HeatWave by Perimeter Games, already announced in 2020 and potentially in development limbo, is a non-linear sandbox guerrilla group simulator that frames global temperatur escalation not just as an environmental disaster, but as a catalyst for severe geopolitical and humanitarian breakdown. Set in Alaska in the year 2080, the game uses a blend of survival, strategy, and management mechanics to mirror real-world anxieties about resource scarcity, climate migration, and the fragility of political structures.
The first major theme in the game is climate-related displacement. In HeatWave, runaway global warming has brought societies world-wide to near-collapse, triggering unprecedented mass migrations. The premise slightly subverts standard apocalyptic tropes by focusing on a specific geographic region: as lower latitudes become increasingly uninhabitable, the subarctic regions of Alaska warm up and become highly coveted and strategically relevant territory. This creates the core conflict of the game. The overstretched US government chooses to abandon Alaska to prioritize saving its mainland. Sensing an opportunity to colonize newly hospitable territory, a Russian-Chinese coalition invades. Players step into the shoes of a local guerrilla leader, illustrating how climate change may destabilize national borders and transform local populations into climate-displaced resistance fighters overnight. While it was created by a Polish studio, the game is reminiscent of earlier media like the 1984 film Red Dawn, directed by John Milius, which similarly depict US territory invaded (in this case by the Soviet Union), requiring Americans to adopt guerilla tactics to reclaim it.
Another theme involves practices of self-reliance in a climate apocalypse. Sustainable practices in a collapsed world mean moving away from centralized supply chains and adopting hyper-local resource loops. Instead of relying on external supply drops, players must establish forest bases focusing entirely on self-reliance. They manage basic survival tactics for their faction, which involves upgrading skills to forage wild plants, hunt local wildlife sustainably, and secure clean energy resources while building shelters designed to withstand volatile weather patterns.
A third, related theme is the principle of upcycling in an economy characterized by scarcity. When industrial manufacturing ceases to function, players need to practice the radical reuse of waste through a rigorous crafting and scavenging system. Weapons, medical supplies, and basic survival tools cannot simply be bought but must be painstakingly pieced together using collected scrap and plundered materials. Every piece of debris has value, potentially shifting the player’s mindset toward zero-waste values.
Finally, community survival in Heatwave requires adaptable rules of governance that match the volatile environment. As a leader, players aren’t just managing inventory but can dictate the internal laws of their faction. The game allows for adapting community rules to reflecting changing environmental circumstances, balancing long-term human survival and moral decisions against immediate, harsh environmental realities.