Coexist with a capricious, rusty moon in Amberspire, the new isometric city-builder from the creator of The Banished Vault

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:36:08 +0000

I am shocked to discover that this is the first time we've written about Amberspire, the new sci-fi city builder from Nic Tringali, developer of starfaring monastic strategy game The Banished Vault. Shocked, I tell you!

It's set on a gas giant moon, looks a bit like isometric Sable, features dice with arcane symbols, and challenges you to "cohabit" with an ecology of ooze, silica and rust, rather than turning everything into a mall. It's the kind of speculative fiction racket an eco-vibing hipster like myself goes crackers over, and here I am announcing Amberspire to you with the release barely a month away on 6th May. I can only hang my head in shame, and offer you this trailer.

Amberspire review - a strategy game dedicated to the dicey ecopoetics of urban sprawl

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell — Thu, 07 May 2026 16:00:00 +0000

The key thing to know about Amberspire is that it isn't a city-builder in the SimCity sense, but a turn-based boardgame puzzler in which you don't so much 'build' a city as you do manage a tumult of unpredictable, city-flavoured agencies. Created by Lunar Division, developers of The Banished Vault, it takes place on the surface of a moon-sized mausoleum - a vast Venetian graveworld whose fractured isometric crust reveals level after level of archways and catacombs, sinking beyond sight.

The all-pervading presence of the crypt reminds me of London's old church cemeteries, crushed like dandelions between mishappen skyscrapers, refusing to be written out of the tale. It also immediately undercuts your primary objective of building a city populous and advanced enough to win recognition from other planets. However high your towers rise, your city is just another layer of debris and pollution applied to a strangely fruitful necropolis. This isn't a lesson in humility. It's an invitation to enjoy city-building as the act of dancing with a deathly ecology.

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Coexist with a capricious, rusty moon in Amberspire, the new isometric city-builder from the creator of The Banished Vault

Amberspire review - a strategy game dedicated to the dicey ecopoetics of urban sprawl