Menace

Menace is a tactical RPG set in a dark sci-fi world inspired by 1980s and 1990s action movies. It's the second game of the German Overhype Studios, the creators of 2017's Battle Brothers. It was published by Hooded Horse.

Plot

The player commands a squad of marines, making their way to the lawless Wayback system to establish order. Once there, they end up encountering a new, strange threat. This forces the crew of TCRN Impetus to work together with the local pirate warlords and shady corporate executives they were originally meant to pacify.

Mechanics

The Impetus Cruiser is the player's HQ, serving as means of transport, orbital support and a place to rest. This makes it necessary to upgrade and customize it, so it provides us bonuses fitting our playstyle.

Since we're the primary commander, we must decide ourselves which distress calls we'll respond to, when will we strike and how much resources we'll use. The choices we make affect our relationships with the local factions. Doing favors for arms dealers will bring us better equipment, working with shipbuilders will upgrade our ship, etc.

Starting off, we must rely on our marines, but soon they'll be joined by mercenaries and even criminals. Equipment - such as weapons, war machines, tanks and mechs - can be acquired in combat or purchased on the black market.

Combat is turn-based. Since we're often outnumbered, good tactics matter a lot. We must make use of the environment and react to the changing situation on the battlefield, flanking enemies and choose our equipment well.

The latter matters a great deal - would we rather have a mighty tank or an agile mech? Should we equip our infantry with heavy armor to make them sturdier, or additional accessories to have more options in combat? Every choice has pros and cons - we must balance them well to come out on top.

Our squad leaders help a great deal, but they all have different, often contradictory expectations and aspirations, their opinion of us affecting the soldiers' performance. We should therefore get to know them well, select them in various combinations, upgrade them and make sure they don't die.

Technical aspects

Menace only features a singleplayer story campaign. The missions are procedurally generated, making each playthrough unique.