Silica

Silica is a combination of an RTS and a shooter set in the far future - the player can control both the commander and a soldier. The gameplay revolves around humans and aliens fighting for dominance over a resource-rich planet.

The concept for the game came from Martin Melichárk, a designer known for his work on Take on Mars. Silica is also the debut game of Bohemia Incubator, a subdivision of Bohemia Interactive, tasked with supporting and promoting indie games.

Plot

In the distant future, humanity discovers a planet they name Baltarus. Its seemingly barren wastelands seem worthless at first, though it quickly changes when the researches come across a mysterious crystal. This new mineral, called Balterium, turns out to be an extremely potent energy source.

The discovery creates new possibilities for future generations, but also leads to conflict and battling for resources. There's another threat looming as well, as alien lifeforms resembling giant arthropods and cephalopods don't take kindly to intruders on Baltarus.

Mechanics

Silica offers three primary game modes: Strategy, Prospector and Arena. The first is a classic RTS, in which we can take command of one of two human factions or the planetary natives. Our task is to gather resources (Balterium or biomaterial), construct buildings and manage an army. At any time we can also directly take control over one of our units and participate in combat directly, leaving commanding duties to the AI. Depending on our choice, the game makes use of the first-person or third-person perspective.

Humans have access to typical infantry (such as scounts, gunners and commandos) and factory produced light and heavy vehicles, such as buggies, tanks and armored trucks. The aliens, on the other hand, are nest-building predators serving under their queen. Their crab-like and scorpion-like units compensate for their technological shortcomings with sheer numbers, mass and strength.

Prospector mode focuses exclusively on action. We play as a member of a unit who must find a Balterium source, eliminating enemies along the way. Mission objectives can be completed alone and with other players. Arena mode revolves around battling other players. Said battles aren't necessarily balanced, as we can choose any unit we want. They take place in varied settings, such as deserts, the abandoned city of Naraka and a domed training center.