Tempest Rising Review

2025 appears to be loaded with renewed hope for real-time technique video games, and Slipgate Ironworks’ Tempest Rising would possibly simply be the massive winner we’d been ready for.

After some promising assessments and demos plus explosive advertising backed by Saber Interactive, 3D Realms, and Knights Peak, expectations have been excessive. Was all of it model and little substance or have been we actually about to get a completely worthy religious successor to the basic Command & Conquer video games? After spending a while with Tempest Rising’s two distinct campaigns and the skirmish and multiplayer modes, I can safely say C&C is again with a bang… form of.

There’s no approach to push apart comparisons when speaking about an RTS that wears them so proudly. We’ve received various riffs on C&C launching within the close to future, however Slipgate Ironworks’ challenge at all times seemed like essentially the most promising one as a result of massive finances behind all the pieces and all the fashionable visible flourish. Whereas Tempest Rising’s innards faithfully honour the RTS custom of the 2000s, its presentation and the numerous enhancements to macro and micromanagement (in addition to the UI) make it recent sufficient and welcoming.

The latter is very vital whereas attempting to reignite mainstream curiosity in a comatose style. Diehards will argue RTS video games by no means went wherever, they usually wouldn’t be improper, but it surely’s arduous to say with a straight face that real-time technique has a big following these days despite the uptick of players going with PC as their principal platform. Whereas Tempest Rising excels at mimicking the tempo and feeling of RTS at its finest and most sturdy, it doesn’t overlook to be inviting and lend newcomers a hand earlier than throwing all the pieces it has at them.

The campaigns (International Protection Drive and Tempest Dynasty) do a positive job of getting everybody began and step by step unveiling new items and the mechanics related to them, however make no mistake, they’re not walks within the park meant to show the fundamentals and put together gamers for skirmishes and multiplayer. They stand on their very own with diverse and powerful degree and goal design, and it’s all backed by in-game cutscenes (no FMVs on this one) for debriefings and pre-rendered mission intros that might very effectively belong to a brand new EA-backed Command & Conquer launch.

The downtime between missions can really feel exposition-heavy at instances and positively lacks the campiness of the video games mined for DNA, however there’s a strong premise in its post-1997 (and WWIII) alternate historical past state of affairs that introduces the mysterious Tempest useful resource, a plant-like progress that began rising to the floor after nuclear warfare. Whereas harmful, it may be harnessed to energy new machines, weapons, and all types of developments. It represents a present for the fanatical Dynasty and a possibility which should be contained nonetheless for the GDF. The world is cut up, the target is obvious, and you realize what should be performed. There are late-game twists to be careful for although.

Motivations and governing aesthetics apart, the factions play very in another way from the get-go. Whereas the GDF can plan and construct in a extra conventional approach with blueprints, the Dynasty builds after which locations down its buildings. This implies the latter can shield all buildings from being destroyed whereas they’re being constructed, however the draw back is you have to take note of yet one more queue and do extra work your self. Variations additionally prolong to the best way Tempest power (the one useful resource, which is was credit) works and the way it may be used; for instance, Dynasty can enhance its buildings’ manufacturing on the threat of damaging them. Maintain constructing out your bases and items and also you’ll start to note the automobiles and extra superior forces all convey clear roles and skills to the desk. GDF is the acquainted choose, I’d say, and Dynasty favours extra superior and concerned play.

There’s the elephant within the room of the Veti, a 3rd faction that reveals up throughout the remaining act for each campaigns. With out moving into spoilers, it’s a really totally different group that shakes issues up in a serious approach, but they’re fully absent from the skirmish and multiplayer modes. Fortunately, they’re coming to the sport as a playable faction later down the road, however we don’t know in the event that they’ll get a marketing campaign of their very own too. Because it stands, Tempest Rising’s greatest missed alternative will not be staying within the oven for a bit longer to launch with a 3rd faction that may significantly assist in direction of differentiating this title from its closest family.

Again to the moment-to-moment gameplay, the method of macro and micromanaging ever-expanding bases and armies, as I teased earlier than, is fairly clean due to a clear and intuitive UI, with the ability to construct and queue items with out having to pan again to the bottom to click on on every constructing, and a thought-out management scheme that makes utilizing every unit to its fullest painless and fast within the warmth of battle. Whether or not you’re specializing in neutralizing massive assaults or attempting to maximise your earnings, Tempest Rising reduces the clicks-per-minute as a lot because it realistically can.

This all coalesces into an RTS that feels each outdated and refreshing, very simple to select up however arduous to grasp. You spend much less time worrying about managing a whole base and optimizing unit subgroups and extra making massive strategic strikes and hitting the enemy quick and livid. That stated, being attentive to every unit’s strengths and weaknesses is half of the important thing to securing a straightforward victory. Whereas spamming human troopers will be very efficient early on, even essentially the most fundamental automobiles geared up with flamethrowers will erase
them, for instance. Thus far, I haven’t observed any overpowered, all-around superior unit. Steadiness appears on level.

Skirmishes supply precisely what you’d anticipate, although there’s a four-player restrict which some gamers would possibly discover restrictive. Don’t fear although, as battles get very massive very quick. The true grievance right here is the AI will be too aggressive even on the Straightforward issue setting. Whereas veteran RTS fanatics gained’t have a lot bother defending themselves, it feels a bit overtuned for folk who need to chill out and study the ropes of a multiplayer-like state of affairs at their very own tempo. As for the web multiplayer, there are each conventional lobbies and informal matchmaking, with a ranked possibility coming in just some days.

Tempest Rising merely is strong and watertight the place it issues most, and it’s arduous to give you extra criticisms should you’re a fan of the RTS style. The general polish and ‘glow’ of the presentation (together with a killer unique soundtrack) are the cherry on prime. Furthermore, I haven’t talked concerning the efficiency as a result of it’s improbable throughout a variety of {hardware}. That is the form of bold and rock-solid trendy RTS launch we haven’t had since 2021’s Age of Empires IV. It effortlessly refreshes and improves upon a dormant sequence below a faintly totally different guise and title. Simply what the physician ordered should you ask me.