Developed by Bulwark Studios and published by Kasedo Games comes a space-exploration of galactic proportions. Build, manage, and balance the hard choices to help the crew of your station survive amongst the stars. In a stunning display of Stellaris and Civ: Beyond Earth, prepare for an experience that will make time fly by.
The bridge is yours, Administrator. This is IXION.
The Final Frontier
The future is grim. Mankind has pushed Earth to its last leg. As a war torn and polluted world continues to spin, one group is focused on saving humanity from itself. The Tiqqun is a massive space station by the DOLOS Cooperation, sent to space to be the first steps to salvation. In a surprising shift from most real-time strategy (RTS) games, the story takes an interesting and dire turn post prologue. One that I won’t spoil here.
Conquer the stars and protect humanity, that is your ultimate mission. Base-building and RTS themes have you operating on multiple levels. IXION has you playing the role of Administrator, the first and last word on board the Tiqqun. You must manage everything in the space station, including the health and happiness of its people, energy for the buildings, and resources for constructions. You must uncover technology, complete missions given, and keep the peace in order to thrive amidst the cold darkness of space.
There are three levels of management that you must deal with in IXION. The first, and probably the one you’ll spend the most time on, is the Inner Deck. Here you will build structures for housing and manufacturing amongst many others. The people reside on this level, and you can find missions given to you that require you to make promises that you then must choose to fulfill. The second level is the Tiqqun station itself, needing hull repairs and other macro things like external solar panels. The third layer is the galaxy map, where you will send ships into the distance, having them mine, scout, and search the stars for whatever you can find out there.
To Boldly Go
IXION is a beautiful game, with amazing visuals and details that add to the atmosphere. The units look detailed enough without drawing too much away from the rest of the world around it. The art style is almost thematic, evoking the feelings of the events that are transpiring. The music is also amazing, with an opening theme that had me leaning back to just listen for a while. There are many good tracks that convey the emotions of the missions splendidly.
A word of caution, however. If you are used to RTS games like Civilization or Age of Empires, or even something like Frostpunk, you will be well-versed to handle this game. But if this is your first steps into the genre, you may be overwhelmed. There is a lot of reading, and a lot of trial and error. Many things you are supposed to do rely on intuition rather than being explicitly told. There is a tutorial in the prologue, but it still took me a bit to get over the initial learning curve. Do not let having to learn dissuade you from playing though. This is worth the investment.
Final Verdict
IXION is a brilliantly designed and nearly as brilliantly executed game. What could be one of the more storied games in the RTS genre, it’s very captivating. Soon, you will find yourself watching the time fly by as you balance all the spinning plates that makes up the daily life aboard the Tiqqun.
IXION is available on for PC on Epic Games Store and Steam. Review key was provided by Bulwark Games.
VERDICT
GOOD
GOOD
IXION is a brilliantly designed and nearly as brilliant executed game. What could be one of the more story backed games in the RTS Genre, it's very captivating. Soon you will find yourself watching the time fly by and as you balance all the spinning plates that makes up the daily life aboard the Tiqqun.
