San Francisco-based Relic entertainment, best known for its real-time strategy franchises like Dawn of War and Company of Heroes, is shifting gears with the declaration of Earth vs.Mars, a turn-based strategy game slated for release on Steam in early 2025. This marks a significant departure for the studio, indicating a strategic push to broaden its audience and explore new gameplay mechanics within the strategy genre. The game distinguishes itself with a unique “splicing” system, allowing players to create customized hybrid soldiers using animal DNA, promising a new level of tactical depth and unit design.
San Francisco, CA – Relic Entertainment, the studio behind the acclaimed Dawn of War real-time strategy series, is venturing into new territory with its upcoming title, Earth vs. Mars. The game marks a significant departure for the developer, shifting from the fast-paced, dynamic RTS gameplay it’s known for to a turn-based strategy experience. This move signals a broadening of Relic’s design ambitions and a potential appeal to a wider audience within the strategy gaming community.
Unlike Relic’s traditionally weighty and serious game worlds, Earth vs. Mars adopts a more colorful and accessible aesthetic, reminiscent of titles like Advance Wars, Wargroove, and Tiny Metal. The core gameplay revolves around familiar elements – infantry, tanks, artillery, and helicopters – deployed across battlefields and commanded by powerful leaders. These commanders possess unique abilities that can dramatically alter the course of combat, but utilizing them requires the accumulation of resource points.
The game’s narrative centers on a conflict between Earth and Mars, with Earth developing a unique approach to military strength. Rather than simply building larger armies, Earth’s forces employ a “splicing” system, combining human DNA with animal genes to create hybrid super-soldiers. Early access to three animal types – rhinoceros, fly, and cheetah – showcases the depth and sophistication of this system. Players can customize these hybrids by mixing and matching heads, arms, legs, and distinct anatomical features like wings or tails.
The customization options are extensive, allowing for combinations like a rhinoceros with the speed of a fly, capable of quickly traversing the battlefield and launching enemies into disarray, or a cheetah-bodied soldier equipped with a fly’s acid-spitting head. Players aren’t limited to hybrid creations, however, and can also focus on building soldiers based on a single animal’s capabilities. Relic plans to offer a total of ten animal species for splicing by the game’s final release, promising a level of tactical flexibility that sets Earth vs. Mars apart from other titles in the genre. This innovative approach to unit creation could redefine player strategies and unit composition within the turn-based strategy landscape.
