8-Bit Invaders!

8-Bit Invaders!
N/A
Metacritic
82
Steam
73.205
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$7.49
Release date
16 December 2016
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
82 (381 votes)

8-Bit Invaders! is a fast-paced, retro Real-Time Strategy game for the PC. Control the military might of the Galactic Marine Corps or Invade with the devastating power of the Cranioids! Mine, Build, and Fight your way to victory! Conquering the Multiverse was never so easy.

Show detailed description

8-Bit Invaders! system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows Vista SP2
  • Processor: 2.6 GHz Dual Core Processor
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia Geforce GTS 250 or ATI Radeon HD 3870
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 2 GB available space
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Spectator
Spectator

The problem with this game is that there are no unique units both factions units are the same except they are re-textured and the marines units are superior also all you have to do is play the marines and make multiple heavy factories this will decrease the amount of time it takes to make heavy factory units you would be better off just playing a Command and Conquer game

AncientGamer
AncientGamer

Like 8-bit Armies, this is a well done Real Time Strategy game. Plays smooth and bug free. Simple graphics that are well done. Has a sci-fyish theme. Base Building required. Easy to understand and learning curve is short. Short and simple and not overly complex. Two thumbs up. Recommended.

LANMAN
LANMAN

A beginner's RTS. I wanted to play something easier to grasp with my son (8 year old), before introducing him to the world of Command & Conquer and Act of War. This fit the bill perfectly. I don't think there's much longevity in this title, but it's great for RTS training and affordable. It's also very polished. We had no issues with LAN play and it played great on an i5/GTX 770/8GB RAM, no crashes or bugs so kudo's to the devs! I'd say it's pretty balanced but battles usually come down to your favorite ground and air unit then just spamming the enemy until one side wins. Also, defense buildings (turrets, etc...) are pretty much useless. They go down easy and the action starts so fast (especially against the AI), that you're better off just using your units to gaurd your base since you can start making them very quickly when building extra unit producers.

However, I got Red Alert 2/Yuri's Revenge working last night on our LAN and I think my son is already hooked. His reaction... Dad, that game looks old!?!?! Two hours later... Dad, you can fight in the water and we have spies!?!? This is awesome! Me: Yes son, welcome to the Westwood era of RTS!

Still, the 8bit games will be great to come back to perodically and it's a good fun. Overall, definitely recommended.

Ink
Ink

though this game may look pretty cool it really isnt. i got bored very quick with the low amount of troop types and buildings its just not enough to do for its price but it can run on a bad pc which is good but its not to much fun 4/10

periurban
periurban

It's a bit hard to love this game. It isn't a very sophisticated or nuanced RTS. You can basically horde rush the AI all the time. There are some paper/scissors/stone calcs going on too, but it all adds up to a pretty ordinary experience.

Tackles
Tackles

Think Starcraft, minus good unit controls and micro. I had a very hard time playing this due to the messy and innacurate mouse pointer. No unit cap to speak of made each of the campaign missions little more than a spamfest. The graphics were cute, but that doesn't make this a good game. Wouldn't recommend.

Topher Doll
Topher Doll

My favorite version of 8-Bit in terms of faction design. Incredibly well designed units with a lot of creativity put into it. Downside it has probably the weakest campaign of the three games. Poorly designed mission, difficulty spikes and inconsistent objectives make it a bigger slog than the other three campaigns. They still use the great system where the units you unlock through side objectives help you in all other missions but the other struggles really hurt the game.

Overall a fun game though with the best 8-Bit factions. As with the series the more games you own the more fun the multiplayer will be.

Value metric: Does it have a value of $1 per hour of gameplay? Yes

dgz_lil_bro
dgz_lil_bro

Marines campaign is too easy until the last mission; and the Cranioid campaign is mostly moderate difficulty until the second last mission, when it becomes virtually impossible.

I recommend Rusted Warfare over this game.

Leon Note
Leon Note

Great game, when the world needs a quick, easy, and simple RTS here this game comes.

Almighty4K
Almighty4K

Really fun and relaxing, you can spend a lot of time alone or with your friends.

