Whiskerwood, a city builder about mice colonising the seas, contains a lot more revolution against oppressive imperial regimes than I expected

When the cat's away, the mice will play. But did you know that when the cats are heading up a colonial empire, the mice will build sprawling island colonies with complex production chains?

Well, that's assuming city builder Whiskerwood is based on true rodent facts. Why wouldn't it be? Who would use a videogame to lie?

Shown off with a new trailer at the PC Gaming Show 2025, Whiskerwood promises to be one of those sims you boot up, blink, and suddenly it's 3am. As the leader of a mouse colony, you get to burrow into every detail of managing it—from reshaping the landscape, to creating automated production lines, to keeping individual mice happy by tending to their needs and preferences, to exploring the seas looking for new islands to take over.

Because of the archipelago setting, space is always a key concern—there's only so far you can spread out on an island. That means efficient building is key, but you also have the ability to build up, creating a mighty tower city, or to dig down, carving out an underground home in the cliffs and mountains.

The mice themselves add a cute and quirky feel, though otherwise the vibe is surprisingly serious—it's definitely more Anno than it is Animal Crossing. Anno-mal Crossing? Expect a dense simulation, covering everything from the effects of the weather, to planning your water grid, to international trade.

Even your cat overlords aren't anything to smirk at. They will actually oppress you as you build, arriving to demand fealty and taxes and even attacking you if you step out of line. It's an intriguing twist on the genre—normally in these games, you're simply the master of your domain, with at worst only enemy factions to trouble you. Striving to succeed while your own masters undermine you should make it an even trickier challenge.

And when you get truly sick of them, you can even launch your own rebellion. The mice can build and arm a navy and take the fight to the cats, presumably in the name of founding an independent rodent nation. As an uptight Victorian governess facing an infestation might say: these mice are revolting.

The supply chains at developer Minakata Dynamics must be running smooth, because there's not too long to wait—Whiskerwood is due out later this year, wishlist it now on Steam.

Check out every game, trailer, and announcement in the PC Gaming Show 2025