As revealed in the PC Gaming Show 2025, Stario: Haven Tower is launching a new demo on June 9 as part of Steam Next Fest, before it's set to arrive in early access later this year.
And, as I'm frequently reminded by our resident Chris Livingston's yearly roundup posts, there are so many different types of city builder out there nowadays. Whether it's constructing a settlement snaking around a mountain peak in Laysara: Summit Kingdom, or your own little quaint medieval fiefdom in Manor Lords; this is a genre that lives and dies on its ability to endlessly reinvent itself. Turns out people can live just about anywhere…
Stario: Haven Tower adds yet another twist to the formula, as you construct a city in the form of a tower rising into the sky. Inspired by the Tower of Babel myth, Stario's world was engulfed in a cataclysmic sandstorm, forcing its inhabitants to seek shelter in underground cities until they thought up a better solution: why not live above the storm?
Through this, you'll build layer after layer, juggling both resources and the morale of your people as you raise your tower into the clouds and see how high you can go. Along the way you'll research new technologies and expand each level into a sprawling district, bolting on homes and resource-producing buildings wherever you can—this freeform construction means that no two towers look exactly alike.
Maintaining the faith of your "towertizens"—as the game lovingly calls them—is also a must; this key currency is used in both research and when adding new levels to the tower, so in typical city builder style, keeping your people happy and catering to their needs is essential if you want to thrive and grow ever higher. Be warned, though; you'll have to contend with changeable weather and other mysteries as you expand into the deep sky.
If this twist on the city builder formula sounds like fun, be sure to take a look at the Stario: Haven Tower Steam page for more details.