Electronic Arts’ recent Syndicate FPS was nothing like the original Syndicate series of tactical games. Disappointed by the title, the producer of the second game in the series, Syndicate Wars, has been working on a spiritual successor to the series, titled Satellite Reign.
Satellite Reign is described as a “real-time, class-based strategy game” and is being developed by 5 Lives Studios. The game takes place in a dystopian, cyberpunk setting, and you control four agents—each with their own unique abilities—battling for control of the city, and hoping to overthrow the mega-corporation in charge.
What makes Satellite Reign unique, they say, is that the city “actually functions like a city,” which is something the development team hopes will give rise to emergent gameplay. The streets are bustling with people, information and finances make their way across different parts of the city, power grids control the flow of power, and so on. The studio hopes to create a game that will allow you to use all of this to your advantage, by hacking, modifying, fighting and so on.
There’s no linear structure to the game either, they claim. “The city is huge and you can move around and tackle objectives however you want to,” the studio’s description of the choices you’ll be afforded reads. “You won’t be spoon-fed one mission after another, you’ll be able to use whatever means you can to get to your final goal. Bribe scientists to advance your technologies, and kidnap doctors to augment your agents. Steal money from the banks to fund your war against the corporations, and exploit neural implants to bend the will of others.”
Mike Diskett, who served as producer and lead programmer on Syndicate Wars, is spearheading the game. Says Diskett: “A lot of Syndicate fans, including myself, got our hopes up when we a heard a new Syndicate game in development. But in the end, it turned out to be nothing like the original games. So I decided to take it upon myself to deliver what the fans really wanted.”
5 Lives Studios have erected a Kickstarter campaign to ask for support for Satellite Reign, with a goal of £350,000 over the next month. You can watch their Kickstarter pitch above and find more information on the game here. Satellite Reign is being developed using Unity for PC, Mac and Linux.
