First we talked to Ironward at the closed online presentation and learned about the features of Red Solstice 2, and then we tried out the cooperative novelty ourselves. More details - in the introductory review.
Red Solstice 2 is a sequel to the 2015 project of the same name. We are met by the same 117th year "after the fall of the earth", events on colonized Mars continue to develop not in favor of humanity. To combat the STROL virus, which has spawned an untold number of mutants, a special unit "Cell" is created.
The beginning is not without reason similar to the traditional X-COM introduction. It is quite obvious that Ironward was inspired by the works of Firaxis, working on the strategic map, customization system of fighters and some mechanics of Survivors.
So, right after the mission that brings players up to speed, the Red Solstice 2 campaign invites us to take a look at Mars straight from the Solar, an orbital weapons platform on the surface of Phobos. From here, we scan the surface of the not-so-red planet, find objectives, and command a landing craft.
We will have to get supplies to build new structures and conduct research, evacuate survivors and collect global intelligence on the regions of the planet, which will allow us to determine the number and types of mutants, the number of waves and the degree of contamination of the area where we plan to send fighters.
The developers position their brainchild as a tactical survival strategy, but it would be fairer to add the "action" tag there as well. Alien Swarm or Helldrivers are the closest examples of what happens in Red Solstice 2 during paratroopers' sorties.
A fighter or a group of fighters (the game supports co-op for up to eight players) break through waves of motley mutants, complete their missions as far as possible, and evacuate. The creatures, which are something between necromorphs from Dead Space and Zerg from Star Craft, are very dense and leave little time for thinking.
It is noteworthy that paratroopers have several aiming modes. In addition to the classic mode (walking with a click, shooting with Shift pressed), there is a slower movement with the weapon cocked, as well as an automatic shooting mode, when the paratrooper himself shoots at any creep that appears in the range of the gun.
The arsenal is also quite impressive: two types of weapons, up to six active abilities, four of which are developed during a mission, similar to the skills of heroes in Friv2Online games, and six slots in the backpack for a variety of consumables that can be found during missions - from first aid kits and stimulants, to explosives and turrets.
In the armory, players prepare paratroopers for missions, not just by choosing the right equipment, but by building an entire fighter's build based on his specialization, the progress of the player's account, and the tasks the paratrooper will have to perform in the group.
Defense, offensive, and support are the three elements that sort of make up each trooper's equipment. A number of modules, systems and upgrades are available for each of them. Modules and systems are the active and passive skills of the paratrooper, while upgrades allow him to add armor, health or energy points.
Each trooper can carry four active, pumpable modules (read skills) and two system components (also skills). Their quality is limited by the number of available slots in the equipment, the choice is determined by the skill tree, where players put the points received for the tasks, and the amount of energy will depend on the speed at which they can be used.
This is an amazing amount of build space that I never expected to encounter in a game like this. Red Solstice 2 has a skirmish mode, where you can break in with your friends, choose a mission and difficulty to your liking, and hone your teamwork skills.
Meanwhile, the structure of the friv game suffers from a number of problems, most of which are related to the logic of the interfaces. Instead of guiding the player, they confuse him with non-obvious buttons and superficial descriptions (or even none at all). Navigation during sorties is presented in text boxes that are too long to look at, the location map is overloaded with details, and so on.
Such an important skill tree is hidden in the profile window for some reason, and the design is shoddy - it looks like an amateur flowchart. Such projects should guide players and save their time, since you can't save on nerves. However, this is still only an alpha build, and everything can still change by the release.
As I see it, Red Solstice 2 can have a good shot if the developers meet two conditions: a well-planned campaign and the right approach to player recruitment, as the mechanics of combat, customization and development are already coming up very cool.
During the presentation, the leader of the team working on Red Solstice 2: Survivors, specified that at the release in the friv game will be available as many as six classes of paratroopers: stormtrooper, medic, bomber, support fighter, sniper and scout. The release itself will take place on June 17, and the game can already be added to your Steam wishlist.
