Build a blissful art deco sci-fi city as an AI mayor in Technotopia, out this October

If only it weren't for those meddlesome humans

If the recent Frostpunk 2 left you - haha, wait for it, ah this is going to be great, I'm so pleased with myself - cold (!!!!) then why not run your eye over fellow city builder Technotopia. Developed by Yustas and published by Wall World and Beholder outfit Alawar, it casts you as an AI mayor, Iris, who is trying to create the perfect city in a world of social and economic calamity. A world of social and economic calamity that looks, nonetheless, rather pleasant. I like the art deco retro-future vibe.

Iris is both helped and hindered in this endeavour by four human factions - "capitalists, aristocrats, politicians, and the common people". I hail from the UK, where aristocrats tend also to be capitalists and politicians, so I'm tempted to reword this as "the common people, plus a bunch of grasping, untrustworthy bastards". Technotopia is out 16th October, and I've got a trailer full of soothing background music for you, below.

You'll sculpt your metropolis by means of playing cards, using them to grow skyscrapers, parks, residential districts and transport highways from spectral, unfurnished map tiles. The presentation here reminds me slightly of Industries Of Titan, though it doesn't look like you can tunnel inside buildings to rearrange the fittings.

While dealing from and upgrading your deck, you'll manage sets of coloured resources and field dialogue requests from faction members and other characters - these include "hackers, oligarchs, criminals and inventors". Some of the problems you'll face appear systemic in nature, while others are story beats triggered by certain conditions. Here's a rundown of the features, lifted from the Steam page:

• 4 faction-driven questlines: Each with its own unique story, shaping the city's destiny.
• 100+ unique buildings: Each structure offers distinct bonuses, influencing the balance of power within the city.
• 4 building combinations: Discover new ways to strategically combine city blocks for maximum impact.
• 50+ dynamic events: Every event is influenced by your decisions, with outcomes that ripple throughout the city.
• Factions' influence: Every choice you make shifts the power dynamics, affecting how events unfold and who controls the city.
• Criminal activity: As crime levels rise, new challenges and unique events appear, forcing you to make tough, high-stakes choices.
• City news: Stay informed on how your actions are shaping the city and its people in real time.
• Memory cubes: Scattered across the city, collecting these will unlock bonuses and insights that aid your journey.

I must confess, when I first saw this I had it confused with Arcen Games's Heart Of The Machine, a turn-based sci-fi 4X published by the always-dependable Hooded Horse. It has broadly the same premise, but is a lot more complex and fiddly, with the option to *squints* "unleash a pack of genetically modified velociraptors upon the rich". Yeah, I'm pretty sure Frostpunk 2 doesn't have that either. I guess we'll post about Heart Of The Machine too at some stage.