Forsaken
Forsaken

Player Bases
☐ Kids
☑ Everyone
☐ Mature
☐ Casual Players
☐ Pro players

Graphics
☐ Potato
☐ Really Bad
☐ Bad
☑ OK
☐ Good
☐ Beautiful
☐ Masterpiece

Price
☑ Full Price
☐ Wait For Sale
☐ Refund It If You Can
☐ Don't Buy It
☐ Free

Requirements
☑ Minimum
☐ Medium
☐ Fast
☐ High End
☐ Super Computer

Difficulty
☐ Easy
☑ Medium
☐ Hard
☐ Very Hard
☐ Death March
☐ Dark Souls

Game length
☐ Really Short ( 0 - 3 hours)
☐ Short ( 2 - 8 hours)
☐ Medium ( 8 - 16 hours)
☑ Long ( 16+ hours) (For the campain)
☑ Endless

Story
☐ It Doesn't Have One
☐ Horrible
☑ Ok
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Fantastic

Cinematic/Art
☑ It Doesn't Have
☐ Horrible
☐ Ok
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Like Watching A Movie

Music/Sound
☐ Horrible
☐ Decent
☑ Average
☐ Good
☐ Amazing

Gameplay
☐ Terrible
☐ Ok
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Fantastic

Bugs
☐ Game Itself Is One Big BUG
☐ Game Breaking Bugs
☐ Lots of bugs
☐ Few Bugs
☑ Nothing (I've seen)

Others
Multiplayer: ☑
Singleplayer: ☑

Final Score:
7/10

DrRetro
DrRetro

I'm giving this a thumbs up, with a condition.

This isn't a bad game, not at all. It's well polished and runs good, the art and design has a nice blocky feel that updates the pixel graphics motif. But it's something of a minimalist RTS, like one would expect from a phone or late PDA game, for example. It's a good game, but if you're an RTS veteran, you'll play a mission or two, maybe a couple hours of skirmish, then, realizing that this doesn't bring much to the party, you'll put it down and go play Red Alert 2.

If you're new to RTS, or just want something casual, then this is for you. If you like a degree of complexity, I'd look onward.

butlerrichard47
butlerrichard47

i just love these games here i could play them forever. and if you want a really fun game to play this is the games to get.

DESYNERGY
DESYNERGY

Just like the original, just with alien skins and a few more maps.

tuxpower360
tuxpower360

Very good game! a "Warcraft style" game with 8 bit pixel graphics

Lokiey
Lokiey

Fix your Multiverse, still broken eversince the launch of this game

Just a NIGHTMARE!
Just a NIGHTMARE!

It takes more than 2 min to start,wtf? But the game itself is cool!

sunbeam
sunbeam

Great RTS game, fast phase, very casual, graphics and physics is awesome, sci-fi experience is astonishing! no regrets!

Mintydog
Mintydog

Short review since I've already reviewed 8 bit Armies. This game works the same except it's sci fi.
Very fun to play, humerous little story throughout the game.

It's quick and easy to pick up and play. If you enjoy C&C you will enjoy this game, or all of the 8 bit games.
Get all 3 games, they are definitely worth it.

MrLuciferJunior
MrLuciferJunior

there are so much games in this genre which are way better than this game and this serie.
Definitely not worth the full price. none of their games.
But if you're into this genre, this is probably their best game in the serie...

raylinewalker
raylinewalker

The game is fun for the first hour or so. The marine faction is very overpowered when compaired to the other one. Often, the game will end in the favor of the one who spammed the most.

Lord Pajzl
Lord Pajzl

The game is quite easy on your computer (you can basically play it on a potatoe)
The sound track is amaizing
the only problem is that the game is played by like 5 people...

THWOMP
THWOMP

A QUALITY installment in the 8-bit RTS series.
An expansive campaign with optional difficulty settings and a co-op campaign with compeltely different missions.
Lots an lots of fun! Also a must-have if you play a lot of multiplayer. The MArines and Cranoids hold a distinct advantage on the battle-field in my opinion!

enkidu
enkidu

Really bland and boring. No substance.

ktulu1975
ktulu1975

Excellent classic RTS. Can be played with Steam Controller, and it works well. Fully featured Steam game at reasonable price. 10/10.

coda777
coda777

Love this game... My wife and I played it all the time... until the multiplayer became nil :( no one plays it anymore.
The multiplayer screen should show how many people are logged into the 8 Bit Invaders so then we will host a game. Because we cannot see anyone logged in the game... we just leave. This is such a fun game... wish more people would play it.
Coda777

Toadragon
Toadragon

Not a bad game.
Short.
Fewer missions from the first game.
There are bugs and balancing.
The Titans are pretty buggy, and so is the Multiverse.
The method of save is quite bad.
It is better with a discount.

