Revival: Recolonization is a postapocalyptic 4X strategy game where the world and its rules can change at key moments, resulting in dynamic and unpredictable gameplay.
Taking the role of an "Emissary" awakened from cryosleep, you're tasked with exploring a transformed Earth untold generations in the future and bringing bring the light of civilization to the regressed clans in order to prepare mankind for war with a despotic entity. Whether that involves negotiation or conquest, is up to you.
The game was released on Steam as an Early Access title on June 29, 2023.
This game contains examples of:
- After the End: The game starts off countless generations after a cataclysm devastated Earth.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: In the backstory, the All-Mind turned on humanity and played some role in the apocalypse that destroyed the world as we know it. Even in the distant future, however, its robots still prey on the survivors' descendants and is keeping an eye on anyone trying to rebuild civilization.
- Can't Catch Up: Largely averted. If you have enough resources and researched enough tech, it's possible to bring even the most primeval warrior up to speed with automatic weapons and state of the art body armor.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: By the time the Emissaries awaken, they realize that some of the new postapocalyptic clans would have worldviews utterly reprehensible to everything they've always known, be it cannibalism or human sacrifice. Given the urgency of their respective missions, however, they're forced to make do.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Rather than leading a faction from the onset, you instead seek out a prospective clan or tribe to "guide" through the ages.
- Future Primitive: The clans at first are little more than primitive tribes armed with bows, clubs, and spears, with the occasional piece of Lost Technology. This gradually fades away as they rediscover (and potentially surpass) the knowledge of their ancestors through the Emissaries.
- Geo Effects: Among the various "edicts" the Emissaries have is the ability to reshape the land around them with terraforming drones.
- Giving Radio to the Romans: One major focus of the game is on reintroducing, rediscovering, and eventually surpassing the world as it was before the apocalypse, one step at a time.
- God Guise: The Emissaries are forced to present themselves as godlike beings, or at least some measure of The Chosen One, to the clans they hope to mold in their image. Though it's suggested that they're no all that happy about doing it.
- Immortal Ruler: The Emissaries can be harmed but are otherwise capable of outliving the original tribals they formed a pact with.
- Low Culture, High Tech: Depending on how you progress through the tech tree, it's possible to have your people equipped with firearms and explosives while still being roughly in Medieval standards. This is justified, however, by the presence of Lost Technology from ruins and the Emissaries' intervening in their chosen clans' development.
- Magic from Technology:
- The Emissaries have technological abilities called "edicts," which are so far beyond the clans' understanding that they might as well be divine miracles.
- Scattered across the world are "totem trees," which are revealed to be cybernetic climate control systems that protect the regions around them from radical shifts.
- Monumental Damage: Among the myriad Anomalies found in postapocalyptic Earth are the still-recognizable ruins of lands as varied as the Forbidden City and Eiffel Tower, with provide unique bonuses.
- Proxy War: What most conflicts ultimately amount to for Emissaries, who have to rely on the people they're "guiding" to achieve their objectives.
- Race Against the Clock: The All-Mind is slowly but surely losing its patience with what's left of mankind, and will eventually try to wipe humanity out for good once its intolerance level maxes out. How fast this gets depends on the Emissaries' actions, and how quick civilization is being rebuilt.
- Ragnarök Proofing: The distant future is still littered with the decaying ruins of the old world, as well as armies of still-functional military robots.
- Roguelike: The game has elements of this. An average playthrough can have wildly varied factors ranging from sudden weather changes to zombie infestations and bans on certain weapon types.
- The Singularity: Humanity prior to the apocalypse seemed to have come close to reaching a technological singularity. Unfortunately, this resulted in the All-Mind and mankind being almost wiped out.
- Slept Through the Apocalypse: The Emissaries were put in cryostasis with all the skills and tech necessary to help the survivors' descendants rebuild civilization.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Despite having a common foe in the All-Mind, each Emissary has their own particular agenda and vision for mankind. This can potentially lead to outright conflict among themselves.
