Trailblazers: Into The March is a RimWorld-like, Moebius-inspired roguelite colony simulation that welcomes you aboard its massive landships with a chunky-sounding demonstration

Background: Earlier This Year, a RimWorld Team Moves Toward Its Next Game

The developers behind RimWorld are gearing up for their next game with a recent engine switch. For players who may be hankering for something new, if still familiar enough, Trailblazers: Into The March introduced itself earlier this year. By Edwin's measure, the game is a mishmash of the colony sim, Nausicaa, Moebius, Andrei Tarkovski, Jeff Vandermeer, and FTL: Faster Than Light.

Development Path: From Concept to a Roguelite Colony Sim Demo

Trailblazers: Into The March is described as a roguelite colony-sim Trailblazer. You play the titular Trailblazer, a captain of a landship. These landships are big, honking, vaguely animal-shaped, Shadow of the Colossus sized crafts piloted across the ground, and the player takes on similar opposing vessels.

The landship is customizable and must be filled with all sorts of simulated crew members. Each crew member has a background and abilities. Developer Strangers said today's demo packs in much to explore, from overcoming dangerous excursions to battling threatening foes. It also invites players to take on contracts from the fixer and build out your perfect Trailblazing crew.

The game splits control into two layers. In the macro, combat sees the player commanding the ship in real-time action battles, with a tactical pause option for deliberate decisions. In the micro, the player commands the crew to see those battles through. The larger setting is the titular March, a big world to explore where, according to the game's Steam page, players will be encountering enigmatic wonders and unpredictable events along the way.

Visual Language: Wooden Crews, Procedural Portraits, and a Trailer on YouTube

The art mix is another part of the game's identity. When looking at all of the crew members aboard the ship, they resemble tiny toy wooden puppets that collapse when you press a button beneath them. The character portraits are more detailed, but more obviously procedurally generated, not AI, with some lush recurring non-player character portraits to show how beautiful the game can get.

The official trailer, titled Trailblazers Into the March - Official Demo Trailer, is available to watch on YouTube.

Latest Step: Demo on Steam With No Release Date Yet

The current playable step is the demo. There is no release date just yet. Players can check out the demo on Steam, or add the game to a wishlist there.

For now, Trailblazers: Into The March is at the stage where its landship premise, crew simulation, contract structure, real-time battles, and procedural visual style are visible enough to try. The next milestone remains a release date, which has not been announced.