Keebs
Keebs

Blast from the past, simple stupid fun, and worth it, if you can get it for under $5. Basically a dumbed down C&C / Starcraft.

Maatrac
Maatrac

Great game:) it is fast and furious:) i do recomend 100% good old style rts

Hastur
Hastur

---{Graphics}---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ Paint.exe

---{Gameplay}---
☐ Addictive like heroin
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It‘s just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Starring at walls is better
☐ Just don‘t

---{Audio}---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ Earrape

---{Audience}---
☑ Kids
☑ Teens
☐ Adults
☐ Average Solitare Players

---{PC Requirements}---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boiiiiii
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{Difficulity}---
☐ Just press "A"
☐ Easy
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{Grind}---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isnt necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You‘ll need a second life for grinding

---{Story}---
☑ If you want story, then go read a book.
☐ Text or Audio floating around
☐ Average depends an DLC
☐ Good
☐ Lovley
☐ It‘ll replace your life

---{Game Time}---
☐ Long enough for a cup of tea
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{Price}---
☐ There is no "price"
☑ Worth the price
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{Bugs}---
☐ Never heard of 'em
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ Assassin‘s Creed: Unity
☐ Get a bug spray. Or more. A lot more. Or maybe a flamethrower. Or a nuke.

Bullet Kin
Bullet Kin

This was the game that introduced me to RTS. Ive been addicted to the genre ever since.

blokje_hout_met_splinters
blokje_hout_me…

great game you can put a lot of time in it and its worth the money

Gamerlogan
Gamerlogan

its a awsome game and i want all of the 8 bits

Lion
Lion

8-Bit Invaders, in term of visuals it has more details for units and structure than the 8-Bit army, in term of gameplay two difference, first: harvester stick to the resource node no need for moving, second: superweapon in 8-Bit Invaders is actually a super unit that will be built automatically after building-specific building. in summary, 8-Bit Invaders could be the ripest in 8-Bit series.

Lukeovich
Lukeovich

Brilliant little RTS from the originators of the genre. Its not a complex game and t is definitely for the fans of the classic style RTS rather than the eSports influenced titles of modern games. You will experience everything the game offers in the first match, but that hardly matters when its so much fun. Performance is great; my 7 year old gaming machine can run the game without a hitch, even with masses of units on-screen. Well worth a try for any old-school fan.

Abdullah
Abdullah

This is definetely not the worthy successor to cc3 TW we've been waiting for all these years. I don't think that's a mere coincidence.

am NateTheGreat
am NateTheGreat

So im a huge rts player and all the reviews made me think this would be a fun experience. i was sadly mistaken, even went for the refund which i never do but its a game after playing a few matches you see has little to offer. From lack of team variety like each game (8bit hordes, army, etc.) only come with 2 sides, which can battle across games but makes it seem unbalanced and unenjoyable imo.
I didnt like fighting swords against aliens and the 8bit design for everything they chose in my opinion was childish and poor quality. i Still play OG C&C and that style just looks good to me but this art style, music, sound effects were just too annoying for me to enjoy. Save your money and continue to play starcraft, C&C, or AOE. You wont end up like me wondering who actually likes this sieries.

Elodorian
Elodorian

Man.. I really hoped for some old school RTS, but AI is worse than in Dune II on my Sega Mega Drive, the Sounds and music are worse than in Dune II and the graphics have no charm. Please don't bother bringing this to console... Going for a refund...

Kåt Tsun
Kåt Tsun

15 years later and we get a game that's worse than Red Alert 2 in every relevant mechanic lol.

petroglyph doesnt make them like they used to

guess all the westwood guys left or got senile in old age :(

Pingus
Pingus

A fun and simple RTS. My biggest problem is that you have to micromanage units, because if they're getting attacked by a unit out of their range, they'll just get shot to death.
There aren't any units that are overall O.P. unless specifically designed, so units are well balanced.
Maps are full and do well in creating many blind spots and choke points.
Campaign missions can be challenging, but achievable given some trial and error.

