Introduction
Developed by Elder Games and published by Merge Games & Headup Games, Meridian: Squad 22 is the sequel to one of my favorite real time strategy games made by an indie dev team. And I take some liberties on the term “dev team” since this title, much like the first one in this series, was also the hard work of a single very talented man: Ede Tarsoly. To create an RTS such as Meridian: New World took some effort. But to go further than that and launch another game just two years apart which irons out almost all the previous one’s flaws, is a feat truly worthy of admiration.
Gameplay
Meridian: Squad 22 is once again, a strategy game driven by a storyline. The novelty to this sequel however, is that a certain number of choices you undertake during some missions, will affect the following ones and subsequently the rest of the campaign. This provides us with a well deserved replay value even if the game itself is anything but short. I was most pleased to see that the pathfinding and general confusion of the AI on the map, are issues long gone. The skirmish mode takes place on randomly-generated maps so you always have an extra challenge, apart from the enemies which will be more aggressive this time around. In Squad 22 we now have the full spectrum of warfare, with the inclusion of both aerial and naval units compared to the the previous title’s predominantly land-based troops.
The game is richly detailed, from both the texture quality of the units & terrain and even the research tree, which really encourages you to explore and find research canisters (a shout-out to Starcraft 2’s brilliant tech advancement choices). You can’t really complain that this wouldn’t be a strategy title worthy of 2016’s relatively high standards.
The sound score has been composed by Hexany Audio and it truly gives this game, a soundtrack to match its looks and Sci-Fi atmosphere. And as expected, the voice acting is on par with the rest of the game sounds. An obvious step forward in regards to the less than enthusiastic voice work from New World.
Pros
+ Beautiful graphics and soundtrack
+ Steam Trading Cards & Achievements
Cons
- Still no multiplayer modes
Result / Final thoughts
Squad 22 is a clear example that you don’t need immense budgets, to create a fully functioning and aesthetically pleasing strategy title any longer. What a small team of highly talented people have proved, is how far we’re come in terms of game design over the last few years. As polished as this game is right now, the Early Access label should not deter anyone from purchasing it. Steam Achievements and Trading Cards are just the icing on the cake at this point.
Rating 8/10
Zitat:
This review was submitted for
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