the context of the game quite well. Until the full release, you can check out the demo on Steam.

Also, read our news on Cult of PiN, an Upcoming Pinball-Roguelike Where Space Cadet Meets Balatro.

Amrita Sankar

News Writer

Amrita has been playing video games since she was a toddler, so writing about games comes naturally to her. Outside of Gamezebo, she has experience in webcomics and social media copywriting.