Dr. Wernius
Dr. Wernius

Great RTS and a good addition to the first 'Armies' game in series. Simple yet powerful gameplay, atmospheric soundtrack and the whole thing should be adorable by both old RTS fans and those who never saw games like that.

Scrack The Fricklet
Scrack The Fricklet

A cool strategy game,adds its other 8 bit series and you can do skirmish,lambda wars but 8 bit and everything is diffrent

topcat2028
topcat2028

I bought this as a gift for a friend and he loved it - in the end I ended up buying myself a copy and the multiplayer is very good. Very well balanced game and fun for all ages.

yukicrossily
yukicrossily

i loved the art design aliens and dragons in one and skeletons they got everything right with this game, just need to make the leaderboards last forever is the only thing that needs updated i was number1 hordes player on the server and even beat the top 10 people many times good times this game great times even wish you would advertise the game and get it popular and make a few updates cuz i would 100% play this game all over again would highly reccomend to anyone 5stars

OnFriday
OnFriday

If I could give a neutral, I would.

Single player wise, I enjoyed the small part of the campaign that I've played, but then I went and bought a second copy for my friend so we could play it together.

Well, sadly, there is no progression in co-op, there's still 3 medals to earn, but they don't do anything at all for you progression wise. I love how the single player campaign makes you want to jump around and earn medals out of place, but the co-op medals here are clearly just a tacked on after thought.

If your aim is co-op campaign, you're much better off putting your energy into StarCraft 2's Co-Op Commander mode which is also FREE!

Darth Koala
Darth Koala

More fun with others! I play with several family members and enjoy playing as a team. Easy to get a bit competitive, but that's the point, right? One of the nice things about 8-Bit is all of the army types you can play. They each have their own quirks, but that just keeps you coming back to get better at playing them. Personally, I love the Cranioids in Invaders.

Also a great game to play if you're short on time and can't commit to a long story!

ChancellorMoXie
ChancellorMoXie

sadly it looks like when they finished making the game they stopped having anything to do with it

afowke
afowke

Old fashioned RTS game with 8 bit type graphics. It is 3D and very well done. so the 8 bit thing is a cute add on.

Ir1s
Ir1s

I LOVE IT! though I dont know how to access the editor yet , if you could help me that would be great :)

Exhilus
Exhilus

Compared what it was meant to be a copy of, it's much worse than C&C.

CapAm99
CapAm99

Fun game to play with your friends!

MightyZ
MightyZ

Classic RTS fun - simple but a gas to play!

-Yuki-
-Yuki-

I LOVE THIS GAME! Too bad that it doesn't have much people anymore... I really wish more people would play it... ;-;

Magos Contrium
Magos Contrium

Somehow this game is experimental yet safe at the same time. It is experimental in the fact that the factions vary quite a lot yet safe in that the core gameplay of each is Command & Conquer, again. I wish Petroyglyph would experiment a bit more like with Universe at War but nobody seems to like that so we will have to see I guess. It's games like this where I wish Steam had a maybe option.

jawadasim9
jawadasim9

such a fun game realy liked it.

RedBlue115
RedBlue115

Real time strategy (RTS for short) games had always been my favorite type of game to play when I was younger. Because of my interest in RTS games, I became interested in playing this game. When I first looked at the aspects and visuals of the game, it almost reminded me of Legos or Minecraft. 8-Bit Invaders is a sci-fi RTS game where you can play as one of the 2 factions, either the Marines side or the Cranoids side. Each side houses unique troops and units to train so that you can lead them into battle. The playstyle of each side is similar. Every unit is distinct so that you can form up your preferred army, whether it is an army of mechs, ships or infantry.
Of course there is a story mode for both factions as well as different game modes you can play too. The looks of each unit and the environment in the game contain good pixelated aesthetics, which were very appealing to me, given how well made they were.. I would also say that even a game as basic as this is unique in its own way, such as the creativity and inspiration of the design work. This may sound like I would be more derived in the design of the game, but I also like the gameplay too. It is not too complicated to play, with a straightforward instruction what you would need to do: build and construct your base, train your troops and destroy the enemy. Of course since this is an RTS game, there can be many strategies and approaches in defeating your enemy. Overall I would give this game a go for players who enjoy classic RTS games.

nachwachsen
nachwachsen

good game, but they said they made new soundtracks, but i only see the ones from 2016 so where are the ones in 2020

Dotty
Dotty

10/10 would recommend if you like a simulator type game!

