Is it weird to say that I absolutely loved the tutorial for the early access colonial survival game Stranded Is it weird to say that I loved the tutorial for Alien Dawn (opens in new tab)? I enjoyed the tutorial so much that I'm thinking about playing it again from start to finish before I start the game properly. That's how good it is.

In Stranded, you manage a small group of colonists who have crash-landed on an alien planet. Each of them has their own skills and personality traits, and it's your job to guide them from getting basic supplies to researching new technology, building bases, and defending against giant alien bugs. And, of course, you'll need to be their go-between and manage their mental health as well as their physical health; think RimWorld, but a game more akin to Rust.

The tutorial is excellent (honestly, I think it would be a great move to release it as a free demo so everyone can try it out) and walks you through the initial steps of setting up a shelter, basic gathering and storage, and building your first few workbenches. Once you complete a few starter tasks, you can watch the settlers move ahead in their lives, manage them in combat, teach them how to stay happy and healthy, and oversee a more technologically advanced base, complete with electronics and automated defenses.

The tutorial took about 90 minutes to complete, during which time I learned the depth of the management system. You can set a daily schedule for each colonist, prioritize each task by number, and even give specific instructions on what to do each hour, including breaks for rest and entertainment. It's like Asana: it's like a video game. This is especially useful when you're battling alien bugs or have a specific task you want done right away.

And it's not just human settlers that can be micromanaged. As they gather or generate resources and food, you can also dictate which items go on which shelves in their storage cabinets. If you don't trust those knuckleheads who don't store their raw food and cooked meals outdoors, you can give them specific instructions on what to put in their refrigerators and what to put on their shelves, and you can give them specific instructions on what they are allowed to eat and what they are forbidden to eat. It's a micromanager's dream come true. [Colonists have their own priorities. But the important thing is that they can. I don't think I will continue to keep tabs on them as long as the game allows, but it's great to have the option. I've played many management games in which one of the citizens wanders off and does something stupid all the time. Along with skills in activities like farming, construction, and crafting, settlers can have interest levels for different tasks.

In the tutorial, survivors went from living in crude shelters to having foundations, walls, separate rooms, electricity from turbines and solar panels, lighting, comfort, air conditioning, temperature control, and even a battery level sensor that would start a diesel generator when the batteries ran out Skip to the point of building a proper house with all the duties associated with modern living, such as avoiding power loss by activating a diesel generator when the battery runs out, and so on. Naturally, base defense functions such as automatic turrets and motion sensors also operate from the power grid, and by setting up different circuits for each system on the grid, the base has complete control over its power.

Stranded: Alien Dawn has just launched in Early Access on Steam. It is developed by Haemimont Games, makers of the "Tropico" series and "Surviving Mars," which has a pretty impressive pedigree as far as management goes. I'm planning to play it over the weekend after I finish the tutorial all the way through.