Space. The ultimate level of fun. Video games have reached the stars for action and adventure since the 1962 Space War! And considering that the Venn diagram of sci-fi fans and gamers is basically a circle, its unsurprising space dominates the settings of some of our favorite games. Mass effect. Dead space. EVE Online.
But there is a title that encompasses everything a science fiction fan wants in a game that remains tragically forgotten. It has an exciting combat of ships. Alien invasions. Intergalactic political intrigue. The fate of humanity rests on the shoulders of an intrepid captain (you). And even February 18th, this game is completely free on the Epic Games Store.
i’m talking about Halcyon 6 by Massive Damage. This rather tactical space RPG is available for free at the Epic Store until February 18th, giving you enough time to enter a three-day weekend of tactical splendor, meticulous resource management and a good dose of nihilistic humor on par with Galaxy Quest.
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What does the Halcyon 6 such an outstanding title? In a word, balance. There is just enough of everything, without too much of anything. The gameplay itself is essentially divided into three components. You have an aspect of resource collection / base management along with turn-based combat in both spaceships and as landing groups, and finally manage your base and crew of captains.
The game’s premise revolves around you as the leader of the only surviving human community (think Battlestar Galactica) aboard Halcyon 6, an old space station capable of making powerful spacecraft. To build ships, you need resources. Then, you send small buses to various planetoids and cosmic fragments in your galaxy to collect materials and deliver them to Halcyon for processing. You need captains for the ships, so train them at your base and also earn valuable XP in battle. It’s a delightful little cycle of need for resources, building ships, training captains and then need most resources for Better ships and stronger captains and so on.
One problem – Chruul. Their typical space monsters, the Chruul are an invasive collective hell in the total destruction of everything. And they are coming, fast. They want to destroy Halcyon 6 and much of the game revolves around you preparing for increasingly difficult waves of Chruul invading your galaxy. The combat strategy is deep and you need to pay close attention to the status effects and stacking of various buffs to survive.
Chruul is not the only threat you will encounter. There are a wide variety of colorful intergalactic factions that you can work for, work against or against. The dialogue with these groups is where the game really shines, with some of the funniest texts I’ve ever encountered in any game, ever. It elevates what is normally a “hold X to jump” level of the RPG dialogue into something you really look forward to. Even their responses are dynamic and add a sardonic touch to these interactions.
The free version of Halcyon 6 available on the Epic Store this week is the “Lightspeed Edition,” a revamped version of the original game that contains many quality of life improvements that have really reduced the level of grind in the game. According to the developer, you can complete the game in approximately 15 hours now, although it is easier said than done. And, if you’re a grind simp like me, you’ll spend a lot more hours than that making sure to visit every speck of space dust in your galaxy before completing the next major research project that will inevitably trigger the next phase of the game.
IT IS Halcyon 6 for all? No, obviously not. If you don’t like turn-based combat or don’t have any nostalgic attachments to retro-style pixels, you won’t be able to enjoy this title much. But if you’ve seriously given a Vulcan greeting or brought a folding chair to sit in a Con’s row, then you’re sure to find something to love in this game. It is worth your time and, next week, absolutely nothing is worth your money too.