Clade is a strategy simulation game that follows the complete arc of a single world, beginning with the origins of life and extending to interstellar expansion. Players guide evolution and societal development across connected stages in one persistent environment, where choices made early influence later eras. The experience blends management of biological traits, survival needs, empire building, and galactic exploration on PC.
Gameplay
The core loop centers on progression through evolutionary and historical phases within the same living world. Starting in the aquatic phase, players begin as a single cell and develop features such as eyes before evolving into swimming creatures in a three-dimensional underwater setting. Transitioning to land involves growing limbs and adapting to terrestrial challenges. In the creature phase, survival demands attention to hunger, thirst, and stamina while navigating predators and prey. Players raise offspring, construct nests, and coordinate with packs. The creature creator allows customization of physical traits that directly affect movement, hunting, and interaction in the environment.
Advancing to the civilisation phase shifts focus to planetary management. Empires expand across an entire world surface, which can represent Earth or a procedurally generated planet. Resources are gathered, cities are established, and technologies are researched to move through historical ages. Governance choices shape civics and diplomatic relations, with messages traveling via couriers that make distance a meaningful factor. The space phase opens a galaxy connected by hyperlane routes, where each star system functions as a detailed three-dimensional area. Legacy elements from the homeworld carry forward, as surviving factions from earlier stages form independent colonies that act as initial competitors.
Game Modes
Clade supports flexible entry points, allowing players to begin at the aquatic, creature, civilisation, or space stage without completing prior phases. Each stage operates as a self-contained experience while maintaining connections to the shared world history. Multiplayer occurs through shared online worlds where participants collaborate on building, trading, and conflict. Content creation includes designing creatures and structures for distribution via workshop features. Time controls permit pausing or accelerating simulation speed to suit different paces of play.
Persistent World and Progression
Every stage occurs in the identical environment shaped by preceding events. Actions in early phases, such as species traits or territorial control, carry consequences into later civilisational and space eras. This continuity creates a unified narrative across the full journey from primordial origins to stellar rivalry. Rival entities from the homeworld persist as independent actors in the galaxy, establishing colonies that introduce competition from the outset of space exploration.
Is It Worth Playing?
Clade suits players interested in layered strategy simulations that combine biological evolution, empire management, and spacefaring elements within one continuous setting. The ability to start at any stage lowers the barrier for those seeking focused sessions on survival mechanics, planetary conquest, or galactic diplomacy. Shared world options add cooperative depth for groups, while the creator tools encourage experimentation with species design. Those who enjoy methodical progression and long-term world shaping will find the structure rewarding, particularly when exploring how early adaptations influence later conflicts among rival empires.