Above: Colonies of the Mist

Above: Colonies of the Mist is a survival colony builder set in a hostile land where space and resources are limited. A lethal mist covers the terrain, and settlements must be built above it to survive. The player leads a people whose lands have been taken by invaders, and who travel to this new region to find technologies left by a fallen civilization. The location is not a permanent home. The aim is to set up a temporary foothold, extract what is needed, and leave before the mist or the weather overwhelms the colony.

Colony management centres on vertical construction, logistics and resource balance. Players must meet immediate needs such as logs and berries while working towards specialised materials such as Frostheart Ore and a stable infrastructure. Settlements can be founded at several sites on the map and linked by ziplines and bridges, which are used to move resources and colonists between them. Expeditions into the mist can be launched with colonists equipped with gear and weapons, and they allow the discovery of new areas to settle, further resources and ancient structures guarded by large Custodian Automatons.

The game uses a Mist Cycle that determines when expeditions can be carried out safely, and changing weather adds further risks to the colony. Play is structured as repeated cycles on new maps, with knowledge gained in earlier cycles used to recover more ancient secrets and resources before the environment overwhelms the settlement.