Pax Autocratica
Preview

While I spent plenty of time building a brutal war machine of my own, I would say that Pax Autocratica might very well be one of the most unique games out there at the moment. Even though it focuses a lot more on the battle elements than the colony management, it has an awesome foundation and an amazing atmosphere of totalitarian satire.

The Backbone of the State: Colony Management

At its core, Pax Autocratica is about transforming your survivors into a vast and efficient colony. You have to assign the citizens, who are, essentially, captured soldiers converted into your cause, to mine, gather, transport, and manufacture weaponry for your war machine.

Unfortunately, at the moment, the colony sim part is the weakest of the three game modes. Anyone expecting the game to have a deep character interaction system similar to that in RimWorld will surely be disappointed, because the citizens mostly serve as a labor force for your military compound. In addition to that, the "autocratic policies" you can enforce are, essentially, buffs for your army, rather than actual political decisions. And, at this point, there is no danger of other enemies coming and raiding your settlement.

But it makes for excellent support for your excursions. Watching the weak shelters transform into the machines of the State, while reading the darkly humorous dystopian flavor text, is a welcome diversion during the chaotic battles.

The Might of the War Machine: FPS Combat and Core Mechanics

But where Pax Autocratica really shines is when you enter the broken territories of the Tyris System. The FPS combat is smooth, exciting, and incredibly deep.

You don't fight alone. You go there with your squad of converted soldiers by your side. The sheer scale of the battle is impressive, starting with desperate skirmishes and ending up with large-scale mechanized battlefields full of infantry, tanks, and mechs. The core mechanic takes the combat to a new level. Each run, you collect "cores" that completely transform your gameplay. The Weapon Cores make you reevaluate your guns, while the Combination Cores allow you to create incredible synergy. Watching the two abilities come together to create a completely new one is very exciting.

And you can use cores to buff your troops or, quite fittingly for the game, turn them into your meat shields.

Early Access Issues

As an Early Access game, Pax Autocratica does have its fair share of problems with the balancing. The difficulty curve feels quite jarring, with the very first boss acting as a huge wall that prevents you from progressing further in the game. Because most of the advanced technologies, such as larger dropships, better equipment, and advanced skills, are locked after you defeat this initial boss, you might find yourself in a very monotonous grinding session until you overcome it. After that, however, the combat becomes far too easy.

There is also a problem with the diversity of your allied troops. At the moment, you are limited to around 30 soldiers in battle, and there is no real strategy involved in their usage, they simply follow you and shoot.

Conclusion

There is a need for more balancing, more complex colony management, and maybe even base raids. But the synergy between building your army and leading it into battle is absolutely brilliant. And the developers seem to be highly active and responsive to feedback, so joining the regime is definitely recommended.