It’s very easy to make a generic bullet heaven game these days, but much harder, I think, to make one that feels fresh. Engagement is definitely on the fresher end of the scale, I’m happy to report, after just trying out one last Steam Next Fest demo before bed.
The game has a clever core idea, and everything builds out from that, literally. Whatever you destroy during battle can then be grabbed and repurposed for your own devices. This is a clever way of framing the XP farming that we have to contend with in the genre, and it gives a great wrapper for the whole upgrade process.
Engagement puts you in charge of a giant capital ship. Think Battlestar Galactica or Homeworld. From your bridge, you must upgrade your fighters, your ship’s systems, and everything else you can think of, as you look to keep yourself alive for 15 minutes – when the cavalry is scheduled to arrive.
You control your ship like you would a typical fighter, but you’ve got a slow turning circle given the size of your fat, metallic ass. Your supporting fighters are there to defend you, though, and you’ve got some teeth, too.
Together, you must fight through waves of enemies, the occasional boss, and keep upgrading your capital ship until it’s bristling with turrets and interesting defensive modules – all fixed to logically positioned hardpoints dotted around your chosen vessel.
Based on the demo I tried this evening, Engagement is going to deliver an engaging sci-fi bullet heaven experience when it takes off next month on PC (Win) on November 12th. If you’d like to see for yourself, check out the demo over on Steam.
