Here’s the lowdown on Sigma Theory: Global Cold War by developers Goblinz Studio and Mi-Clos Studio. It’s a strategy game, it takes place during the neo cold war, and it’s really fun. Be warned though, Sigma Theory warps time. My first few play-throughs felt like they were only 30 minutes long, but I ended up sinking hours into them. If you’re into XCOM, Plague Inc, or Civilization then this game is right up your alley. It’s also a great game to play while listening to music or podcasts. Now to get into it:
Gameplay:
The gameplay is what really carries this game, which makes sense because that’s what games are all about – gameplay. Going in I thought it would be just some standard doomsday game, keep everyone happy, look at tech trees, spend money, blah blah blah, and it definitely has those elements, but it also offers a lot more. The basic mechanics are sending spies all over the world to gather intel and capture enemy scientists. There’s also a diplomacy system, if you’re in good standings with a country’s leader, or have a good amount of blackmail on them, then you can negotiate for money, technology, or scientists. All the while every other country is trying to steal your scientists. On top of all of this you’re trying to keep your own country happy, while also working with non-state actors, like drug corporations or anti-capitalist revolutionaries. There’s a lot to balance, and that’s fun enough, but where Sigma Theory: Global Cold War really shines is in the mini games. At the beginning of the game you must pick your crew of spies, but you have to convince them to join your team. All you have to do is pick the right dialogue option, but it forces you to learn who your team is, and it’s surprisingly immersive. My favorite mini game though is when you have to extract a scientist from an enemy’s country. Your spy faces a long gauntlet of challenges where he/she may be captured at any time, all you have to do is make it all the way to the end of the road. It’s easily the best part of the game.
Story
The story is okay. It does what it needs to do, it’s not groundbreaking. The basics of it are that the world is racing to discover Sigma technologies, which are revolutionary technologies that alter humanity. You’re racing to get the Sigma technologies first while avoiding a nuclear holocaust. It’s simple but it works.
Aesthetic:
I’m gonna lump music, graphics, and problems all into this one category since none of them sticks out particularly. The music is pretty good, it fits the art style very well. The art style is completely cyber punk, and although it doesn’t take cyber punk in any new direction, the developers did a nice job with it. The graphics are decent, but nobody’s really playing this game for the graphics. It’s fine to look at, and I can’t really think of any improvements for it. The main problem with this game is the lack of polish. Now, it is an early access game at this point, so these problems may be gone eventually, but they’re worth talking about right now. The main problems I’ve experienced was freezing and crashing. It’s not terrible, it only happened two or three times, but nobody likes crashing to their desktop. Aside from that it really just needs polish. It would be nice if the developers added some type of voice acting, and the spouse system is a bit funky, but other than that it’s a solid game.
Sigma Theory: Global Cold War can be found on Steam Early Access, GOG, and Humble.
My first gaming experience happened around 4 years old. I got demolished in Tekken 2 by my uncle. It's been a wild ride ever since, I've been destroyed in Mortal Kombat, eviscerated in Marvel v Capcom, and recently I've been decimated in Dragon Ball FighterZ. Currently studying English at MSU.
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