REVIEW – At first glance it may sound unusual to have a RTS based on the Terminator franchise, but Slitherine has managed to do it, and not only against the machines, but also against human survivors who are not fighting on our side. The result is not too bad, but still far from perfect. But for a franchise, it is a fair title.

Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance is not just a game; it’s an adrenaline-pumping journey where your strategic skills will decide the fate of humanity against the machines. After the machines take over, the greatest threat may not come from the machines, but from other human survivors.

“My name is Legion, we are many”

In the game, the US Army is gone: the remnants of it have become the Founders, headquartered in Atlanta. We’ve already passed Doomsday, but the Wireheads (that’s what the robots are called in the game) make a nice invasion of the headquarters, so the survivors make their way to the southwest of the country (California). Meanwhile, they search for more survivors and meet other factions. The story and the narration are full of clichés, and unfortunately the quote just used is no accident. The name used in the game is not Skynet, but Legion (okay, it’s good that that was the name of the AI in the movie, but it’s confusing). So it’s unusual to use the laser rifle, the plasma cannon or the EMP grenade in this real-time but pausable strategy (it’s worth it, so you can give commands, the solution is in the space bar). It is worth playing more carefully, because one mistake can seriously damage our chances, and there is no shame in retreating. Instead, let’s look at weapon systems, your opponents, and the environment. In addition to knowing your weaknesses, it’s also important to use cover.

Once we have that, we need to focus on securing fuel and armaments, and only do secondary missions if they don’t involve danger (robots don’t seem to be as much of a threat this time as they were in the movies). Of course, we don’t have much in the way of resources between missions, as we use them daily to repair and prepare our troops and vehicles. If we play well, we get goodwill points, which we can use to recruit new troops. These can be used to buy soldiers, mercenaries or even helicopters, but throughout the story there will be missions that will either limit the number of units in our army or the strength of our army. You will have to multitask, because more than once you will have to watch up to four battles at the same time, and yes, again the use of the spacebar is recommended. This creates a kind of puzzle, as you have to keep an eye on the limits, the possibilities, and at the same time plan what to do after a successful (or possibly unsuccessful) attack.

Rocket

The use of artillery and missiles should not be neglected, as they are not only a way to put machines on two shoulders, but also a useful tool to defeat human opponents. When you’re done with the story, Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance offers other options, including a skirmish mode. If that’s not enough, there’s also an online multiplayer mode that can be played in 1v1, 1v2 or even 2v2. Meanwhile, the squads look good and there are no serious negatives to mention when it comes to map design.

The control interface could also be a problem, but fortunately there is nothing to criticize, as it is easy to give orders that forbid your troops from using ammunition, for example. The voice acting, on the other hand, did not seem to be so good, as some people seemed to have overdone it. The soundtrack could have been a bit darker, considering the odds against humanity, and the scenes themselves don’t look that high quality. This means that the gameplay is mostly fair, but beyond that, Slitherine’s work can be described as somewhat lacking.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance has a good basis, requires complex decisions and careful management of the units. However, it is completely incomprehensible why the machines are called what they are or why the term Skynet wasn’t used. The story is forgettable and the presentation is average at best. The side quests and narrative choices are not very clear. For this reason, it deserves a 7/10, and if the studio had put a little more effort into the audiovisual elements, it might have deserved a 7.5/10. It could also be a good choice for beginners, as the ability to pause the game is a great help for them. But the point is that it is a product worthy of the franchise.

-V-

Publisher: Slitherine

Developer: Slitherine

Style: RTS

Release: February 21, 2024.