It’s been heavily documented over the course of the past year or so that I’ve opened myself up to an expanded repertoire of gaming genres. The tactical/RTS genre, however, is one that has continued to slip relatively under the radar for me. That all changed recently, though, thanks to a recent playtest for Red Solstice 2: Survivors - the sequel to 2015’s The Red Solstice.
The year is 117 After Earth. You’re dropped into the futuristic post-apocalyptic setting and immediately tasked with navigating the dark corridors of an abandoned station as you encounter hordes of grotesque mutants. Even with its top-down view, fog of war dominates the interface, forcing you to move cautiously as you explore each room for ammo and resources, or just the way out and into the next area. Of course, you’ll still be able to take in all of the bloody sights and horror-esque aesthetics that you would expect from a sci-fi epic such as this.
As someone who is relatively unfamiliar with tactical/RTS games in general, the beginning tutorial was a welcomed introduction to the game. That said, everything felt surprisingly intuitive from the get-go, which made the learning curve that much easier to overcome. One thing I wasn’t expecting, however, was just how finite resources and ammo would be.
For the most part, I was able to see oncoming enemies before they swarmed and overwhelmed me. However, I quickly came to realize that my spray-and-pray strategy of unloading all of my bullets was a terrible idea. Deservedly so, Red Solstice 2 punishes you for this kind of tactic, and forces you to be far warier of the resources that you have at your disposal. This took some getting used to as I got the hang of actually aiming at enemies, but ultimately made the game far more immersive than I was expecting it to be. (As a quick qualifier, I’ve never played the original game from 2015.)
After (finally) making it through the first mission, I was delighted to see just how much customization is available for my character. The name of the game is destruction, but I was happy to be able to select from roles other than a typical Executor soldier. When given a choice, I almost always want to play as a healer, so having the Medic class is right up my alley. This will make it all the better when I play with friends online.
I wasn’t able to participate in any group matches, spending most of my time alone exploring the dystopian world set in levels that feature the aforementioned abandoned/overrun base, destroyed city streets, and even snow-capped cliffsides (with more bases and buildings to be explored). This, admittedly, made my progress through the game significantly slower than it likely would have been while playing with friends, but it also made me appreciate all of the offensive and defensive strategies that the game provides for lone wolves like myself.
Traps, grenades, buffs… there are a lot of items available to you. It’s just up to you to manage your resources wisely. A lot of this can be done while kiting groups of enemies around an area, but it’s certainly nothing like shooting fish in a barrel - especially since the RTS nature of Red Solstice 2 keeps you on your toes as to exactly how and where you’re kiting enemies.
There’s a lot to take in with Red Solstice 2: Survivors, but even as a newcomer - to both the series and the tactical/RTS genre in general - I was hooked pretty early on. Mostly, I can’t wait to put my healing skills to the ultimate test by playing with a group of friends (of which up to eight players can participate in campaigns and combat missions). Red Solstice 2: Survivors is definitely a title to keep an eye on as it heads towards its June 17 release date.
