The Red Solstice (PC) Review

The Red Solstice follows what seems to be a near theme in gaming, and that is mixing as many genres as possible. This does so with the following: rogue-like, RPG, sci-fi, top-down shooter, squad-based multiplayer, zombie survival, procedural and randomised missions. There is nothing exactly wrong with these, but it feels like the developer shot too high and the result turned out a bit lacklustre.

Each time there are random missions that pop up, as the player attempts to survive waves of zombies while they do the mission. There is a heavy element of survival, with limited ammo, things like barricades, traps and so on. Typically, you will die in about 10 minutes, but the experience carries over as slightly better weapons, stats, and so on, are accumulated.

Eventually, it is supposed to be about how random missions pop up and you fight your way to them, doing them and moving on. These can be things like putting up turrets, finding lost squad members, or taking out insurgents. All the while there are various items on the ground like lockers/boxes which act like treasure chests. Items are then picked up and managed in a simple inventory.

All this seems really cool. There are even multiple classes, with various skills to pick, different weapons, loadouts, etc. A lot of depth is possible, but in the end, a lot of it is lacking. Despite the 'survival' element the game tries to go for, any sort of bunkering in results in death. There is simply not enough time to try and set traps amidst the endless waves of zombies, therefore, the only way to beat the game is to move fast, which literally renders upwards of 50% of the weapons, skills and so on, completely useless.

It seemed like this was torn in two directions: is it top-down shooter game, or a survival title? As stated, the bunker/survival items give a great thematic touch but are simply useless in the actual game. Especially when playing with other players, explosives are strictly off limits, because they are not that much better, and due to the fact that friendly fire is often more deadly than the aliens. Furthermore, the shooting is so-so at best, there really isn't much to do other than click on the enemy and automatically shoot until they are dead.

The better part of the game is levelling up and deciding what skills to pick. These range from granting a grenade launcher, to healing, to simply more damage. The apparent depth is pretty high, and the 'front end' of the game is solid and would lend itself to multiple play-throughs. The core of it all, though, is mostly lacking. It is fun for a few romps until it can be beaten, but after that there isn't really much hanging around for the player to do. The skills are one of the few visceral differences in the characters, and most of The Red Solstice is simply click, shoot, click, shoot.