Townscaper

Townscaper takes place on a large distorted grid set in an infinite sea. This allows for towns that feel more organic and unstructured when compared to similar games that are based on regular grids.

Townscaper has no inherent objective or story and has been described by developer Stålberg as "more of a toy" than a game. Users construct an island town by placing and removing coloured blocks on a calm body of endless water. Different rules of the game dictate these blocks' appearances, with some appearing as spires and others as balconies, depending on their location and surroundings. This method of rule-based decoration allows arches, gardens, flying buildings and stairways to be created without specific user instructions.

Townscaper was developed by Swedish developer Oskar Stålberg, who previously worked on Bad North. Stålberg gave a talk at the IndieCade Europe 2019 event during development, showcasing some of the game's features, including terrain generation and procedural building design.

The PC edition of Townscaper received a critic score of 86% according to review aggregator Metacritic, indicating generally favorable reviews. The Nintendo Switch edition received a score of 63%, indicating a mixed or average reception.

Natalie Clayton of PC Gamer wrote: "Townscaper may not have the complexity of a Cities: Skylines, but its quaint towns littered with cobbled streets and old churches, dockyards and lighthouses feel more instantly homely than the sterile American-styled metropolises of "real" city-builders."