Craftlings

 
Craftlings is a charming, retro-inspired strategy game that blends the indirect control of Lemmings with the resource optimization of automation sims. Released on January 15, 2026, by solo developer ARIANO Games, it challenges you to guide a tribe of mindless, absent-minded workers through dangerous lands. Instead of directly controlling them, you assign jobs, build infrastructure, and set up production chains to ensure they don’t walk off cliffs or get eaten by skeletons.
Gather, Build, Survive: Core Gameplay

Indirect Control: You cannot move individual Craftlings. Instead, you assign them professions—miner, lumberjack, builder, warrior—and they autonomously perform tasks based on their role. Your job is to create the conditions for them to succeed, like building stairs to reach a mine or clearing a path through a forest.
Production Chains: It starts simple: chop wood to build a hut. But soon, you are managing complex logistics. You need stone for walls, iron for weapons, and food to keep everyone working. You must optimize the “pathing” of your workers to minimize travel time, similar to optimizing conveyor belts in factory games.
Verticality & Tools: The world is 2D but highly vertical. Craftlings cannot climb steep cliffs without help. You must build ladders, elevators, and bridges to connect different elevations. Later levels require mechanical lifts to transport heavy resources that Craftlings can’t carry up ladders.
Combat & Defense: The world isn’t safe. You will encounter enemies like skeletons and dragons. You must train warriors and build barracks to defend your supply lines. Combat is automated based on your preparation—if you didn’t equip your soldiers well enough, you will watch them perish.
Level-Based Progression: Unlike the endless open worlds of Factorio, Craftlings is structured into distinct levels with specific goals (e.g., “Build a castle,” “Defeat the boss”). This keeps the gameplay focused and constantly introduces new mechanics.

How It Stacks Up
Craftlings is a puzzle-strategy hybrid rather than a pure factory sim.



Game
Key Difference




Lemmings
Both games feature “mindless” units you must guide. However, Lemmings is about immediate survival and pathfinding. Craftlings adds a layer of economy, base-building, and long-term resource management.


The Settlers
The Settlers focuses on macro-management of a kingdom. Craftlings is more intimate and puzzle-like, focusing on the specific logistical hurdles of a single level.


Factorio
Factorio is about infinite scaling and automation of machines. Craftlings uses people as the automation. You are optimizing human behavior rather than mechanical throughput.



Key Details

Developer: ARIANO Games.
Publisher: ARIANO Games.
Platforms: PC (Steam).
Release Date: January 15, 2026.
Price: $14.99 USD.
Genre: Strategy / Simulation / Indie.
Vibe: 90s nostalgia with modern depth.

Who It’s For

Must-play for fans of “ant farm” games. There is a deep satisfaction in setting up a system and watching your little workers scurry around efficiently like a well-oiled machine.
Perfect for puzzle lovers. Each level is a logistical puzzle. “How do I get iron from the bottom of this pit to the forge at the top when I only have 5 ladders?” is the kind of question you will answer constantly.
Skip if you want direct control. If you get frustrated when a unit doesn’t do exactly what you want immediately, the indirect “job assignment” system might annoy you.

Why It Works
It works because it hits a sweet spot between nostalgia and innovation. It captures the charm of 1990s strategy games—the pixel art, the cute animations, the simple UI—but layers on modern design sensibilities. The challenge isn’t just “don’t die”; it’s “how do I build a thriving economy in this hostile environment?” It rewards planning and patience over twitch reflexes.