Satellite Reign Kickstarter Campaign Launched

The indie team at 5 Lives Studios has launched a new Kickstarter campaign for Satellite Reign, a party-based and cyberpunk-themed RPG/strategy title that heralds itself as a spiritual successor to Bullfrog's Syndicate series. The team is seeking to raise £350,000 over the next 30 days, and are targeting the Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms to start off:

Game World

The world's governments are controlled by mega-corporations, democracy to the highest bidder. Society is structured for the benefit of those in power. The poor exist in the dark squalid underbelly of the city, while the wealthy swim in opulence and luxury on the upper tiers, and the vast middle-class are too comfortable with their lives of convenience to see the world for what it really is. Corporate police patrol the streets, brutally maintaining the status quo, all under the guise of keeping the people safe.

The time for change is now, as a mysterious organisation rises from the slums of the city. They'll have to bribe, steal, hack and augment their way through the barriers between them and their ultimate goal...but what are they trying to achieve? To free the masses from the corporate stranglehold, or to take control for themselves? That, is up to you.

City Simulation

This is one big, open, living metropolis. The city isn't just a cool location (although it is pretty cool), it actually functions like a city; the streets are bustling with people by day, and controlled by criminal organisations by night. Power grids actually power the city, information and finances flow from one district to another, and you can use all of these things to your advantage.

The entire game-world is designed around emergent gameplay. Civilians, police and corporate soldiers will all react uniquely to your actions. Power conduits, communication networks and security systems are there for you to hijack, modify or destroy. Learn how the city and its inhabitants operate, then exploit them all to advance your agenda.

Player Choice

The city is huge and you can move around and tackle objectives however you want to. You won't be spoon-fed one mission after another, you'll be able to use whatever means you can to get to your final goal. Bribe scientists to advance your technologies, and kidnap doctors to augment your agents. Steal money from the banks to fund your war against the corporations, and exploit neural implants to bend the will of others. Or, try to take your objectives through good old-fashioned brute-force.

Tactical Combat

Distinct character classes give you total control over how you approach a situation. Different classes with different combinations of augmentations, gear and weapons gives you the ability to customise your team and your experience.

Corporate Espionage

Not every problem is easily solved by shoving a gun in its face. Sometimes the situation requires a bit more subtlety, a bit more finesse. Try siphoning cash out of the corporate account, bribing a bank manager to (misplace) his security pass, or steal the identity of a corporate soldier to pass through security checkpoints unseen.