''Satellite Reign'' is a cyberpunk real-time tactics video game that was released in August 2015 for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The game was developed by Australia's 5 Lives Studios and is a spiritual successor to the ''Syndicate'' series, which co-founder and programmer Mike Diskett had worked on. The name derived from one of the weapons featured in ''Syndicate Wars'' called "Satellite Rain."

Development

After the release of the ''Syndicate'' reboot in 2012, the ''

Syndicate Wars ''Syndicate Wars'' is an isometric real-time tactical and strategic game, developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for DOS in 1996 and for the PlayStation in 1997. It is the second video game title in ...

'' producer and lead programmer, Mike Diskett, expressed his displeasure over the game's lack of similarity to previous entries in the series:

"A lot of ''Syndicate'' fans, including myself, got our hopes up when we heard a new ''Syndicate'' game was in development, but in the end it turned out to be nothing like the original games."

This encouraged him to create the Brisbane-based 5 Lives Studios (which included team members who had worked on other video game series such as '' Grand Theft Auto'', '' L.A. Noire'', and '' Darksiders'') and develop a spiritual successor to the game he made back in 1993:

"I've decided to take it upon myself to deliver what the fans really wanted."

Unlike the reboot, which was a first-person shooter, 5 Lives Studios tried to build upon the real-time tactics gameplay experience found in the original games by introducing a fixed camera system and character classes. On June 28, 2013, ''Satellite Reign'' was announced on crowdfunding website

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

with a (US$546,875) goal. On July 29, 2013, the project was successfully funded with (US$720,832) raised. The game was released for Windows, macOS, and Linux on August 28, 2015. A post-launch update introducing four-player cooperative gameplay was released in July 2016. The soundtrack was composed by Russell Shaw, who worked on both '' Syndicate'' and ''

''.

Plot

Satellite Reign takes place in an unnamed fictional city referred to as "The City". A corporation named ''Dracogenics'' rises to prominence after releasing a prototype named Resurrection-Tech that is capable of providing immortality. Dracogenics turns to corporate crime and bribes politicians with immortality in exchange for control and influence. This eventually leads to the privatization of The City's services and full corporate control over The City's police force. Civil unrest arises and is suppressed by Dracogenics, but a rival corporation soon comes to light and launches anti-Dracogenics attacks. The player controls this rival corporation and must overthrow Dracogenics from The City.

Reception

''Satellite Reign'' has a score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://satellitereign.com/ 2015 video games Crowdfunded video games Cyberpunk video games Kickstarter-funded video games Linux games Open-world video games Organized crime video games MacOS games Real-time tactics video games Science fiction video games Steam Greenlight games Video games developed in Australia Video games scored by Russell Shaw Windows games