Hogwarts Legacy meets The Sims in free Steam download

Colony sims tend to go through phases of popularity. They properly captured the public with Fallout Shelter in 2015. Since then, many have tried to capture the lightning in a bottle of that title with varying success.

Artificer’s Tower, which you can play right now on Steam, looks to capture that lightning and run it through a wizarding world, similar to that of Hogwart’s Legacy. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the classic Fallout Shelter, though. The idea of crafting one huge building, with rooms dedicated to various aspects of the world, is intriguing and endearing.

Hogwart's Legacy gave players an opportunity to live out their time as a witch or wizard

“You are tasked with building and defending an out-of-this-world tower that would make even Merlin himself proud!” More than just a building sim, this is a management game that tasks you with ensuring the right rooms are connected to boost productivity, all while keeping your residents happy. Heaven forbid that your little witches and wizards don’t like the layout of your new wing, if they’re unhappy, it’ll have to be fixed right away lest you lose money or resources.

Artificer’s Tower is the perfect game for players who love to micromanage every facet of a game, tweaking all the tiny details from the wizarding teachers to your potion brewing. But that’s not all, as you’ll have to defend your base against magical monsters on the regular. You don’t want to see all your hard work destroyed by some horrible creature on the warpath, so a balance of production, teaching, gentle living, and incredible defense is a must.

These colony sims are incredibly engaging, soaking up your time with ease as you juggle staff, and decide where to place your rooms for the best workflow. Prepare yourself for endless moments of ‘checking in’ for a few minutes and realising it’s 2am and you’ve played for five hours.