When I downloaded the Creeper World IXE demo, I found it to be a quirky original. In fact, it’s the latest in a series of real-time strategy games in which you set up turrets and terraform maps to fend off growing, simulated tides of purple liquid. It is a war between flesh and minerals, solidity and fluidity, whose origins date back to Gillen’s era. Alex Wiltshire (RPS in Peace) interviewed creator Virgil Wall in 2019 – among other things, we learn that the original Creeper World was built on a “failure,” and Sin published a glowing 2021 article about Creeper World 4, the first 3D movie installment.
What does Creeper World IXE bring to the party? Well, 1) it’s not 3D and 2) it’s advertised as an exercise in “dominating” the titular Creeper, not keeping him at bay. For too long this squelching, screaming hooligan has been allowed to flood and corrode our precious starports. We’ll take up the fight in the form of an enhanced 2D starfleet, equipped with lasers that we can utilize to clear out the terrain and redirect the flow of the nefarious Vimto.
Hopefully, we will accomplish the above terraforming while also cleverly opening passages to our mission objectives such as energy cores and hibernation pods. It’s significant to cunningly separate rock and soil, even artistically, and wield your terraforming shovel like your best brush. However, when spending 20 minutes with said demo, there is always the temptation to move the cursor back and forth and delete the layout like a child losing patience with an Etch-A-Sketch. Up, fluid physics! We will find harmony in mutual destruction. There will be no world for Creeper to conquer.
Seriously, I’m thrilled with this. This makes the factional “asymmetries” of other real-time strategy games look woefully unambitious. Zerg could learn a thing or two from Creeper.
Even though it’s called a real-time strategy game, the game often feels like Noita, an action RPG where you spend half your time melting through randomly mined lakes of acid. There’s a similar joy in arcane applications of particle, sand, and fluid physics, with certain combinations of field material proving… unstable. Fingers crossed that Creeper World IXE involves teleportation in some way.
Here is the z function sheet Steam page.
Sand physics terrain where every pixel is simulated, allowing you to utilize gravity and terrain as part of your strategy
Improved Creeper fluid simulation with waves creating fresh Creeper behavior
Particle system for fresh and bigger threats
Use terrain chemistry and terraforming to gain an advantage over your enemy
Extensive support for custom units with scripts so that the community can create their units, missions and control modules.
Online map database for endless fun and fresh challenges
Normally I would end an article like this by offering more direct comparisons, but what can I compare Creeper World to other than Noita? From dust? If you know an analogy, I’d love to hear about it.
