Rise to Ruins on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information

A brutal godlike village sim that melds the god game, management, and tower defense genres! Fight off hoards of monsters at night, and expand your village in the day time. Inspired by games like Black and White, Rimworld, and Dwarf Fortress but not quite like any of them.

Rise to Ruins is a tower defense, colony sim and city builder game developed by Raymond Doerr and published by SixtyGig Games.
Released on October 14th 2019 is available in English on Windows, MacOS and Linux.

It has received 7,631 reviews of which 6,727 were positive and 904 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. 😎

The game is currently priced at 13.99€ on Steam.

The Steam community has classified Rise to Ruins into these genres:

Tower Defense Colony Sim City Builder Strategy Survival Pixel Graphics Base-Building God Game Simulation Indie Sandbox Singleplayer 2D Resource Management Early Access Retro Rogue-like Great Soundtrack Level Editor Soundtrack

Media & Screenshots

Get an in-depth look at Rise to Ruins through various videos and screenshots.

System requirements

These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.

Windows

Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS *: Windows XP (64 Bit)
Processor: Intel i5 or equivalent (Dual Core with Hyper-Threading)
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD 4400 or equivalent, 1280x720 resolution or higher.
Storage: 1 GB available space
Additional Notes: Java 8 or Higher Required (Bundled with product)

MacOS

OS: Os X 10.7 or later
Processor: Intel i5 or equivalent (Dual Core with Hyper-Threading)
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD 4400 or equivalent, 1280x720 resolution or higher.
Storage: 1 GB available space
Additional Notes: Java 8 or Higher Required (Bundled with product)

Linux

OS: Most 64 Bit Linux Distros (Must support Java)
Processor: Intel i5 or equivalent (Dual Core with Hyper-Threading)
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD 4400 or equivalent, 1280x720 resolution or higher.
Storage: 1 GB available space
Additional Notes: OracleJDK or OpenJDK 8 Required (OpenJDK bundled with product)

User reviews & Ratings

Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.

Feb. 2025

I've been playing this game for a long time, and I love it. Rise to Ruins has a high difficulty curve in my opinion, and some game mechanics (pathing, figuring out city layout, building proper mazes for tower defense) add to the difficulty, but in an engaging way- it feels like one more mechanic to overcome. I love the simplicity of the graphics; the rising difficulty level; the strategies you can come up with and implement; the balance of each part of your society... I didn't expect to like this game as much as I did, but when I gave it a chance, there's been so much to figure out. It has so much more depth than you'd expect from the surface. Leveling up your spells and powers is essential, and starts to provide fantastic upgrades and benefits to your game. I love that you can do things like revive dead villagers if you're able to see their ghosts every full moon. I love that you can bless them to have nephilim children that are stronger, sturdier, more powerful. There are so many little things in this game- the dogs, the treasures, the ability to aid your citizens in real time... Rise to Ruins will always be a game I come back to. MY ONLY REGRET? I PUT 250 HOURS IN BEFORE ACHIEVEMENTS!!

Jan. 2025

First off, a warning. This game is brutally hard, and should not be considered if what you want is a casual game. If you've played other difficult colony sim games then you'll probably like this. While the game does offer some tips regarding the gameplay mechanics it should be noted that there are no tutorials. Much like dwarf fortress, you need to be very attentive to what tasks you have your villagers doing, and some professions/buildings don't work exactly like you think they would. Organizers are the haulers of the game, builders will haul stuff to build sites, but they're terrible at it. Regular villagers generally won't defend themselves, so you'll need to start building towers/support buildings very early. Farms are basically a place to assign people to the farmer profession, you'll want to make sure there's some nearby wild crops. Once you've got the basics down, it's a very fun and ever-challenging game

Nov. 2024

When I play Tower defence games, I am basically enjoying watching brainless AI units get destroyed by my gradually improved/upgraded defence structures. It is brutal and not that complex, apart from knowing what to upgrade and when, more or less. That is the fun of that. I don't want it to be too clever. I'm not too fussy - there are lots of tower defence games that work for me. When I play city-builders or other management type games I am enjoying the complexity. I don't like it dumb. My favourite city builders are Workers and Resources Soviet Republic, Amazing Cultivation Simulator, or, especially, Songs of Syx. I want it deep and complex and I want it to reward my brain cells, not kiil them as so many supposedly complex games do these days. Rise to Ruins, somehow manages to engage the part of me that wants brainless, along with the part that likes complex, and gets them to play nicely with each other. It is a fragile arrangement, on occasion, when playing my brain will spasm with a "why is the AI so stupid?" but mostly it works. Because undead, mostly. Also it is, I think, a very cleverly designed game, there are in-game lore reasons why things are as they are and if you cllick with that it is a very fun game with hidden depths. RtR is a game that I am really happy I have in my library because when I need that particular mix of game-play elements it is really fun. If you have ever found yourself wondering what game to play, and not quite fancying any of the tower defence games or city builders in your library - this game might be just the thing. Certainly I have found nothing else like it. I recommend it, works great in linux and if you have problems the dev is very responsive and helpful.

Sept. 2024

Rise to Ruins is one of those games that really hits the sweet spot if you're into god sims or city-builders with a twist. It’s like it knows exactly what itch to scratch, blending the satisfaction of managing a village with the chaos of survival. As a god in the game, you’re not just watching your villagers build huts and gather resources—you’re actively involved. You can heal them, control the weather, and even throw down some godly wrath if things get out of hand. It feels like you're guiding them but also constantly reacting to the world. And that balance between control and unpredictability is what makes it so engaging. What I love most is how everything just clicks. You’re building this peaceful little village, but at the same time, there’s this looming threat from monsters that come at night. So while you're expanding and gathering resources during the day, you’re also preparing to defend everything you’ve built. It adds just the right amount of tension. And honestly, the game has this really addictive loop. You’re constantly improving things, tweaking your strategy, and watching your village grow from a few huts to a thriving settlement. Plus, the retro pixel art style just gives it that extra charm. If you’re looking for a game that scratches that god-sim itch while keeping things fresh with a mix of management and survival, Rise to Ruins is a must-try. It’s challenging but in a way that feels rewarding, and you’ll get sucked in for hours without even realizing it.

June 2024

This one is something special. There are now games coming out doing shallow version of this formula, but this is a true original. Still getting content updates five years in. It's a little slow and being under prepared can lead to devastating invasions, but the learning curve isn't too steep.

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Data sources

The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.

Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.

Last Updates

Steam data	07 April 2025 18:05
SteamSpy data	09 April 2025 16:33
Steam price	13 April 2025 20:42
Steam reviews	11 April 2025 06:09

If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Rise to Ruins, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.

SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Rise to Ruins
SteamCharts - Analysis of Rise to Ruins concurrent players on Steam
ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Rise to Ruins compatibility

13.99€

8.6

6,727

904

Online players

Developer

Raymond Doerr

Publisher

SixtyGig Games

Release 14 Oct 2019

Platforms