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The Refuge
Build and upgrade your refuge, gear up, and take on dangerous missions alone or with up to 3 players. Recover valuable resources, expand your camp, and choose your contracts wisely: the greater the reward, the greater the risk.

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Features
Languages:
Interface Full Audio Subtitles
English ✔ ✔ ✔
French ✔ ✔
Italian ✔ ✔
Spanish - Spain ✔ ✔
Content
Includes Interactive Elements

Online interactivity

Coming Soon To Early Access

The developers of this game intend to release as a work in progress, developing with the feedback of players.

Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“The Refuge is built on two things that cannot be balanced in isolation: a risk-and-reward contract loop, and a camp economy. I need to see how real players handle a timer, decide how far to push their luck, and spend what they bring home. Co-op makes it harder still. With three players, every fight changes difficulty and every resource changes value, and no amount of solo testing tells me where that breaks. I develop alone, and Early Access is the only way to get that data from the people actually playing the game.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“At least 12 months, and likely more. I'm a solo developer and the scope is large, so I'd rather commit to a minimum than to a deadline I can't hold. The game leaves Early Access when the content and the balance are ready. Updates will be public throughout, so you can follow the pace yourself.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The world will keep growing: new zones to explore, new enemy types, new facilities to build at the camp, and new contract types and objectives. Crafting and equipment customization will be deepened. Overall balance will keep moving throughout Early Access based on what players report. I'm also looking at more ambitious ideas, but I'll only announce those once they're certain.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The full loop is playable from start to finish, solo or in co-op for up to 3 players: gear up at the camp, take a contract from the camp leader, complete your objective in an infested zone, and get out before the timer runs out. Camp management is in, including the Armory and the Vegetable Garden, along with character progression, crafting, and the escalating difficulty system. Co-op is where most of my current work goes, since balancing three players changes every fight and every resource. This is an Early Access build: expect rough edges, balance that will change, and bugs. If you'd rather wait for a more finished game, wishlist it and check back later.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“The price will go up when the full version releases. Buying during Early Access gets you the lowest price, and every update that follows at no extra cost. That's the trade: you take the risk on an unfinished game, and you pay less for it.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“You get a vote. I regularly put real decisions to the community on Discord: which feature I build next, which of two models goes into the game, how a system should work. Those polls have already shaped what's in the current build. Beyond that, I read the Steam forums and Discord every day, and I publish devlogs about what I'm working on and why. If you report a bug or tell me a system feels wrong, it goes on the list.”
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This game is not yet available on Steam

Planned Release Date: Q1 2027

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About This Game

LEAVE THE REFUGE. COME BACK ALIVE

The Refuge is a PvE survival game for one to three players. Gear up at your camp, take a contract, push into infested zones to scavenge and complete your objective, then get out before the clock runs out. Everything you carry back goes straight into rebuilding the place that keeps you alive.

You made it through the outbreak because the A.R.C., a militarized organization holding together what's left of humanity, pulled you out of it. The camp is your half of the deal.

CAMP MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

The A.R.C camp evolves through your successes.

  • Build vital infrastructure: Crafting benches, material recyclers, and conditioning stations.

  • Expand the refuge: Complete NPC quests to unlock new services such as the Armory or the Vegetable Garden.

  • The Conditioning Station: Upgrade your physical attributes and skills to become the organization's ultimate asset.

  • Gear up for war: Buy, find, or craft advanced equipment to face ever-growing threats.

HIGH-STAKES PVE EXTRACTION

Infiltrate hostile zones where time is your greatest enemy.

  • Evolving Difficulty: While zombies are initially slow, their aggression increases with the danger of your contracts. The more valuable the loot, the faster and deadlier the threat.

  • The Price of Failure: Each contract has an objective and a time limit. Complete your mission and return alive to ensure the prosperity of the camp. When the time runs out, extraction will be called automatically. If you fail to complete your objective, the camp's morale will suffer, even if you make it back alive. If you fall in combat, you will lose all of your equipment, and the camp's morale will also pay the price.

    AN UNPREDICTABLE WORLD

    • Dynamic Events: No two contracts play out the same way. The conditions are only revealed once the mission begins and you're already outside the walls: they change the weather, alter how zombies behave, and reshuffle the loot you'll find, forcing you to rethink your approach every time you step out.

    JOIN THE COMMUNITY

    Join the Discord server to connect with other players and follow development. Share feedback, report issues, and get the latest news first. You also get a direct say in where the game goes: I regularly put decisions to a community vote, from which feature gets built next to which of two models makes it into the game.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

As a solo developer, I utilized generative AI tools during the development process in the following ways

- Visual Assets: AI was used to assist in the creation and enhancement of certain background images and textures. All final assets were manually reviewed and integrated to ensure quality and consistency.

- Text & Localization: I used AI for proofreading, refining the phrasing of in-game text, and assisting with translations into multiple languages to ensure a polished experience for players worldwide.

- Voice Generation: AI was used to generate certain voice lines in the game. All audio content was reviewed, selected, and integrated manually to ensure it fits the intended tone and quality.

All AI-assisted content was pre-generated and manually verified by me to ensure quality and compliance. The game does not feature any real-time AI generation during gameplay.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

This game contains violence, blood, and gore within a post-apocalyptic setting. Players use firearms and melee weapons to eliminate hordes of zombies. The game features a dark tone and may include depictions of corpses

System Requirements

    Minimum:
    • OS: Windows 10, Windows 11
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-9400F / AMD Ryzen 5 3600
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6 GB / AMD Radeon RX 5700 8 GB
    • DirectX: Version 12
    • Storage: 20 GB available space
    • VR Support: No
    Recommended:
    • OS: Windows 10, Windows 11
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-12400F / AMD Ryzen 5 5600
    • Memory: 16 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB / AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
    • DirectX: Version 12
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 20 GB available space
    • VR Support: No
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