Project Citadel is a new RTS inspired by Halo Wars from former Ensemble and BonusXP devs

Last Keep articulation the RTS "resurgence"

There person been galore attempts to reboot the RTS recently, ranging from throwbacks similar the caller Age Of Mythology: Retold to splicey novelties specified arsenic Battle Aces. I’m not definite immoderate person managed it, but I’m ever gladsome to spot caller humor spilled successful the location of Westwood. Which brings america to Project Citadel, a caller space-me-do from Last Keep, a workplace founded by erstwhile unit of Stranger Things devs BonusXP and Age Of Empires outfit Ensemble. It pitches you against an alien empire, and blends squad mechanics redolent of Halo Wars with a roguelike format that aims to enactment shorter play sessions, portion inactive supposedly allowing for vintage strategy gambits similar booming and rushing.

You don't cognize what "booming" is? Goodness, you dependable conscionable similar maine earlier I wrote this quality post: turns retired it's thing I've been doing for years without realising. For clarity, “booming” is erstwhile you absorption connected gathering up your system astatine the commencement of a accepted RTS match. “Rushing” is evidently erstwhile you perpetrate to an aboriginal violative with cheapo units. Project Citadel aims to marque these approaches enactment crossed a procedurally generated, turn-based campaign, with players moving crossed a branching, galactic overmap of smaller RTS encounters. The operation constituent is supplied by your mothership, which tin assemble starbases and besides supply enactment successful battle.

The missing 3rd pillar present is “turtling”, which is erstwhile you propulsion up arsenic galore defences arsenic imaginable to statesman with, hoping that your hostile volition unreserved you and splatter themselves each implicit your turrets (a boomer player, by contrast, volition simply summation a headstart successful accumulation portion you’re wasting clip prepping for an onslaught that ne'er comes). Project Citadel doesn’t bash turtling, it seems, due to the fact that you’re ever connected the assault, everlastingly trying to bring down that dang Voltari empire.

For ex-Microsoft and Battlefy exec Yohan Sengamalay and his collaborators, who see erstwhile Ensemble devs David Pottinger and Jason Sallenbach, bringing successful roguelike elements is each astir "deconstructing” the strategy genre. "We've taken the traditional, lengthy run and breached it into shorter missions that acceptable a roguelike structure,” Sengamalay told maine implicit email. “This maintains meaningful choices and extent portion introducing quicker rewards and greater experimentation.”

As for portion control, “the moment-to-moment combat retains immoderate similarity with strategy games we've worked on, but with added combat question and skill-shot abilities to stress timing,” Sengamalay went on. “You bid squadrons alternatively than idiosyncratic units, an enlargement of what we started with Halo Wars, allowing america to marque the crippled arsenic playable connected some controllers and mouse/keyboard setups.” The ships themselves scope from missile-vomming daggers to hard-wearing behemoths. Their “skill-shots” see ramming done opposing formations similar a herd of buffalo.

As for however Project Citadel stands isolated from different attempts to jump-start a caller epoch successful StarCraft & Conquering, Sengamalay observed to maine that “while the genre is experiencing a resurgence, it is precise overmuch centered astir remakes oregon spiritual successors”. Last Keep are a titchy indie, numbering conscionable 2-10 radical according to their LinkedIn. According to Sengamalay, they're “neither funny nor person the resources to simply re-make past successes similar Age of Empires”.

The pessimistic instrumentality connected each this is that radical person been cobbling roguelike exoskeletons onto different taxon of crippled for decades – I moaned astir the abundance of roguelike deckbuilders connected these precise pages not 2 weeks ago. Sometimes, the operation is simply a symbiosis, and sometimes it’s parasitism: the repetitiveness of rogueliking overpowers different aspects of the experience.

The cynical work is that I've heard a transportation similar this before. While astatine BonusXP - which closed successful June 2023 for reasons not fixed astatine the time, amid wide games manufacture cuts - Pottinger and Sallenbach worked connected Servo, an RTS that sought likewise to spice things up with RPG elements, and was besides touted arsenic being from erstwhile Age Of Empires developers. Released successful aboriginal entree successful 2015, it won praise initially but ne'er made it to 1.0.

All that notwithstanding, I'm ever funny successful attempts to "deconstruct" an established format. As an elder Age Of Mythology subordinate who carries a candle for Halo Wars, I anticipation that Project Citadel fares amended than Servo. You tin work much astir the crippled connected Steam. There’s nary merchandise day yet.