An Eerie, Low-Pressure Automation Sim Has Been Announced | Nightwater

A new automation sim was announced just a few days ago, and I must admit, it's piqued my interest. While I personally struggle with games that focus solely on automation and leave out any sense of story, I couldn't help but feel intrigued by Nightwater. Rather than just chopping and mining away at resources until you can eventually automate everything and watch your tiny empire grow into dizzying amounts of factories, Nightwater blends the hopeless enjoyment of clicking endlessly with a sense of mystery and excitement for what lies beyond.

Nightwater Official Trailer

In Nightwater, you'll wake up to find yourself in a confusing reality, with a broken lighthouse in the distance. As you forage and craft, you'll work your way through the eras by starting with simple sticks and stones, and working up all the way to the industrial era. Each new era comes with more mysteries to uncover, and of course, new resources and buildings to craft as well.

This is, after all, a game about gathering, collecting, and managing your resources. You can look forward to multiple unique biomes and over 20 materials to utilize. With hundreds of buildings, crafts, and buffs, it should satisfy that progression itch as well. Once you're further in, start automating the process with farmers, assemblers, storage units, and more. Link them all together, then watch your production work for you while you continue to explore. If you find yourself unsatisfied with your network, tear down your buildings at any time, with no loss to your resources spent, and rebuild it the way you want.

While your machines are hard at work, perhaps explore one of the five minigames. Each minigame features its own gameplay loop, items, upgrades, and progression, unlocking new buildings, crafts, and buffs you can use outside the minigame to grow your factory and boost efficiency. The minigames are optional, but they offer fresh variety, their own sense of progression, and powerful rewards.

Nightwater tells a deep, personal story that is never handed to you. You’ll need to uncover hidden secrets, read between the lines, and piece together the clues to learn what Nightwater truly is. The story is fully optional; anyone can reach the end without engaging with it, but only players who search for the truth behind Nightwater and the Lighthouse will uncover all four endings and secret areas.

Game Features:

• Survive the Void: Wake up on a mysterious island floating in a stunning sea of liquid void and starlight where reality itself feels strangely familiar.

• Evolution of Tools: Progress your technology through the ages, evolving from primitive sticks and stones into the industrial era and far beyond.

• Master Automation: Construct a massive factory with over 60 buildings and complex pipe systems to let machines handle the heavy lifting for you.

• Manifest New Biomes: Expand your reach by literally manifesting new biomes into existence, each hiding unique resources and deep secrets.

• Endless Variety: Discover over 20 unique resources and unlock more than 100 buildings and buffs as you build your dream industrial empire.

• Optional Minigames: Take a break from the factory to master five unique minigames that offer fresh progression and powerful rewards.

• Uncover the Truth: Search for hidden clues and piece together a deep, personal story as you race to unlock the secret of the Lighthouse.

• Stress-Free Building: Experiment without fear by deconstructing and moving any building at any time with zero loss of items or resources.

If you find yourself interested in Nightwater, then please make sure you head over to Steam and wishlist it to support its ongoing development. You can also take part in the conversation by joining the developers' Discord, or follow along via their X (previously Twitter) and BlueSky.