Cyber Knights: Flashpoint

Overall I love this game, in some ways even more than X-Com WOTC. The cyberpunk vibe is very compelling. Very well crafted skill trees and class/professions make for satisfyingly complex layers of different tactics and excellent stealth system. Good mix of combat, base-building and team management/contact management. The devs are very active on the forums and very willing to listen to people and accomodate requests. Highly recommended. This is one of the good ones. I look forward to when modding support is brought in.

The game scratches the XCOM itch like no other. I would argue it does many things better than XCOM mechanically and it allows for true stealth unlike XCOM 1 and 2. It has a lot of mechanics that took some time to figure out and it also took me some time to figure out how to best execute stealthy runs. But once it clicked it got me hooked hard. True stealth will be kinda hard initially until you get characters like Vanguard and Scourge in your team, so get those. The game does lack a bit a bit when it comes to overall presentation compared to XCOM. There is no voice acting and model variety is sometimes a bit lackluster. But since the gameplay itself is so good that doesn't matter much to me. Sounds could also a bit punchier in my opinion. The devs also seem to still add content regularly with free updates so that's great. Overall a great game if you enjoyed XCOM, like Cyberpunk aesthetics, and want a bit more stealth in your experience.

This game consumed me for a full week. It’s a fun game and something different from my repeated xcom 2 plays. Do wish there were more classes and cosmetic options. Have one save that just blasts through everything another to stealth and it’s fun seeing how the different approaches affect things. Love to see more of the worlds lore as it seems an interesting setting.

This game is almost really really good. The gameplay is great. At first there is almost too muhc information and systems to get into the game but as the first few missions unfold it all comes together nicely. The tactical gameplay is tight and strong. Sneak attacks actually feel useful and skills balance nicely to fit all kinds of play styles. My major negative for this is story. I palyed 40 hours and have no idea "how far" through the game I am. If this is a sandbox that goes on forever, there isnt enough here to keep me interest. If there is an ending, there is nothing building any momentum then procedural missions of much the sameness. Its a shame really because it is a really good game, but needs a bit more direction for my taste. Overall, still a solid 7/10. With some extra story work, could easily be a 9.

So I get the developers are constantly adding updates and have good communication, which is great, and I loved their previous game startraders frontiers (clocked hundreds of hours). Unfortunately this game falls short. Fundamentally, there's so few ways to progress or solve issues/missions you are forced to play in certain ways, and because of the tedious starting missions, you can't treat it like a roguelike as there's a significant time investment to "restart" (unlike startraders). If you hate the hacking minigame (which I do) it basically completely kneecaps you in being able to progress, and even some character plotlines/quests become unfinishable, meaning if you want to be successful (without having lots of characters dying) then you HAVE to make sure you level up and have good hackers. For comparision, in startraders, there are so many ways once could approach a mission, and because you can build a crew that meets your needs relatively quickly, you have the capability of solving any challenge with enough experience and prep. Here if your hacker needs to repair their deck, or is incapacitated/dead, etc you're completely f-d. While I admit I haven't fully explored the possibilities of the game as much as star traders, as far as I could discern, there was no real way for me to hire a new hacker to make up the manpower shortage. This basically invites savescumming and makes hardcore/single save playthroughs deeply unsatisfying, as there's no tactical or strategic reward (no way to plan), you either have the luck of hiring the class you need, or you don't and you're screwed. Of course, you can multiclass a character to hacker to make up the difference, but in the end you just have a sub-par hacker which makes the minigame even ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ to play and less fun. If there was an option to actively recruit the classes you want in a timely and non-frustrating manner, OR a way to solve various problems through more than one means (e.g have the options to solve a problem either through hacking, or a "go-in-hot". Get rid of ONLY hacking missions) then this would definitely make the game much less frustrating and more satisfying to play.

I bought this game back in 2024 and I didn't get round to playing it up until a couple of weeks ago. My expectations for it were super low coming from the developers of Star Traders: Frontiers. But wow was I surprised, this game is great. It might actually be my favourite in the genre. Having said that it was a very rough start, just like their previous title they have stuffed it with a multitude of mechanics, most of which are unexplained. There is a tutorial, but not only is it not that helpful it actually confuses matters. I think if you'd played this from early access release it wouldn't have been so overwhelming as you'd have been drip fed new mechanics over time. If you force yourself to push past the beginning though it gets much better, you learn which mechanics are important and which you can just ignore. The graphics are pretty bad, all the characters look like they're riding an invisible horse, but it doesn't detract from the gameplay, which as I said is great. The progression system for your base and your characters are in depth and engaging, and there are loads of different weapons and armour to kit out your team. Unfortunately you can generally only have 4 team members take part in a mission, you can't upgrade that like in XCOM, which limits you from trying out new classes as they appear. As a result my team of 4 was virtually unchanged throughout the entire game. The gameplay is highly customisable for instance if you hated the timed missions in XCOM or indeed the timed entire game of XCOM2 you can turn that off completely. You can also make the enemies/events easier or harder at any point. This is a very refreshing change. In summary the game was really enjoyable, I highly recommend it.

This game is basically that stealth turn from X-Com 2 expanded into a standalone game. The mechanics are challenging but rewarding once you figure them out, the dynamic storylines are engaging and the classes are fun and meaningfully different, though balance can be an issue (looking at you Vanguard). Special shout-out to the devs who have rolled out like a hundred patches in the time between me buying it and actually playing it.