Having smashed it’s $100k Kickstarter goal way back in February, pulling in $2.3 million, Frost Giant Studios, a team composed of former Blizzard veterans, have launched the Early Access phase for Stormgate on Steam.
This long-awaited launch marks a huge moment for real-time strategy games, especially for fans demanding a spiritual successor to classics like StarCraft and Warcraft. Stormgate promises to blend classic, old-school RTS elements with a host of innovate gameplay mechanics. The game has been designed to appease veterans and to be accessible to newcomers too.
Stormgate was always planned to be a tribute to the titles which marked the genesis of the genre. It is built on a foundation of respect for what made those early titles so appealing, but Frost Giant want to do more than just reproduce classic strategy games for the sake of nostalgia. One of their core missions is to lower the barrier of entry for new players. This dedication to accessibility echoes the similar commitment made by Battle Aces and the as-yet unnamed title from Good Trouble Games. Frost Giant’s CEO Tim Morten went as far as to say, “It’s okay to be a high-skill game… We never want to water down that aspect of RTS, but we talk a lot about lowering the skill floor.”
One of the mechanics employed by Frost Giant to assist new players into Stormgate is the ‘Buddy Bot’, an AI assistance which can be used to automate some of the more complex tasks required on real-time strategy gamers. To prevent new players from becoming overwhelmed, the Buddy Bot allows players to gradually get used to the RTS experience without compromising the strategic depth that veterans demand. Additionally, the game offers a number of different game modes from co-op campaigns to team-based battles.
Stormgate features three distinct factions; two of which should be familiar to StarCraft veterans. It’s easy to draw comparisons between the human Vanguard and the demonic Infernal Host with the Terrans and Zerg from Blizzard’s classic, but its with the third faction that things get really interesting. The Celestial Armada represents a bold attempt at asymmetry in its departure from typical RTS conventions. Unlike traditional factions that rely on building a static base, the Celestials begin with a massive, mobile headquarters capable of traversing the battlefield, projecting power, and deploying structures from orbit. This unique playstyle forces players to rethink the conventional strategies of the Vanguard and Infernal Host.
The game’s debut on Steam under Early Access has met with mixed reviews, but Frost Giant remain upbeat. Morten commented that, “Mixed reviews are to be expected at this stage… We have big plans for Stormgate’s future.” Common complaints include mutterings about the incomplete story, weak AI in PvE modes and some concerns around monetisation. These issues, whilst legitimate, should be expected with Early Access. This is not a complete game, and EA is a vital part of the development journey allowing player feedback to influence and refine the game.
Frost Giant sees Stormgate as a work-in-progress with the Early Access phase as a crucial period. They have already responded to player critiques with adjustments to the development schedule and have put out a road map of what players can expect this year and into next.
Stormgate is perhaps best described as a journey, not a destination, and gamers are invited to take that journey alongside Frost Giant. You can join in with 40,000 other gamers on the official Discord server and of course immediately jump into playing the game on Steam. With a blend of traditional real-time strategy elements which gamers should feel instantly familiar with, and revolutionary features to assist with on-boarding beginners, Stormgate has the potential to be a solid staple of the RTS genre of the future. Ignore the Steam mixed reviews and jump in to try the game for free. Other than time, what else have you got to lose?
