Satellite Reign

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 141 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 96 out of 141
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 141
  3. Negative: 15 out of 141

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  1. details_matter
    Sep 2, 2015
    9
    This is a lovingly-crafted homage to Syndicate and Syndicate Wars. It places you in command, via a satellite-linked simulated reality interface, of four agents in a sprawling sandbox of a city. The setting is a dystopian cyberpunk future, and a cabal of effectively immortal humans are in control of practically everything. As expected, they are corrupt, and you and your agents set out toThis is a lovingly-crafted homage to Syndicate and Syndicate Wars. It places you in command, via a satellite-linked simulated reality interface, of four agents in a sprawling sandbox of a city. The setting is a dystopian cyberpunk future, and a cabal of effectively immortal humans are in control of practically everything. As expected, they are corrupt, and you and your agents set out to stop them.

    There's a lot of emergent gameplay here, as you guide your little band around the pedestrian-filled streets alleyways and plazas. The visuals are great, the weapon effects sharp and satisfying. You can tell the developer was passionate about the source material. The writing is competent and does a good job of fostering immersion. And the gradual accumulation of new gadgets and weapons gives a strong sense of progression.

    I have run into a few bugs here and there, but nothing major. The save system is built to prevent "save spamming", so be prepared to steer your agents with caution any time you have them in combat or an area they are not authorized to be in. Have an escpae plan already in mind, and use it if things go all sideways on you. Worst case, you just spend some credits to quickly re-clone them at the nearest drop zone. If you can't afford that, you can re-clone them with a small experience penalty.

    There is no manual, which was a little regrettable, but I haven't found it too tough to learn the systems. The in-game tutorial is adequate to get you the basics.

    On the whole, a fantastic game.    … Expand
  2. CautiousCrit
    Sep 6, 2015
    9
    How about a game that let's you do what Watch Dogs promised, plays like GTA2, and has a similar setting of Deus Ex, with the same "pick your path and weapon" optional game play? That's satellite reign. It's a little rough around the edges. But when you consider it had less than 5 years and less than a million thrown at it, compared to most AAA games, it far out shines both in content,How about a game that let's you do what Watch Dogs promised, plays like GTA2, and has a similar setting of Deus Ex, with the same "pick your path and weapon" optional game play? That's satellite reign. It's a little rough around the edges. But when you consider it had less than 5 years and less than a million thrown at it, compared to most AAA games, it far out shines both in content, execution, and attention to detail. Don't expect perfect AI, perfect pathing (what game really does?) Or to know exactly how to proceed all the time. You won't be spoonfed, but you won't be punished for ignorance the game left you with either. Death has a cost, but only enough to punish your own mistakes. And difficulty isn't created by simply forcing you to spend time like Destiny and other games over the past decade have done, difficulty comes with complexity, comes with whether or not you equipped your crew and chose the right skills. And at 20-30 hours of gameplay if you focus, at most you're paying $1 per hour of fun.… Expand
  3. upThere
    Sep 10, 2016
    9
    -- Score changed from 7 to 9/10
    Now, with the addition of Online Co-Op, this game is AWESOME!!
    Single-player is good. The sprawling city is beautifully detailed, the missions many and varied and the stealth / hacking / gunplay tactical choices are solid and well-designed. But let me be clear - playing the entire campaign cooperatively with a friend (or three) adds entirely new    -- Score changed from 7 to 9/10
    Now, with the addition of Online Co-Op, this game is AWESOME!!

    Single-player is good. The sprawling city is beautifully detailed, the missions many and varied and the stealth / hacking / gunplay tactical choices are solid and well-designed. But let me be clear - playing the entire campaign cooperatively with a friend (or three) adds entirely new approaches to planning missions, extra layers of tactical depth and a whole lot of fun!! 9/10 Highly recommend!    … Expand
  4. Kraam
    Sep 3, 2015
    10
    Возвращение игры, которая стояла у истоков своего жанра. Diablo и иже подобное - лишь моды к оригиналу. Синдикат.
    Это то перерождение, что очень, очень близко стоит с тем, что было. Фактически младший брат.
    Есть различия, но так и должно быть. У создателей не было в планах делать полноценный клон. И получилось очень даже хорошо. Вновь мы видим город будущего. Чётко выделены зоны    Возвращение игры, которая стояла у истоков своего жанра. Diablo и иже подобное - лишь моды к оригиналу. Синдикат.
    Это то перерождение, что очень, очень близко стоит с тем, что было. Фактически младший брат.
    Есть различия, но так и должно быть. У создателей не было в планах делать полноценный клон.
    И получилось очень даже хорошо.
    Вновь мы видим город будущего. Чётко выделены зоны влияния больших корпораций. Свои правила и своя собственная гвардия в каждом дистрикте.
    Четвёрка бойцов, уже далеко не людей, но ещё и не роботов. Киборги - вот что в итоге получается при прохождении сюжета.
    Можно модифицировать, как тела своих пехотинцев, так и оружие.
    Модификаторов не много, но и не сказать, что их не хватает.
    Каждый боец уникален и это ещё больше разнообразит прохождение миссий.
    Обадовало то, что при больших и мощных перестрелках можно повредить здания, деревья, лестницы. Класс )
    И ещё. Не бойтесь отсутупить, перевооружиться, выучить новые технологии и вернуться добить врагов. Иначе победа всегда будет выскользать из рук.    … Expand
  5. Nathanknowsbest
    Sep 21, 2015
    10
    Fantastic and refreshing take on an old genre.

