This is Niche Spotlight. In this column, we regularly introduce new games to our fans, so please leave feedback and let us know if there’s a game you want us to cover!
Today’s Spotlight is Dark Future: Blood Red States, a vehicular tactical action game by Auroch Digital.
Dark Future: Blood Red States is a digital adaptation of a classic Games Workshop board game from 1988, and is made by the same developers that created the Chainsaw Warrior digital adaptation in 2013. The game is set in the distant, horrifying post-apocalyptic future of 2025 America, where the roads are ruled by roving bands of raiders in supped-up death cars.
Play as a mercenary driver and take on missions in a heavily armored car bristling with lasers, rockets, and gatling guns. The game’s combat takes place in real time, but there’s an active pause that lets you queue up orders to your vehicles. You can watch a trailer above.
Dark Future: Blood Red States is available on Windows PC via Steam for $24.99.
Here’s a rundown of the game:
America. 2025.
The government is non-existent and society, struggling against pollution, stagnation, catastrophic climate change and gang warfare, is at the point of collapse. You are a highway warrior for hire, taking on contracts to keep the few laws that exist, in check. You battle against roving gangs to control the dangerous roads and earn a living in these dangerous times.
Tool up your vehicle with a range of weapons and upgrades and head out into The Big Empty. Explore this darkly absurd land, with danger and destruction at every turn.
Explosive Carnage
Customise your vehicle with a variety of weapons – from powerful ballistic artillery, to searing high-tech lasers and makeshift deployable explosives – all designed to cause maximum havoc and destruction on the roads.
Fight against a range of dangerous gangcults in dramatic locations, with jaw-dropping physics and visual effects, all powered by Unreal Engine 4.
Time Dilation
Take full control of the chaotic carnage with Command Mode. Slow time down and issue orders to your vehicles in a real time strategy game unlike any other. Choose the right combination of weapons and car upgrades to put the enemy down for good.
Action Strategy
Customise your car with special upgrades to suit your playstyle. Want to go totally offensive? Upgrade your Combat Lasers and Multi-Missile Launchers to cause maximum damage. Use your character’s special abilities to outwit and outmaneuver the opposition. Put the brakes on your enemies with Road Spikes and Concussion Mines to stop them dead in their tracks. Invest in your Ramming Boost to chase down enemies and smash them off the road. Use these to maximise your payday and keep the dollars rolling in.
Rogue-Lite
Eight stories introduce you to the dystopian society of Games Workshop’s car combat universe of Dark Future. Take on missions and attempt to survive in the scorched wastes of America in brutal, endlessly replayable run-based campaigns.
If you’re a developer and want your game showcased on Niche Spotlight, please contact us!
