I was about six years old when my family first got a home computer in 1999, the same year Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun came out. It took me a while to learn and understand the game, but when I did, my early gaming life was consumed by this classic RTS. Over the years, I tried other entries in the Command & Conquer franchise, but none of them, or any other RTS game, managed to recreate that magic for me. But a new release has come very close.
Tempest Rising, developed by Slipgate Ironworks and published by 3D Realms and Knights Peak, is a real-time strategy game with classically inspired gameplay and modern visuals. The game is a spiritual successor to early Command & Conquer games, with very nostalgic aesthetics and vibes. It’s the game the fans of the series wished they had if EA hadn’t put the franchise on life support with mobile games and remasters. It’s going to be hard for me to put down my rose-tinted nostalgia goggles when talking about Tempest Rising, but I’ll give it my best shot.
The first thing that caught my eye in Tempest Rising is the graphics. The game opens with a great-looking intro cinematic that sets the stage for the story of the game. World War III had broken out, and Europe was the scene of massive nuclear detonations. The war has ended, but the irradiated zones have become the site of extraction of a strange plant-like substance named Tempest that can be refined to produce a high amount of energy and advanced technologies. While there’s peace on paper, the major remaining nations still fight over the control of this new valuable substance.
The game has two campaigns that put us in command of the two main forces in the world: The Global Defence Force, a Western, US-based coalition self-promoting as a peace-keeping force in the wastelands of Europe, and the Tempest Dynasty, a collection of European and Asian nations that allied to stand against GDF occupation. And while playing any of the campaigns, the second thing that catches the eye is the UI design. Each campaign has a distinct menu and mission table UI that fits the theme of the story. We have a highly technological and advanced computer UI with the GDF, and a more retro and makeshift appearance as the Dynasty.
I was pleasantly surprised that the visual fidelity and quality were not exclusive to the cinematics, of which we get even more before starting each mission. Tempest Rising utilizes the Unreal Engine 5 to create a stunningly detailed visual experience throughout the game. I was surprised at how good it looked and the first thing I did when I entered the first mission was to zoom in as much as I could to see every little detail in the character and environment design. And finally, the cherry on top was a highly optimized and polished experience. I have a relatively high-end PC, but I’m still used to facing performance issues with graphically demanding games. My 20 hours in Tempest Rising were one of the smoothest experiences I have ever had with a newly released game.
I was so captivated by the visuals of the game that it took me a couple of hours to realize how epic and exciting the music is. There are dozens of upbeat tracks that play on shuffle, and if you like one of them very much, you can hit the escape button and access the whole playlist from the jukebox option and play whatever you like.
The campaigns themselves feel very familiar in their design to old-school RTS campaigns. There are missions where we have a standard base and several objectives to accomplish, and others where we have a limited number of troops or special agents to get the job done. There are multiple main and side objectives in each mission and completing them will earn us credits that we can spend to unlock special perks between missions. Each campaign has a unique and interesting story that ultimately reaches the same conclusion as we discover an alien race rising from beneath the earth, utilizing the tempest and hell bent on humanity’s destruction.
Tempest Rising has a simple to learn and hard to master gameplay. There is one main resource that we have to gather to build structures and troops, with secondary resources that we gain through combat or other upgrades. We unlock new buildings and troops by making the prerequisite structures or researching upgrades. There is a population cap of 200, which we rarely get to in campaign missions, but can be something to keep in mind in multiplayer or skirmish games. But even then, the game design is heavily focused on military and combat with a very simplified economy that would only occupy a fraction of our population cap and our attention throughout the game.
The in-game UI and general gameplay style in Tempest Rising feel like an evolution of old Command & Conquer games. It has the simplicity of small bases, easy economy, and limited troop diversity, but it makes up for it with a deep and engaging combat gameplay. Almost all units have a toggleable or active ability, cooldowns, or unique passives that make micromanaging them in fights the most vital skill to master in order to overcome harder challenges. And this experience is further improved with highly customizable controls and hotkeys that have become the standard in more modern RTS titles.
The third faction introduced in the later stages of the campaign, the Veti, is both an exciting twist and a disappointing realization that we can’t play as them in their unique campaign or skirmishes and multiplayer matches. They do feel overpowered compared to the two other factions for story reasons, but I would’ve loved to see them in action firsthand. I’m not aware of any plans for Tempest Rising‘s future, but I can’t see the game’s multiplayer experience taking off with only two playable factions and I hope the developers have an answer for this later down the road.
I was not able to find multiplayer matches during the review period, but I did try skirmish matches against the AI. I enjoyed the freedom to experience and play without the campaign’s limitations and requirements, but much like the franchise that inspired this game, Tempest Rising feels at its best during single-player campaigns with interesting and engaging stories. There is still fun to be had in multiplayer, but I don’t think competitive RTS players would have enough reason to migrate to Tempest Rising over the older but still very active communities of franchises like Starcraft or Age of Empires.
I’ve been hearing that “real-time strategy is a dead genre” for about a decade now, but we still see new titles coming out and gaining their own niche playerbase who is tired of the same old games. Tempest Rising‘s impressively high production quality, captivating story campaign, and engaging and action-packed gameplay show that there are still developers and publishers who are willing to bet on the RTS genre. I hope this game gains the success it deserves and gives the genre the love and attention it has needed for years.
Nima played Tempest Rising on PC with a provided review copy.