    Should you buy it? Yes for two main reasons. 1. This game makes you work, the learning curve can be steep for some, but the pay offs are rewarding and varied. The city is brutal, you need to learn from your failures or suffer the consequences. But really, would you expect anything less from a dystopian future? 2. The game was    Fantastic and refreshing take on an old genre.

    Should you buy it? Yes for two main reasons.

    1. This game makes you work, the learning curve can be steep for some, but the pay offs are rewarding and varied. The city is brutal, you need to learn from your failures or suffer the consequences. But really, would you expect anything less from a dystopian future?

    2. The game was developed by five guys and when compared to titles from AAA studios, Satellite Reign certainly stacks up. As a community, we need to support our indie developers who bring diversity to the industry. Sure, the game has its little quirks but what game doesn't. These guys deserve our support because what they have created deserves it.    … Expand
  6. Bill13123
    Sep 15, 2015
    10
    As someone that played the original syndicate wars back in the 90's and loved it, I am confident in saying this game recaptures the feel of the original and character expertly. The AI might be a little on the dippy side, but the graphics, flow of the game, and various features to it make it superbly well done.
  7. Vasot
    Aug 31, 2015
    8
    Excellent game it is almost better from Syndicate in every way The city is one giant map, you can travel between districts at will, and the game will happily let you trundle around this huge, sprawling city, exploring all the nooks and crannies at will, various areas are controlled by the key antagonist corporations they're deemed off limits and the moment you enter one, if you'reExcellent game it is almost better from Syndicate in every way The city is one giant map, you can travel between districts at will, and the game will happily let you trundle around this huge, sprawling city, exploring all the nooks and crannies at will, various areas are controlled by the key antagonist corporations they're deemed off limits and the moment you enter one, if you're detected you can expect a toasty reception from the guards. At the very least you'll be escorted off site and given a kick in the back, at worst you'll be served a bullet breakfast. Then again, you're not really here to just wave and say cheery words, you're in command of the finest your company has to supply, which at the beginning... isn't much.

    You've managed to snag a prototype version of something called "Res_Tech" which allows you to resurrect your agents in the field to some extent, though it's far from perfect, the version you have will not preserve clones, so you'll need to replace them as clones are shot up. You've also a small sum of money provided to you by the corp, and your agents who come armed with futuristic Uzis and the Infiltrator comes packing a sniper rifle. Poking around the skill upgrade system hints at the sheer potential for carnage your soldiers -will- be able to unleash, but to begin with, you're weak, you're small. The first jobs are going to be skin of the teeth things as you scrounge resources, get a few prototypes and start building up those all important weapons, gear and augments. In this regard, it's -very- close to the original Syndicate games, the feeling of power as you steadily improve your agents from "Joe public with a gun" to "Cyber enhanced machines of destruction".

    The Persuadertron from Syndicate has been replaced with a button marked "Hijack", which allows you to hack the brainware of pretty much anyone provided you have the appropriate skill set for it, again, initially you can only brainwash members of the public, maybe some police officers and the odd thug, but once you skill up you'll be able to convert Soldiers and even enemy corp members and return them to the clone pool, adding valuable and highly sought after clone bodies that come with built in bonuses to your army.

    The flow of the game is real-time all the way, each of your agents is class based. As well as managing their skill growth, gear loadouts, enhancements etc. As you gain power and start adding more skills, you'll find that you get more comfortable with managing the myriad of options available, and you'll be planning your routes in and out of complexes with astute precision. The plan doesn't -always- survive contact with the enemy, but when you pull it off smoothly, you'll feel badass. The graphics and sound design are very evocative of Blade Runner, with it's permanent rain soaked roads, and it's bright, cheery neon which overlays a dying, decrepit city in the most part, with only the areas for the affluent still being maintained to a high standard. It's very much a telling commentary on what a city might look like in the future, and a very dystopian and gritty approach to world building, and in places feels like it could serve as set dressing for the very film I mention.