Emerald Dragon Scale
Emerald Dragon Scale

I love the concept of similar combining together, as such the maps and factions carry over. Out of all the factions in all 3 games the Galactic Marine Corps are my favorite as I like their aesthetic and their shields on everything.

Jawn
Jawn

Like the other 8-Bit rts games, it's an absolute gem

Психаря от Лъгът
Психаря от Лъгът

And here is another fantastic installment into Petroglyph's epic 8-bit trilogy of RTS games, this time its sci-fi themed! Basically, take the original Command & Conquer gameplay formula, make it with Lego-like pixel graphics and sprinkle in some inspiration from Starcraft, Star Wars Empire at War and Dune and you get this game. An excellent experience that is consistently fun and exciting, my personal favourite among the trilogy.

Everything that applies to the others, also applies here - excellent fast paced action reminiscent of oldschool strategy games, cool factions and a simple yet engaging campaign. The unit selection is a bit basic, but is fun nonetheless and among all three games, this one has the best looking designs. And also, as always, to nobody's surprise, Frank Klepacki knocked it out of the park with the soundtrack.

Important note: this game becomes so much more fun and interesting when combined with it's two brothers: 8-bit Armies and 8-bit Hordes. All factions and maps become available across all three games. Meaning you can fight orcs with tanks and aliens with dragons. How epic is that?

Hudson633
Hudson633

Semi-functional.

The skirmishes are pretty bland, feeling like slug matches with no strategy or tactics beyond grouping your spammed units up and sending them in. Like 8-Bit Hordes it's another reskin of 8-Bit Armies which itself was pretty shallow. The theme of the game is just a bunch of popular science fiction things thrown together with no immersive storytelling of its own.

The campaign barely entertains due to the weak gameplay. The missions are artificially difficult due to the lack of being able to use skill through strategy, requiring you to complete them on easy so that you can play through them again with bonus starting units later, but why would you want to play them again that if the gameplay is boring?

They threw together an extra gamemode called multiverse, although it's not explained in the game, so you have to watch a YouTube video to understand it (I was still left confused). I spent some time on it building up an army, then tried an autoresolve battle rated at 100% win prediction but it just destroyed my entire army and didn't kill any enemy units. When I manually played a battle I couldn't even find the enemy.

I think there's a lack of RTS games on the market, so it's good to see more, but I wouldn't recommend this one.

quixoticaxis
quixoticaxis

Not the greatest game: it is artificially blocking content to take more time, and it is also bugged (for example, I cannot move camera to the right with my mouse for some reason).

Pawel (LINUX)
Pawel (LINUX)

Super. Any chances for a sequel?

Anonymous
Anonymous

It's an easy to play game for beginners with nostalgic sci-fi vibes. Also runs well on simple laptops, and its forgiving enough to be played for hours without much issue. One of the more negative things about it is that units have a tendency to knock into each other, and the pathing and AI isn't the best there is. Overall a good game to play if you have some free time and enjoy a little RTS.

leightonkirby11
leightonkirby11

i love this game and the other bundles i cant wait to get 8-bit armies and its content

Her Protector
Her Protector

wish this was active cause i love this game! very very good rts and very easily to pick up

rickerricker26
rickerricker26

My first bought game. This introduced me to steam, and i have nostalgia playing it for the first time in 5 years. Would recommend without a doubt. Defenitly worth every cent.

Buckles
Buckles

10 Questions:

1. Does this game require the use of an account other than steam?
🔲 Yes, It requires an X account. (0)
☑ No (1)

2. When I click play, does it launch the game or a launcher?
☑ Game (1)
🔲 Game Selection Launcher (0.5)
🔲 "Launch Game" Launcher (0.5)
🔲 3rd Party Launcher (0)

3. Can I play the game without an internet connection?
🔲 Yes (1)
☑ Yes, but multiplayer would be unavailable (1)
🔲 Yes, but some content/features are unavailable offline (0.5)
🔲 No (0)

4. Can the developers revoke my ability to play the game in any way for any reason?.
☑ Yes, technically access can be revoked, but it's unlikely. (0.5)
🔲 Yes, ability to access multiplayer content can be revoked. (0.5)
🔲 Yes, ability to access the whole game can be revoked. (0)
🔲 No (1)

