“From the creators of Warhammer 40,000: Gladius, ZEPHON is a post-apocalyptic 4X strategy game built on Proxy’s unique tactical combat system. Guide survivors through a grimdark future, navigating unexpected disasters, eldritch horror, and cyberpunk monstrosities. What will you do to survive?”
Turns out, 4X games are still alive and well, perhaps more so now than ever. In what appears to be a break from Slitherine (Proxy Studios is self-publishing this title as of now), the developers behind the fantastic Warhammer 40K: Gladius are making a new 4X game built on the same engine.
Here’s what their new Steam page has to say:
“Humanity emerges, hesitantly, into ruination. Almost nothing is left of the world as we knew it—settlements, forests, seas, mountains—all have been blasted into unfamiliarity. Horribly mutated animals hunt in packs through deformed woodland. Decrepit military robots stumble unknowingly through the ruins, sensors and logic centres blown. Alien soldiers, once impossibly powerful, cower in the wrecks of their ships, praying to heedless gods for rescue.
On the planet Earth, that was once a cradle of life, the extinction of humanity is at hand.
What will you do to survive?
Next-generation Survival Wargame Set on a Destroyed World
Choose your past and wage war to ensure humanity’s survival between the abominations of the Voice and the automata of ZEPHON. Select a leader, gather your allies and choose your actions wisely—or suffer the consequences.
Key features:
- Unique tactical battles. Let’s face it, 4X combat is often boring or shallow—not Proxy’s. Our complex, nuanced battle system means victory is a matter of skill, not brute numbers.
- A complete 4X. Diplomacy, research, exploration, city-building—we’ve taken the fundamentals of 4X and shaken them up. Drop the assumptions you have from other games in the genre.
- Post-apocalyptic horror survival. Drag your civilization through a grimdark future—survive unexpected events while eldritch horrors and cyberpunk monstrosities derail your progress. Because that’s the game we wanted to play.”
We’ve long spoken about the rut that 4X games have been in, being primarily set in Space, Fantasy, or History, but now we have yet another entry into another setting. This is what gets us going!
Proxy Studios did an amazing job with Gladius, so we’re very hopeful that they can make a “proper” 4X, with diplomacy and city building seemingly taking a step forward in this new title.
They’re holding an AMA on their Discord in about 45 minutes from the time of this post, so be sure to jump on over: https://discord.com/invite/h9XRXJ5Smg
As always, stay tuned to eXplorminate for more news regarding ZEPHON!
