Spellforce: Conquest of Eo
The latest title in the Spellforce series looks to be the perfect blend of 4X and tactical RPG goodness. With perhaps a stronger focus on RPG elements, but still clearly inspired by fantasy 4X games and the Heroes of Might and Magic series, Spellforce: Conquest of Eo aims to challenge heavyweights like Age of Wonders and even Master of Magic. According to the game’s Steam Page, you will:
- Build up your tower and construct new rooms to determine your wizardâs path
- Recruit individual heroes to lead your troops, each with their personal quest
- Make the living interactive grimoire reveal new secrets and spells to you
- Craft anything from magical runes and artifacts to undead minions
- Discover new adventures with each procedurally generated campaign
The screenshots look juicy and from what we’ve pieced together, this could be a really slick combination of gameplay mechanics from the aforementioned series. One can only hope, right?
We couldn’t have been more caught off guard by THQ Nordic’s surprise announcement of Conquest of Eo in June, but now we’re frothing at the bit to learn more. We’re crossing our fingers for a 2022 release date, but for now, the Steam page says it’s “Coming Soon”.
Until then, we can watch this brand new trailer from Gamescom:
Master of Magic (reboot)
MuHa Games faces the near-impossible task of successfully rebooting the venerated Master of Magic, but if their previous development of Thea 1 and 2 is any indication, we think they could pull it off.
While it bills itself as a remake of, rather than a sequel to, the classic Master of Magic, we’re hoping that MuHa considers the advancements in user interface, quality of life, and other gameplay-oriented improvements that have been made since the 90s and improve the formula where it can.
As I said, it’s an impossible task, as some fans will want a game that’s as close to the original as MuHa can make it, while others might hope for a more modern take on the formula.
Either way, 4X fans should be excited to see the return of such a beloved franchise and while pleasing everyone will be difficult, we don’t doubt that some 4X fans will find their next obsession with this when it releases later this year.
Alliance of the Sacred Suns
Okay, we’re cheating a little here. KatHawk Studios dubbed this strategy game a “5X” game, with the fifth “X” being for eXist. Alliance of the Sacred Suns applies a lot of twists to the 4X formula: something we can definitely get behind, as we’ve begun to feel like the genre is getting a bit stale (future article on this subject forthcoming!).
AotSS gives the player finite action points every turn, requiring them to focus their efforts on a limited number of action items. “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything” reads their product description. With those action points, you’ll be managing an entire empire as the emperor without getting bogged down in the day-to-day micromanagement of dozens of colonies across your domain.
Not only will Alliance of the Sacred Suns have more traditional 4X-like gameplay with the exploration of new systems, colonizing planets, building military, and more, but you’ll also be navigating the politics of several great houses, doing your best to maintain your seat as the Emperor, with the ultimate goal of uniting the “Celestial Empire” against the Xyl, humanity’s greatest threat.
Alliance of the Sacred Suns runs the risk of being too unique and different, but with the proper amount of tutorializing and onboarding, we’re hopeful that KatHawk Studios can pull it off. We should know more by the end of this year, as they’re still planning a release date sometime in 2022.
Revival: Recolonization
Set on a post-apocalypse Earth, HeroCraftPC’s Revival: Recolonization looks to take inspiration from some of the greatest 4X games ever made, like Endless Legend, Alpha Centauri, and more.
Players will focus on altering the environment to their needs, both for their own survival and as a weapon against other civilizations. As you terraform this new Earth at will, you’ll also be fighting your enemies with customizable units that you design.
Combat takes place on a turn-based tactical map and you’ll have the ability to directly contribute to combat with many active skills at your disposal.
What we’ve seen from the early playtests so far leaves us hopeful and with an Early Access launch date later this year, 4X fans will be able to help shape the game into something unique and remarkable.
ARA: History Untold
It’s not often that we see new 4X games announced with the backing of a huge publisher like Microsoft, but Oxide Games surprised us all with its recent announcement of ARA: History Untold (ARA).
You might know Oxide Games from their good-almost-great Ashes of the Singularity, but now they’ve shifted their sights onto turn-based 4X and we couldn’t be happier.
We don’t know much about the actual gameplay of ARA, but the screenshots are of very high quality and display what looks like a greater focus on city building, as many of them show elaborate cityscapes.
There does appear to be a more macro-level element to the gameplay, too, as this screenshot shows off what appears to be territories and some army movement:
We’re hoping to learn more about ARA soon, as the closed alphas tests have begun recently. Most of us here have applied to join, but Rob is practically begging anyone who will listen for access.
We’ll see if he gets it…
ZEPHON
From the developers of the lauded (but incredible mouthful) Warhammer 40k: Gladius – Relics of War, comes ZEPHON, a 4X game set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans, aliens, and an ultra-intelligent AI all vie for dominance.
In our Podcast Interview with Proxy Studios, they really sold us on their vision for the game. Not only will they be improving upon the combat mechanics of Gladius, but they also want survival to be a real focus for the player, as the world will be full of danger. Furthermore, Proxy Studios plans a more fluid, narrative-driven approach to diplomacy.
We think Gladius is one of the very best 4X games out there, and the inclusion of more “traditional” 4X elements with ZEPHON has us most intrigued. Proxy Studios wants to combine the best elements of Gladius with what worked for Beyond Earth and Alpha Centauri in a unique post-apocalyptic setting. It sounds like a winning formula to us and we’re very excited to see what the finished product will be.
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Honorable Mentions:
The following games are 4X titles we’re following and we’ll update you on them as they’re farther along in development:
- Antimatter: A billed sandbox strategy game that will combine elements of 4X games with city builders. The Kickstarter was successful, so let’s hope that it’s finished one day, as it looks pretty interesting!
- Horizon 2: Hardly anything on this one yet, but we’re watching L3O’s forums often to see if it ever sees the light of day.
- Imperial Ambitions: It has some strong Colonization vibes, so we’re, of course, very interested. The teaser site linked is pretty cool, too!
- Underfoot Queens: SimAnt meets 4X? Yes, please. We’ll be watching the development closely!
- Galaxial: God willing, this game will actually see the finish line one day. We’ve been watching it for close to 7 years now, yet very little news ever reaches the surface. The dev will go months, even close to a year, without a word, but then surface to update us. It looks great. Let’s hope Stuart Morgan can finish this one…
Well, that’s it for now, folks! There are quite a few other titles that we know of that are in development, but we’re not allowed to talk about them QUITE YET, so expect even more 4X game goodness in the future. Until then…
Keep eXploring!
