ⓘ rick

Settler's Domain arrived on Steam on 21 August 2026, developed and published by a solo developer credited simply as rick after nearly two years of work. A 20% introductory discount brings it from $12.49 to $9.99 until 4 September.

The release date moved forward rather than back. It was originally set for 25 August, but rick shifted it four days earlier after realizing the date collided with Gamescom's opening night.

The game itself is a top-down pixel-art settlement builder in the Banished mould. Players start the game with minimal resources, harvest materials, and unlock more than 80 structures through a research tree. New settlers are recruited using Influence — larger populations produce more, but demand more food, medicine and housing in return. The map is procedurally generated and stays hidden until you explore it. Also, rival AI settlements can be handled through diplomacy or hostility — the decision is up to you.

Since the game is brand-new, early reveiws are limited in number, but the aggregate as of writing is "Mostly Positive," at 76% across the first 21 reviews. Settler's Domain's demo, which was pulled merely a week before the official launch, finished at 74% reviews.

The requirements are where this gets interesting for laptop owners. The minimum spec asks for 4 GB of RAM, a GTX 1050 or RX 460, and just 300 MB of storage. More unusually, the processor line lists ARMv8 alongside x86_64 and names Snapdragon X Elite directly. Native Arm support is still quite rare in indie releases. It means the game should run on Windows-on-Arm machines without using any emulation.

Settler's Domain is Windows-only, single-player and English-only, with 26 achievements. A bundle pairing it with Farewells Clicker is also available for $13.47.

Anubhav Sharma - Senior Tech Writer - 1904 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2024

Most of my time goes into writing - and somehow it hasn’t stopped being fun yet. My work mainly revolves around everyday tech, gaming, watches, DIY modding, and the occasional piece on tech-policy chaos when companies and governments clash. I try to keep things simple and honest, without sounding like a product brochure. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering and an Associate Degree in English Studies from the College of New Caledonia in British Columbia, Canada. Away from articles and deadlines, life usually shifts to making music, taking photos, or trying to finish games that should have been completed months ago.