Embark

Embark is a colony management game set in a large, living 3D world with detailed simulations of its people, environment and resources. You direct colonists as they build a settlement, meet their needs, craft equipment, explore and defend the colony. A short tutorial introduces the game, but its systems have a significant learning curve.

Explore the world

Each game uses a procedurally generated map with different biomes and places of interest. You can explore the massive world and encounter its inhabitants, while the simulation tracks thousands of plants and animals as well as the time of day, seasons, temperature and precipitation. These conditions can help or hinder the colony: crops, for example, can fail because of insufficient water or an early frost.

Build and manage

You can order colonists to build in multiple Z levels, from small trading outposts to large fortresses, in a fully destructible world. They carry out complex construction jobs, while their needs, personal lives and relationships continue to develop. Your management decisions can shape the colony into a cohesive military force or leave it dysfunctional and at risk of internal conflict. Giving a skilled craftsperson a larger room can improve their productivity, but may make their friends jealous.

Craft and gather

Gather materials and use a hierarchical crafting system to make dozens of items. Practice lets colonists produce better items, more effective weapons and armour, and improved smelted ores. Each item part has its own material and quality, affecting the item's effectiveness; a spear, for instance, can combine an iron head with a wooden shaft or a steel head with a bronze shaft. Prospecting helps you find metal ore underground.

Water and farming

Build aqueducts and pumps to manage the detailed water simulation, and grow food using the plant simulation. Tame and hunt animals, and account for environmental conditions that can affect crops and the colony's supply of food.

Combat and factions

The combat system models individual body parts, weapon sizes and character skills. You can fortify the colony against multiple threats, though some enemies can dig, climb or fly to get inside. You can also impress or fight other factions and trade with them.

Modding

The game supports modding through the Steam Workshop.