We are all dreaming about a life on Mars, but what if it is actually a nightmare? Red Solstice 2: Survivors, by developer Ironward and publisher 505 Games, is a top-down, squad-based, strategic shooter game that enables players to mow down hordes of mutants in the hopes of eliminating the infestation from the red planet. This title reminds me of something out of the Strarcraft 2 Custom Games, but really stands out from most games on the market.
There is a campaign mode, which reminds me of XCOM and Phoenix Point, but Red Solstice is not a tactical/turn based game. There is a base-building, resource collecting, consequential choices aspect to the game, and the missions are fast-paced. You need to meet objectives, but you have to be situationally aware. You have limited ammunition, and the fastest route might not be the best course of action. You can detour and collect additional resources to help you along the way. You may salvage special ammo types, stimulants, explosives, medkits, turrets, etc.
I think Red Solstice 2: Survivors really shines when it comes to how the game handles. The controls are easy to learn, and the tutorial does a very good job showing you the ropes. The game practically plays itself with Overwatch, which allows your characters to fire at enemies in your visible radius. The downside of this that you use excessive amounts of ammo. To get around this, you can click the center mouse button or hold shift to manually aim your weapon. Besides your primary and secondary weapons, you will have a growing list of hotkeys as you find more items. You also have abilities to take advantage of, like a melee attack or a sprint.
As you play the campaign, you will find more and more operatives to recruit and add to your roster. You can customize everyone’s loadout, skills, and armor (e.g., color). These additional characters follow you in your missions. There is, however, a skirmish or multiplayer instance as well. In a recent presentation on May 5th, we saw how characters can interact with each other in the face of the mutant onslaught. In a convoy mission, a player can stand in front of the convoy to hold it in place, while others scout ahead or scavenge for loot in nearby buildings. When it comes to more challenging scenarios, there is a more evident which roles players are taking on. More strategic thinkers will lead the way, and more supportive types will provide additional fire or relief.
There is not much to the game’s story. We are introduced to the world through an exposition, telling us about the fate of Earth and gravity of the situation facing Mars. It is not the same type of hype that you get from the XCOM: Enemy Unknown introduction. Your characters are not represented in cutscenes like that either. The story in this game unfolds more so through your strategic decisions on the world map. The tutorial shows you just how consequential a choice can be; you can eliminate entire populations, whether they are infected or healthy, with a laser from space. I have no doubt that there can a plethora of hard decisions to make in order to save humanity on Mars.
I do not have many criticisms of Red Solstice 2, but I have found a couple things worth mentioning. I said that I like the UI of the game, however you might find yourself adjusting the camera to hover your cursor over objects you need to interact with or items you would like to pick up. If your character is on top of the object, maybe there can be a hotkey to pick up an item within a small radius. This helps us lazy players, but also players who are constantly on the move. My only other thought is for multiplayer. Some players are more eager to take the lead than others, but if players could opt for a role in the squad loadout screen, then maybe it could make for more defined combat roles (besides their class).
If you want to play as a Doom Guy and blast mutants into dust, I would highly recommend checking out Red Solstice 2: Survivors. The strategic, fast-paced, squad-based combat is a new experience for me, and one that I don’t see in many other places. The best I could compare it to was a mod I enjoyed from Starcraft, but this a legit, and well-thought out, title.
Check Out the Red Solstice 2: Survivors Steam Demo Trailer:
You can watch the Red Solstice 2 Demo Part 2 video here – https://youtu.be/vMJkA92IMyI
Red Solstice 2: Survivors will release this June via Steam. You can wishlist the game right now.
I like to think of myself as the average Joe who grew up alongside video games. I have fun playing strategy games, RPGs, shooters, sandboxes, the whole shebang! Every game provides an experience whether it strikes you as profound, mundane, or someplace in between. I'd like to weigh in my two cents before you spend a single penny.
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