Rooted

Rooted is an open-world survival game where you eke out an existence in a post-apocalyptic America where nature has retaken the cities and villages. You construct a base, scavenge for resources, and infiltrate the territories of rival survivors and groups. The post-apocalyptic setting is familiar from games like The Last Of Us, but here you can go where you want in a simulated environment where resources and shelter matter as much as bullets.

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In the year 2100, following an international bacteriological war, modern society has collapsed, leaving only a handful of survivors scattered across the United States. In the ruins of metropolitan cities overrun by nature, danger still lurks at every corner. You work to ensure your survival by scavenging resources to make a base of operations and grow food, infiltrating enemy territory in the now tribal land, and even brave the city centres in search of answers.

Gameplay is a mix of exploring the ruins of our society and building your own settlement, either in the wilds or in the ruins of the towns and villages scattered across the vast and diverse open world. You can create traps to guard against wild animals and opportunistic hunters, automate mundane tasks like growing and harvesting food, and even generate electricity to use through the night. When exploring the cities and enemy territory, you need to be stealthy to avoid detection; if you're spotted, you use guns and other weapons you've salvaged to kill or injure, giving you time to make a quick getaway.

The result is a game where the challenge lies as much in mastering the environment as it does in combat - using the world to your advantage to gather resources and build a home allows you to better prepare for the many trials lying in wait; formulating ambitious strategies and plans for every situation rewards well.

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Our examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Rooted 14 months ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 14 months ago.