Nature - Digital Release Date Announcement
In 2014, NorthStar Games released the award-winning strategy board game Evolution. The premise was simple, use traits to adapt to an ever-changing ecosystem where you and your opponent vie for scarce resources. But after multiple expansions, promo packs with new traits, and standalone sequels that original concept became muddled for new players stuck behind a barrier on entry. For this reason, NorthStar Games has decided to reboot through their newest board game Nature. Nature is meant to be a redesigned and streamlined version of Evolution that is more forgiving and seamlessly expandable through a modular design allowing expansions to be added and combined, creating a fresh ecosystem every time you play. Nature reinvents the beloved series' mechanics, offering faster gameplay, balanced strategy, and virtually endless variety. The physical version of Nature released in August of 2025; it along with 2 of the 5 planned modules can be purchased now. Check out the video above for a better look at what Nature has to offer.
Learn more about NorthStar Games and their products by checking out their website.
Digital Release
In what is marketed as an industry first, the digital board game will release right after its cardboard counterpart. On October 9th NorthStar Digital Games announced that the digital adaptation of Nature, “the most anticipated board game of the year”, will launch fully featured on November 5, 2025. The core game can be purchased on Steam for $12.99, or for $24.99 you can purchase the Core Game + Flight & Jurassic Modules. The Digital version of Nature offers a full campaign, custom challenges, online matchmaking, and local multiplayer. You can also learn to play with an interactive tutorial on the free-to-try Nature app (iOS, Android, and Steam). Progress from the full game can be connected to an account, so you can pick up right where you left off on mobile.
At Gen Con 2025 I had the pleasure of spending time with President of NorthStar Games, Scott Rencher, who walked me through the digital version of Nature and later provided us with the opportunity to test the game out early on Steam. “We're thrilled to bring the dynamic, vibrant world of Nature alive in Steam,” he excitedly shared. “This is our Grail Project. Our team has poured our Evolution experience and four years of relentless testing and tweaking into this adaptation, and we can't wait for players to feel the thrill of trying to keep their species alive in this ever-changing ecosystem.”
For transparency, it is important to note that my time spent with Nature included the two modules that will be present for purchase at launch, Flight and Jurassic. These extra modules expand the game by adding many more levels, traits, and hours of gameplay.
In Flight, you find freedom and safety by taking to the skies.
In Jurassic, ferocious predators and colossal dinosaurs roam the land, making for much more of a carnivorous experience.
The core principle of adapt to survive is easy to understand as each round sees you growing your population and attempting to consume more resources than your opponent. Yet, strategy and complexity are added over time as you begin to add traits that evolve your species, while maintaining a balance of your own population size in relation to the overall resource pool. These traits can combine and synergize to create truly unique combinations and strategies that can be enjoyed by the most advanced of players.
If these complex strategies aren’t enough to satisfy these players, then maybe an advanced game mode can. Nature is intended for players 10+. While it is simple enough for all players that age to enjoy it does offer a Hard mode and online matchmaking centered around an ELO system, catered towards the more hardcore audience.
As someone who considers themselves a completionist, overall level design gets me excited. After completing each level, you can earn a rating (1 -3 Stars) that keeps me replaying them until I’ve achieved the highest score and checked off all goals. The digital map housing all of these levels is a treat visually, being reminiscent to educational computer games of the 90’s and early-2000s. Which brings up a thought that kept nagging at me the entire time I played this game.
Although not directly marketed too or targeted, Nature is the perfect game to be used as a tool to gamify a classroom, especially that of Biology and other Natural Sciences. According to Scott Rencher, the game was made with direct consulting from actual Biologists and Professors. Once high scores on levels are reached, you are rewarded with photos of different species that also contain insightful facts about each of them. Ultimately, Nature stays true to its name and showcases that it can be both scary and beautiful.