    Satellite Reign is an example of how a game should-be done    … Expand
  8. mrpinsky
    Jan 3, 2017
    8
    It is a fun game and it stays true in spirit to Syndicate Wars. The inclusion of RPG elements (classes, skills, levelling up) however feels out of place in a shooter game like this. Great visuals and very good soundtrack, but combat feels lackluster, missions are repetitive, AI is limited, the UI/HUD is not intuitive, and there are some bugs. I still recommend it though, the game is wellIt is a fun game and it stays true in spirit to Syndicate Wars. The inclusion of RPG elements (classes, skills, levelling up) however feels out of place in a shooter game like this. Great visuals and very good soundtrack, but combat feels lackluster, missions are repetitive, AI is limited, the UI/HUD is not intuitive, and there are some bugs. I still recommend it though, the game is well worth the money.… Expand
  9. Anelor
    Nov 2, 2019
    10
    It is as good as syndicate and syndicate wars but in its own different right.
  10. giskarduk
    Nov 3, 2015
    8
    I played Syndicate on the Amiga when it was new and loved it, mostly because of the explosions. The game never really pulled off that cyberpunk feel but remained a good squad based RPG for the time.

    Satellite Reign is the same sort of game as Syndicate and it nails the Cyberpunk feel. The maps, the characters the text and corporations all just work and work well. They really make it    I played Syndicate on the Amiga when it was new and loved it, mostly because of the explosions. The game never really pulled off that cyberpunk feel but remained a good squad based RPG for the time.

    Satellite Reign is the same sort of game as Syndicate and it nails the Cyberpunk feel. The maps, the characters the text and corporations all just work and work well. They really make it feel like a Cyberpunk world in ways games like Shadow run totally failed to achieve.

    It plays like an open world game, only it is actually a large level based game that you unlock new areas as you progress, all part of the same world map but definitely not open.

    Still it is about roaming around and choosing your next target your self. Which is the core of most open ended games.

    The game play is fairly straight forward, break in to a company compound, steal money, prototypes etc, research them and upgrade your squad and do it all again. You can raid the same company twice if you like, the company seems to restock some of its loot over time but so far I have not gotten the rich rewards that I got after the first raid when revisiting the same company.

    As you progress you unlock new areas of the city to explore and raid for loot and other valuables, doing missions, levelling up, adding skills to your squad of 4 men.

    Aside from the slightly clunky interface which you do get use too, this game is a very good game.

    I cannot help but feel I am playing the original Syndicate again on the old Amiga, the difference being, Satelite Reign does a better job and because its new, it feels fresh and exciting.

    Strongly recommended.    … Expand
  11. Creamysmooth
    Nov 1, 2015
    9
    An absolute gem of a game, and one of my favourite games of 2015. It is fantastic in this day and age thanks to Kick-starter and the indie scene we can get awesome games like this being created, I couldn't be happier that I backed it.

    Awesome graphics and atmosphere that really enhance the cyberpunk setting, challenging yet highly enjoyable real time squad based strategy that doesn't    An absolute gem of a game, and one of my favourite games of 2015. It is fantastic in this day and age thanks to Kick-starter and the indie scene we can get awesome games like this being created, I couldn't be happier that I backed it.

    Awesome graphics and atmosphere that really enhance the cyberpunk setting, challenging yet highly enjoyable real time squad based strategy that doesn't hold your hand yet enables you to customise your squad to allow you to focus on the way you want to play, stealth and combat are both satisfying and don't penalise you for when things go wrong, I cant honestly find much to fault with it. The AI path-finding might be the only occasional hiccup but to me just suits the chaotic nature of the game.    … Expand
  12. intrepidis
    Feb 7, 2016
    8
    I played the original Syndicate on the Amiga, and then Syndicate Wars on PlayStation. My favorite was the original isometric game. That being said, Satellite Reign brings back a lot of good memories, and adds a whole lot more into the mix. The first mission/tutorial really eases you into the gameplay and the game flows nicely from then on out. The story is great actually, some niceI played the original Syndicate on the Amiga, and then Syndicate Wars on PlayStation. My favorite was the original isometric game. That being said, Satellite Reign brings back a lot of good memories, and adds a whole lot more into the mix. The first mission/tutorial really eases you into the gameplay and the game flows nicely from then on out. The story is great actually, some nice futuristic ideas (just standard sci-fi stuff really) which pull the missions together and keep the interest high.

