Laysara: Summit Kingdom is a stunning mountainous city builder that’s out now in early access

Laysara: Summit Kingdom, a breathtakingly gorgeous city builder set in a fantasy world inspired by the Himalayan region, is out now in Steam early access. The meditative mountain environments are the sort of tranquil backdrop I’d happily stare out for hours, possibly with a Bonobo album and some incense, which is helpful, because the actual game is aiming to be quite a challenge.

According to its Steam page, the game “tasks you with creating a new home for your people forced out of the lowlands.” There are both campaign and sandbox modes, where you’ll establish multiple towns on multiple mountains, each with its own traits. “All your towns co-exist in symbiosis,” it continues, “creating a trading network, which you can then adjust to your needs by revisiting already developed settlements.” Here are some more deets, via Steam.

“So, transporting goods is easy, right? Well, not if your destination lies on the other side of the mountain, a few hundred meters higher, behind cliffs, ridges, canyons and rivers. You will need to create a vast, complex transport network consisting of roads, bridges and shafts to ensure reliable delivery chains. As demand for resources will grow alongside the town’s population, always look for opportunities to optimise your transportation network, be it by building paved roads, using more advanced lifting constructions, or aiding your carriers with glamorous yaks.”

Here’s a trailer, too:

While set in a fictional world, the architecture is inspired by that of Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan, according to developer Quite OK Games when they spoke to cheery RPS fanzine PC Gamer. In the Himalayan-inspired landscape (or skyline) your community will naturally be somewhat isolated. As such, you’ll be reliant on transport methods, such as yaks. “Citizens admire yaks and care for them, making them pets on the one hand, but hard-working and valued members of society on the other,” reads this in-depth look at the games’ yak-based utility. Did…did a yak write this?

Possibly, yes. On Quite OK Games website, their staff listings include an actual yak named Yak Yakowsky. I was previously very impressed that such a small team made such a beautiful game, but that’s just cheating. Everyone but this smug yak is allowed to keep up with the rest of our Triple-i coverage here.