Originally published at: http://statelyplay.com/2018/04/16/tannhauser-great-tempest-citadel-out-tomorrow/
PC •
Every once in a while, I’m bum-rushed by a seriously polydactyl concept, one that presses all the buttons. Tempest Citadel is this month’s most fabulous of ambushes. Science fantasy. Offworld expedition. ALIENS meets Milton. Dante’s Bespin.
Aartform Games, the tiny outfit behind Spice Road, is dropping Tempest Citadel in a few hours on Steam, and it looks very, very intriguing.
In vain, I’ve been trying to condense the breadth of Tempest Citadel into some witty little blurb, but you’re going to have to deal with wholesale copy-n-paste, because the horse’s mouth is a sight better than mine.
Tempest Citadel is a strategy game set on a storm-ruled planet in which sci-fi and fantasy collide. Assume the role of an enigmatic Captain from Terra, whose past and future are yours to shape, as he embarks on a mission to explore a deadly world that promises wondrous and terrible power.But you are not the first to come.
Armies of ruthless enemies hide within the clouds, hungry for the blood of the weak and the foolish. From gene-spliced psychics to cyborg dark-mages, other factions have claimed the ancient sites which hold the technological marvels you seek.
Can you build, grow, and risk enough to stand against your enemies? Will you forego mercy against those who would show you none? Do you have what it takes to fight for control of this world and claim the secrets of the ancient dead race that once ruled it?
Tempest Citadel sees you building a city in the clouds, module by module, and leading 100 unique crew members into action, be they Soldiers, Scavengers, Workers, Researchers, or Medical Experts. You pick their role, their training, their equipment.
The primary goal is to explore the surface. You start by scanning and picking sites to send expeditions to, using any intel you can find to pick the best squad for the terrain, weather, and opposing forces. Preparation is vital; once your squad lands, the battle plays out automatically.
Survival means conquest, so a big focus of research and production is optimising your attack squad and your city defences. With a full array of Sci-Fi weapons, armour, and augmentations, you can make anything from Bio-Enhanced Super Soldiers, to Exosuit-Wearing Assault Troopers, or even Psychic Stormweavers. Ultimately, choosing the right tool for the job is essential to victory; the right squad design can often overcome sheer strength in numbers.
In the words of dear old Slavoj, and so on. There’s a lot more through the link, but I’m absolutely enthralled by both the novel twist on the hostile universe and the idea of loosing a bunch of your autonomous hard-arses upon an alien world. As time passes, the less I want to control and the more I want to command – no Pro League sponsorship sliding into this inbox. If there’s enough flex and dynamism in the squad behaviour, this could very well be a keeper.
A very informative trailer below and the usual direction to stay tuned.
Tempest Citadel releases for PC tomorrow and can be found here.