Satellite Reign (Hands-On) (PC) Preview

By Thomas Wrobel 16.08.2015

Review for Satellite Reign (Hands-On) on PC

Satellite Reign is a familiar future. Life is cheap, the corporations control everything and the weather forecast is Blade Runner. Immorality has been invented for those that can afford it, and the company that controls it effectively controls everything else. Naturally enough, that company should be brought down a peg or two, and the player is given control of a small team to do just that. Cubed3 now finds out how Satellite Reign is shaping up in this hands-on preview of the Steam Early Access build.

The controllable team is made up of four uniquely-skilled people, all free to explore the city and take on missions at will…or ignore those missions completely to do their own thing. Sneak them into the various corporations, steal items, or kill targets. Use stealth or go in guns blazing. There are decent choices here for all tastes. The rewards for these raids are abilities, equipment, and cash, which can be used to research even more items, all of which hopefully will make the team more prepared for the next mission, as well as opening up new potential targets.

Satellite Reign plays almost like a counterpoint to the excellent Invisible, Inc. Both games are squad-based strategies set in a corporate future filled with cyberpunk tech, yet almost every design decision is opposite. Invisible, Inc. delivered a perfectly refined set of procedurally-generated missions, each isolated from the last. Satellite Reign, however, presents a hand-modelled world to explore, with no hard lines between missions. Invisible, Inc. is a TBS game set all over the world; Satellite Reign is a RTS in a single city. Invisible, Inc. takes a stylised approach to its graphics; Satellite Reign a realistic one.

Both games also provide a "hacking view," showing how CCTVs are linked to nearby terminals, letting them be disabled if someone in the party has the skills to do so. In Satellite Reign's case, this applies to the whole city, letting security cameras, doors and even the power supply itself be disabled. Despite best made plans, though, things can go very wrong very quickly, and an escape is needed. The real-time nature and larger scope make this a rather slapdash procedure - frantically clicking and desperately looking for the best route.

Screenshot for Satellite Reign (Hands-On) on PC

Weirdly, this feels less intense, and less satisfying than Invisible, Inc.'s precision escapes - yet at the same time, after the escape is done in SR, the crew might end up straight back in a city marketplace thinking, "What next?" - an effect absent from Invisible, Inc. due to its closed level-like structure. With Satellite Reign, there's no clear cut lines - after a team is done with one mission, they are straight away hiding from its repercussions…while planning their next. It's an interesting contrast, with neither game being overall worse for the comparison - merely different strengths and weaknesses. It's highly likely that players that enjoyed one will enjoy the other.

That all said, Satellite Reign has a few things that could be improved. The city is big and atmospheric, but few of the people walking about do anything. There are no shops, and no conversations just for atmospheric or plot reasons - interaction with civilians is a strictly dehumanised affair. A few lines of dialogue here and there for atmosphere would go a long way.

There could be also better indicators as to if the team's agents can be seen or not. Guards' fields of view are not explicitly made clear on either the normal view or the "hacking view," meaning they can sometimes get alerted even when it seems like everyone is hidden. Aside from these niggles, the game is very solid already, despite being in alpha, and is already more substantial than many published games.

Screenshot for Satellite Reign (Hands-On) on PC

Final Thoughts

Fans of squad-based strategy games should very much pay attention to Satellite Reign. The game is already feeling very complete, with a superb atmosphere and depth of play. There's a wealth of options to explore, and while the overall experience might not be as refined as some games on the market, its ambition and scope shines throughout. Recommended.

Developer

5 Lives

Publisher

5 Lives Studios

Genre

Strategy

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  8/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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