- A new title from South African two-person studio Crux Games, featuring designers from Terra Nil
- A unique city-building game where you combine buildings like cards to create chain combos
Crux Games, a South Africa-based two-person development team, officially released the mini roguelike city-building game ‘Combolands’ on Steam on August 24, 2026.
‘Combo Lands’ is a game that combines city building, deck building, and roguelike elements. The core gameplay involves placing buildings on procedurally generated islands and utilizing the synergy between different buildings to create chain combos.
The game is characterized by capturing the thrill of stacking buildings instead of cards and seeing numbers continuously rise within a short play session.
A deck-building roguelike where you stack buildings instead of cards
The core of ‘Combo Lens’ is a system that utilizes the building layout itself like deck building.
Players must place various buildings on a procedurally generated island and combine the relationships and effects between them to create chain synergies. The main gameplay involves expanding combos in a way where one building enhances the effect of another, which in turn influences surrounding buildings.
When starting the game, you can choose two out of seven guilds. Since the buildings and strategies available vary depending on the guild you choose, you will build your city with a different combination every time.
The scale of content has also expanded significantly with the official launch. Various builds can be constructed through over 120 types of buildings, over 100 types of passive relics, upgrades that change building behavior, potions that alter the map situation, over 13 city councilors, and 10 difficulty ranks.
A single match lasts about 30 minutes, allowing you to experience the fun of completing a city and creating powerful combos in a short amount of time.
Cute pixel graphics and a ‘dopamine combo’
‘ComboLens’ was created with 2D visuals based on pixel graphics. It features charming buildings and islands on the screen and provides various visual feedback when combos are formed, emphasizing the satisfaction derived from the process of building structures and growing numbers.
Users and media who played the pre-release demo also responded positively to this combo system. In particular, one media outlet described the game’s repetitive feedback structure and combo animations as a so-called “dopamine-inducing experience.”
YouTuber Retromation positively evaluated the game’s cozy atmosphere and commented that it is a good game to enjoy at a leisurely pace.
A new game from a South African two-person development team created by the designer of ‘Terra Nil’
Crux Games is a small game development company based in South Africa, run by two people, Sam Alfred and Skye Scott.
Sam Alfred has a BAFTA nomination and is known as the designer of the city regeneration strategy game ‘Terra Nil’, which has received over 7,000 ‘very positive’ ratings on Steam.
‘Combo Lands’ was not a game that started as a large-scale project from the beginning. It was originally released on itch.io as a free demo called ‘Tiny Towns,’ and as the demo received a positive response, including over 100,000 views, it expanded into the current full game.
Positive response following the free demo
‘Combo Lens’ has been checking user reactions through a free demo even before its official launch.
The pre-release demo received a 97% positive rating on SteamDB, and the development team continuously improved convenience, adjusted the progression system, and enhanced visual quality based on feedback collected through playtesting.
Media reactions were also positive. Polygon described ‘ComboLens’ as “the best new roguelike on Steam in years,” and the YouTube channel Blitz also shared positive feedback on the game.
‘ComboLens’ started as a small two-person development team and led to an official launch based on community feedback from a free demo and the development experience of designer ‘Terra Nil’.
In particular, with its structure of managing the entire city like a single deck by placing buildings directly instead of cards, short playtime, and the fun of creating powerful chain combos, it is expected to be a unique option for existing roguelike or deck-building genre users.
Attention is focused on whether user reviews, which will begin to accumulate in earnest after the official launch, can translate the buzz generated even before the release and the positive demo reactions into actual results.
Information regarding ‘Combolands’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Crux Games (South Africa, 2-person studio – Sam Alfred, Skye Scott) |
| Publisher | Crux Games (self-published, Landfall mentioned as support partner) |
| Genre | Indie, Strategy, Roguelike Deckbuilding City Builder |
| platform | PC (Steam) |
| Release date | August 24, 2026 |
| language | English (Full support for interface, voice, and subtitles) |
| Reactions/Evaluations | Based on the pre-release demo, it received a 97% positive rating on SteamDB and favorable reviews from media outlets such as Polygon. |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