    I have a fairly decent PC (can play Skyrim at 1080p no hassle) but for this game I have to set the quality low to get a bearable framerate. It would have been nice to be able to turn off a few more of the effects. Anyway, it still look and plays good, but then I'm not too fussy with graphics. Overall I really enjoyed this and hope a sequel is released on PS4.    … Expand
  13. AlphaRebel
    Nov 17, 2017
    8
    Okay, this a syndicate remake but it's a little bit more open form then the original, single map multi mission open world with some interesting twists.
    Instead of just 4 super soldiers you now have 4 agents and each has a role and a specific set of skills, some passive, some active which is a nice evolution.
    It's also has hard as balls.
  14. leSange
    Jun 26, 2017
    8
    Очень атмосферно, оказалось это крандфандинг, с таким графонием, да.
    Добавили кооп на 4х, жирно я считаю.
    Кибербанк потрясающий.
    Хоть и однотипно, мне понравилось
  15. AverageReviewer
    Dec 23, 2018
    8
    I'm a big stealth game fan, so I love the infiltration-type of gameplay in SR, there's always a hackable door, a vent or a zip-line that gets you inside. Cameras are hackable, enemies can be stealthily taken down, lots of possibilities. If you play your cards right, it's possible to get in and get out without anybody even noticing you. As far as I know, there are no games that provide suchI'm a big stealth game fan, so I love the infiltration-type of gameplay in SR, there's always a hackable door, a vent or a zip-line that gets you inside. Cameras are hackable, enemies can be stealthily taken down, lots of possibilities. If you play your cards right, it's possible to get in and get out without anybody even noticing you. As far as I know, there are no games that provide such gameplay in RTS setting. Definitely recommend to any stealth or cyberpunk fan. Unfortunately, the game doesn't run that well and has bugs when characters get stuck while taking cover. The AI is not the brightest and sometimes can't detect you when you're right in front of them but sometimes can use some sort of Sherlock deduction skill to pinpoint your position. Despite that, a very enjoyable game and for a Kickstarter project on Unity - a very pretty one.… Expand
  16. nik_balani
    Jan 6, 2021
    9
    I was a huge fan of syndicate when it was released in '93 and this brought a similar type of gameplay. Control 4 characters, kill, steal make money and use to upgrade weapons and armour whilst taking out an evil corporate opponent. Gameplay is a little repetitive but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
  17. Jtburkh
    Mar 5, 2023
    10
    I have put about 7 hours into the game, and have to say, it's a great game. Sometimes spiritual successors are a little pale in comparison to their original inspiration, but not this game.

    It is a marked improvement over the original games and I am much appreciated that it was made. It brought back the same sort of enjoyment I had playing those games when they originally came out in the    I have put about 7 hours into the game, and have to say, it's a great game. Sometimes spiritual successors are a little pale in comparison to their original inspiration, but not this game.

    It is a marked improvement over the original games and I am much appreciated that it was made. It brought back the same sort of enjoyment I had playing those games when they originally came out in the 90's, except it's augmented for the modern era. Great fun!    … Expand
  18. apokalipto
    Aug 24, 2023
    9
    Very good game. I enjoyed playing this game a lot. I strongly recommend this.
  19. playerFXone
    Nov 2, 2022
    10
    Mimo że brakowało mi następcy starego Syndicate, i dawno temu przestałem szukać, a tu niespodzianka, to on znalazł mnie. Godny następca. Nie jest to próba remake oryginału , i dobrze , moim zdaniem dzięki temu wyszło lepiej. Grę zainstalowałem na zasadzie "what next" bez czytania opisu czy recenzji, i nie rozumiem, jak mogłem ją tyle mieć a dopiero teraz zwrócić na nią uwagę :) Porównam toMimo że brakowało mi następcy starego Syndicate, i dawno temu przestałem szukać, a tu niespodzianka, to on znalazł mnie. Godny następca. Nie jest to próba remake oryginału , i dobrze , moim zdaniem dzięki temu wyszło lepiej. Grę zainstalowałem na zasadzie "what next" bez czytania opisu czy recenzji, i nie rozumiem, jak mogłem ją tyle mieć a dopiero teraz zwrócić na nią uwagę :) Porównam to do czegoś jak by otworzyć prezent spod choinki zawieruszony około 10 lat temu i nie chodzi o kolejną parę skarpetek.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

83
#83 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. Brash Games
    Mar 6, 2016
    80
    But for all it’s faults, Satellite Reign might still be worth exploring as a mechanical experience if you can handle some rough edges and make your own narrative.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Dec 16, 2015
    55
    It could’ve been a really good game, but the developers stumbled on the basics. Terrible interface, awful beginning of the campaign and mediocre AI take most of the fun out of Satellite Reign. [12/2015, p.46]
  3. games(TM)
    Oct 25, 2015
    80
    A perfectly executed heist offers an incredible sense of achievement. [Issue#166, p.95]
    Read full review
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