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 Element: Space, a turn-based tactical RPG by Sixth Vowel and Inca Games that just left Early Access.
In the year 2199, the galaxy is in peril. A shadowy organization is manipulating governments from behind the scenes to lead the human race down the path to ruin. As Captain Christopher Pietham, its your job to assemble a squad of elite troops backed by strong political allies to save humanity from extinction.
Make decisions that affect the way the galaxy and its various factions perceive you. Combat comes in the form of XCOM-style turn-based battles, and each squad member has their own branching upgrade tree of specializations. You can check out a trailer above.
Element: Space is available on Windows PC via Steam for $19.99.
Here’s a rundown of the game:
Element: Space is a turn-based tactical squad RPG set two-hundred years in the future. As Captain Christopher Pietham, you will lead your crew into battle in order to save humanity from extinction!
Travel to the far reaches of spaces, recruit allies, gather equipment, and combat deadly enemies. In battle, you will have to strategically maneuver your squad, utilize cover, and combine your companions’ skills and unique abilities for deadly effect!
Choosing when to engage your enemies up close and personal and when to pick them off surgically from afar will be critical for gaining the upper-hand. Your ideological decisions will mark how the rest of the Galaxy perceives you. Make sure to forge strong political alliances early on to ensure your victory in the final confrontation.
You hold the fate of the Galaxy in your hands. Good luck, Captain!
Element: Space features a battle system full of deep strategy:
- Engage in turn-based combat and real-time exploration.
- Approach complex, team-based tactics by combining character skills with free-form movement.
- Outfit your squad from a selection of 32 melee and ranged weapons that allow for different play styles and strategies.
- Unlock perks and weapons by gaining reputation with the galaxy’s factions.
- Grow your characters through their unique branching upgrade trees – no two characters are the same!
- Battle against a wide range of enemy units and squads.
- Factions’ combat perks combine with their specialist units to challenge the player in different ways throughout the game.
The single-player campaign offers:
- A fully-realized universe with a detailed and extensive history.
- Seven explorable factions, each inspired by distinct cultures and traditions, offering their own units, tactics, architectures and perspectives.
- Eight possible companions, each with their own extensive backstory and narrative arc. Help them achieve their personal goals in order to upgrade their skills and maximize their potential in battle.
- 24 handcrafted levels, each designed to provide unique combat experiences. No procedural content.
- A nuanced ideological system that tracks your decisions and actions throughout the game, affecting your reputation with factions, your character roster, and more.
- Multiple endings – from your reputation with different factions to your relationship with your party, every decision you make will shape the destiny of the galaxy.
- High replayability. Each playthrough will allow you to see new missions, party-members, and storylines. The wide range of equipment, skills, perks, and companions permits for very different playstyles game to game.
- Extinction Mode: Hardcore mode for those looking for an extra challenge.
- 12 to 15 hours of playtime per playthrough.
- Humor in the style of the action-adventure sci-fi movies you loved in the 80’s and 90’s.
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