Rise of Industry, developed by Dapper Penguin Studios and published by Kasedo Games, is an ambitious economic strategy and logistics simulation set in the early 20th century. At its core, it’s a game about building and expanding an industrial empire from scratch—managing supply chains, transporting goods, investing in technology, and responding to the fluctuating demands of growing towns. From the moment you start a new game, it’s clear that this is a title that rewards careful planning, long-term vision, and a strong understanding of systems thinking. With its procedurally generated maps, randomized town demands, and open-ended design, every new playthrough offers a unique strategic puzzle for players to solve.
The aesthetic of Rise of Industry strikes a careful balance between stylized charm and clarity. The game features a clean, low-poly visual style that avoids unnecessary visual clutter, making it easy to read the map and track resources, buildings, and logistics at a glance. The interface is relatively intuitive, though it can become dense as your empire grows. Early on, the interface and the tutorial seem helpful enough, but as you dig deeper, the lack of guidance in complex scenarios becomes more noticeable. Despite this, the underlying mechanics are robust, offering more than 150 unique products to produce and transport, each connected through layered supply chains. Whether you’re farming wheat to make flour, mining coal to fuel a power plant, or combining multiple inputs into luxury goods, there’s a real sense of accomplishment in creating a smooth-running production network.
Gameplay is split between two primary modes: Sandbox and Career. Career mode introduces a light RPG-style system, where you choose a specialization—Farming, Industry, Gathering, or Logistics—each of which provides research bonuses and affects your approach to expansion. Research is handled through a tech tree, allowing you to unlock more complex products, transport options like trains and zeppelins, and efficiency upgrades over time. In Sandbox mode, all restrictions are removed, allowing for total creative freedom, which is ideal for players who enjoy experimenting with layouts and supply chain designs without the constraints of budget or competition.
One of the most compelling aspects of Rise of Industry is its emphasis on logistics. Building a factory is only the beginning; getting products to where they’re needed involves setting up routes, managing truck depots, balancing warehouse inventories, and eventually, introducing rail and sea transport. The cities in the game act as dynamic customers with evolving demands. Supplying them correctly leads to population growth, which unlocks new demands and higher-tier goods, creating a feedback loop that encourages constant adaptation. The game also introduces contracts, events, and AI competitors—though the latter are often more passive than aggressive, reducing the sense of rivalry that some players might expect from a traditional tycoon experience.
While the foundations of the game are strong, Rise of Industry is not without its shortcomings. Despite several updates since its Early Access days, it still suffers from occasional bugs and quirks. Pathfinding issues can crop up, particularly in densely packed logistics networks, and there are times when factories inexplicably halt production or trucks fail to deliver goods for reasons that aren’t clearly communicated to the player. The tutorial, while helpful at first, doesn’t prepare you for the complexity of larger-scale operations, which may leave less experienced players feeling overwhelmed or frustrated. Additionally, the pacing of the mid-to-late game can stagnate once you've built a stable network, as there’s a limited amount of external pressure or meaningful competition to drive further innovation or conflict.
Despite these limitations, Rise of Industry has carved out a distinct niche for itself in the crowded management sim genre. It isn’t trying to be as combat-driven as Anno, nor as automation-heavy as Factorio. Instead, it leans into a more grounded, logistics-first experience that rewards strategic foresight and careful scaling. The atmosphere is calm and methodical, making it an ideal game for players who enjoy gradually solving complex logistical puzzles and optimizing their networks over many hours. The developers clearly had a vision for a classic-style tycoon game with modern touches, and for the most part, they’ve succeeded in delivering a satisfying experience—especially for those who appreciate the challenges of supply-and-demand economics.
Overall, Rise of Industry is a thoughtful, rewarding, and occasionally frustrating simulation that offers depth and complexity to those willing to engage with its systems. It may not hold the same mass appeal as some of its contemporaries, and it still has some rough edges, but it remains a solid choice for players who enjoy building and managing intricate production empires. With its combination of sandbox creativity and strategic economic planning, it’s a game that scratches a very specific itch—and does so with both charm and intelligence.
Rating: 7/10
