Out of all the genres to fade away thanks to the cruel grinding of the wheel of time, the RTS was the most unlikely. During the late ‘90s and early 2000s, the RTS genre was ascendant with games like Command & Conquer, Homeworld, Warcraft 3, and StarCraft taking PC gaming to the big time. Then it all sort of went away, with games like StarCraft 2 failing to reignite a new interest in the genre. Finally that might be all about to change as new RTS Stormgate has just launched as an early access preview version, and its developer has a long track record of working on some big strategy names.
Frost Giant Studios is where many ex-Blizzard developers took refuge after leaving the RTS game titan, so it’s understandable that Stormgate shares some DNA with both StarCraft and Warcraft lineages. The comparisons are immediate, with three different factions that each have their own flavor and playstyle, worker units gathering resources and building stuff, and an art style as chunky and robust as anything Blizzard can produce.
Thankfully, comparisons with earlier titles isn’t all Stormgate has to offer, as there’s plenty of innovation going on under the hood that should ensure it has its own identity. One of the game’s key features is the BuddyBot system which should help streamline players who are either new to the genre or who have become a little rusty. No matter where you are on your RTS familiarity journey, the BuddyBot should be able to assist you either by jumping in and helping you directly or just providing assistance where you need it. For someone like me, whose days of frantically clicking to keep my APM up are long in the past, this sounds like music to my ears.
Another aspect I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into is creep camps. If you’ve played Warcraft 3, Dota 2, or even earlier RTS titles like War Wind you’ll be familiar with coming across neutral enemies that can hide rewards. Including them in Stormgate should make the world feel more alive and less like a direct chess battle between you and your opponent, adding a layer of unpredictable encounters dotted throughout each map.
With plenty of game modes and a free-to-play business model that promises to do it “the right way,” Stormgate is making some bold claims that, if successful, may give the RTS genre the boot up the ass it so desperately needs.
Stormgate will launch fully as a free to play game on Tuesday, August 13, but if you’re a closed beta tester, Kickstarter backer, or have purchased the early access pack on Steam you can play it right now. Head over to the game’s page to learn more.
You can also take a look at our guide to the best strategy games you can play, as well as our picks for the best free PC games out there right now.
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