5. Is my saved game/profile progress saved on my computer?
☑ Yes, all saved game/profile data is stored on local system. (1)
🔲 Yes, some saved game/profile data is stored on local system. (0.5)
🔲 No (0)
🔲 N/A (1)

6. Can I make a backup of my saved game/profile progress on an external drive?
☑ Yes, external physical backup and restore is completely supported. (1)
🔲 Yes, external physical backup and restore is supported for some data. (0.5)
🔲 No (0)
🔲 N/A (1)

7. Is this a phone game?
🔲 Yes, game was made for phones then ported to computers. (0)
🔲 Yes, game was made for computers then ported to phones. (0.5)
☑ No (1)

8. Does this game use real money for in-game purchases?
🔲 Yes (0)
🔲 Yes, but an in-game point system can also be used. (0.5)
☑ No (1)
🔲 No, but it has an excessive amount of DLC. (0.5)

9. If the developers go out of business or the servers go offline, will I still be able to play?
🔲 Yes (1)
🔲 Yes, but multiplayer would be unavailable (0.5)
☑ Yes, but some content/features would be unavailable (0.5)
🔲 No (0)

10. Does this game list Windows 10 as a minimum requirement?
🔲 Yes (0)
🔲 Yes, but XP, Vista, 7, 8 or "64-bit system" are also listed. (0.5)
☑ No (1)

BONUS QUESTION 1: Is this game "early access" or "greenlit"?
🔲 Yes (-1)
☑ No (0)

BONUS QUESTION 2: If I buy this game, but don't play it for a year will I miss content?
🔲 Yes (-1)
☑ No (0)

Conclusion:

Total Score = 9/10
☑ I recommend this game. (7.5-10)
🔲 I recommend this game, but it has it's issues. (4-7)
🔲 I don't recommend this game. (0-3.5)

eightballortiz64
eightballortiz64

This game is great, and i absolutely recommended.

Letande
Letande

“Billion dollar scams are not the only scam, a dollar worth of greed is also crime.”
~Abhijit Naskar

So... Steam. After arriving in 2003 (yes, it was that long ago, welcome to the old farts club), it quickly revolutionized the entire industry. Back in the days, publishers needed to invest money into CD / DVD production, covers, manuals, packaging, advertising, transportation, dealing with the retail stores and so on. In other words, selling games wasn't easy back in the days. Sure, there are lots of “buts” about all that. For example, quite a lot of daring people were trying to sell their products through mail, while prior the video game crash of 1983 big companies were just buying games from college students directly and then re-selling them on their own terms, but... you can clearly see the problem with those methods too. Selling games through mail required a lot of smart advertisement and business skills, while on early stages big companies paid the developers close to nothing. They just bought some cheap code from kids, paid them a couple of bucks (yes, “would make games for food” wasn't really a joke back then) and then re-sold all that... stuff for a proper price. Without even trying to check what they actually got. You can see why that infamous crash happened and, unfortunately to us all, such things kept happening even after all the copies of E.T. were buried in New Mexico (Jason Kendall's SQIJ! is a nice example of that). So, when Sacred Order of Lord Gaben made Steam? It felt like all the problems were finally over.

Big companies got an ability to sell us cheaper versions of their games without bothering to invest anything into physical media and even patching games automatically, while the best thing was – everybody got the ability to make and release their own games. At this point, it's hard to imagine our lives without so-called “indies”, right? And yet, without Steam, the entire phenomenon of independent titles would be impossible. That's it, then? All the bad things are now in the past and we live in the perfect times for video games? Well... no. Obviously. I won't talk much 'bout those big AAA publishers with their overpriced digital releases, pointless DLC and microtransactions today, even though yes, it's a huge problem too. Today, I want to talk about those dishonest indie “developers”.

See, it's pretty easy to make your own game nowadays. There are cheap engines with easy to use tools on market (Unity is a nice example of that) and even if you have absolutely no idea how to work with those and don't want to learn, there are always free editors. RPG Maker, Visual Novel Maker, 001 Game Creator, Adventure Game Studio and so on. You can literally download one of such tools and making game there won't be any harder than making a Power Point presentation. Technically, it's a good thing. Technically. I mean, this sort of fun was always there and even during the DOS times people had fun modding games and creating new maps for them. Which eventually led to in-built editors in the big games. Just because people loved making their own content. But. With Steam becoming a thing, such tools started to cause problems. Just because nowadays, any kid out there can download Raycasting Game Maker, add some basic sprites to default assets and then sell the result in Steam as a proper commercial game. I've actually reviewed some of such “products” before and man, there's a lot of those. Even though Raycasting Game Maker was supposed to be the most basic thing you can ever imagine and was all about sharing “your own little Wolfenstein 3D” with friends, it ended up causing a shovelware pandemic in Steam and those school kids sure scammed a lot of users. Some other guys tried a little bit harder. They bought some tools from Steam (yes, you can literally buy RPG Maker from Steam, make some basic stuff and sell the result in the same exact Steam you bought the RPG Maker from) and made tons of generic stuff. Which wasn't even the worst thing in the world at times. And yet... yeah. Just look at the “RPG Maker” tag in store. Some people release, like, five games per month. And that's the story for today. Cheap scam.

Which is funny, since we're talking about one of the most famous and influential developers from 90s. I'm talking, of course, about Westwood Studios. Creators of mind-blowing titles like The Legend of Kyrandia, Dune II, Lands of Lore, Command & Conquer, Blade Runner and the others. After being purchased and eventually destroyed by EA (I'm telling you, the guys are pure evil), some of Westwood's key figures established Petroglyph Games. Who, after a pretty solid start in Star Wars: Empire at War started to fall lower and lower, and ended up making cheap f2p crap with pay-to-win mechanics. Which is really sad thing to see, especially since one of my most favorite (probably the most favorite) composers of all times, Frank Klepacki, is still there and composing some really nice music for all that bull, but what's important for us today is – at this point, Petroglyph also joined the scammers club. And that's exactly what we've got here – yet another scam.

Sure, Petroglyph didn't use any of those easy-to-use tools I've mentioned above. They've used their own engine called GlyphX (yes, this game is ran by the same exact engine that was later used in the Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection), and yet, it's a scam. Long story short, Petroglyph created a very basic game. One of those you can find in Google Play store for a couple of bucks. It's a tiny little RTS with a very, very cheap aftertaste. No story at all, some basic units, some basic missions, a couple of factions... Like I said, it was one of those uninspired “give us a couple of bucks because of nostalgia” things. Sure, it sounds bad, but where's the scam here? The scam here is in fact that Petroglyph sold this game to us... for three times. That's just it 'bout Petroglyph's “8-bit” series. 8-bit Armies, 8-bit Hordes and 8-bit Invaders!. It's the same exact game. No differences whatsoever. You've played one of them – you've played them all. The only difference is the models and that's it. Now, that's a scam.

And you can clearly see that. I mean, nobody cared about making a good game here. All that copy / pasted stuff aside, you can totally smell shovelware. The balance here doesn't exist at all, there's no story at all and even the core mechanics is half-broken. For example, in these “8-bit” titles you're supposed to complete optional objectives (like killing certain enemies within the time limit) in order to unlock better structures for the next missions. Which makes those “optional” objectives not optional at all and also destroys the entire balance as a thing. In other words, Petroglyph's “8-bit” series comes with “LOL, we don't care!” written all over it. The fact that it's a pretty bad game with terribly cheap aftertaste is more than enough to give it a thumb down. But the fact that it's also a shameless scam? It makes me want an option in Steam to give it another one. Honestly, at this point, Gaben's store needs “It's a scam!” button. It's not like I want to make life harder for the developers, but some people? Some people just don't have any shame. And the fact that people who used to work on Command & Conquer are doing that too now? It's just... I dunno. Shame on you, Petroglyph! Shame on you!

HawkeyeGK
HawkeyeGK

gets quite boring after a few games.

thecrimsonaxe
thecrimsonaxe

This series is a blast with a few friends. The factions of the different games are terribly balanced against eachother, but this is still a super fun and simple to pick up RTS.
Highly recommend. I've gotten so many hours of fun out of these games.

David
David

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☑ Kids
☑ Teens
☐ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second live for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☑ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ Cyberpunk 2077
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☑ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

Anonymous
Anonymous

it's just a fun game it allows you to take your anger out in something that isn't another person.

sara
sara

your best 3 games are 8 bit hordes inaders and armys

Epsilon
Epsilon

Essentially just voxel version of Starcraft.