Is Falling Frontier the “Hidden Gem” of E3 2021?
Last Updated on: 21st June 2021, 09:22 pm
Stutter Fox Studios doesn’t mean a lot to you as a name, does it? Well, you might want to keep an eye on them. Falling Frontier, their new sci-fi RTS, is one of the best games we got a glimpse of at E3 2021 and we’re here to tell you why.
To get you up to speed, here’s what it’s all about (courtesy of the Steam Page):
” Conquer a vast procedurally generated star system in Falling Frontier, a sci-fi RTS where intel and logistics are decisive factors. Design ships and raid enemy supply lines, lay minefields and construct recon stations, and ambush enemy forces within asteroid fields and nebulae.”
Falling Frontier Won An Award
Firstly, we’re not the only people who think Falling Frontier looks good. In a matter of fact, quite a few people think Falling Frontier looks good. So many people, in fact, that it actually won the “Most Anticipated Indie Game” award at the E3 2021 Awards Show last night!
We know that might not mean too much, but it’s a fairly big deal. E3 2021 gave us a fantastic look at a lot of great indie games, but Stutter Fox Studios’ Falling Frontier is the one everyone wants to play.
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PCGamesN went as far as to say it’s the “space RTS game of [their] dreams”, which we’re inclined to agree with. What makes it all the more impressive, is that it’s also allegedly being made by one bloke.
Todd D’Arcy is operating under the name Stutter Fox Studios and has put a lot of thought into keeping the title grounded and impactful, despite its setting.
Tactical Gameplay At Its Finest
It’s hard to summarise how fantastic the gameplay of Falling Frontier looks. To put it plainly, it looks ridiculously dramatic. Falling Frontier doesn’t overload you with units like other RTS titles and this forces you to play a lot smarter than you need to in other strategy games. Each unit matters and each unit, with the right upgrades and the right placement, can change the battle.
As you can see below, vision is key. Space might be vast, but there’s still plenty of things to get in the way. Flanking manoueveres and intelligent movement are going to be just as important as hard hits and large health pools.
Each ship in your fleet has incredible depth too. There’s exterior and interior customisation and upgrades, crews that can help make your ships more effective, and a heavy influence from “out of combat” gameplay.
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Falling Frontier is as much a Grand Strategy title as it is an RTS. Reconnaissance outside of combat can change how you approach each flashpoint and where you have your forces stationed can be vital in protecting them from probing opponents.
“Wars are won or lost through logistics. A weaker opponent can choose to engage in guerrilla warfare, raiding supply depots and refineries, blockading colonies, and otherwise attacking each point in the enemy supply chain. Likewise, a stronger force cannot simply combine their ships into a single massive and unstoppable fleet and must instead strategically distribute smaller defence flotillas throughout their territory.”
Falling Frontier might feel a little overwhelming, given the fact that it has deep strategical gameplay both in and out of combat, but that also makes it quite an accessible one. Even if you’re not the best at quick decisions and combat analysis, you can give yourself the advantage by consolidating supplies and striking when necessary.
Endless Replayability
When you see the words “procedurally generated”, you instantly know you’re onto a winner. The technological advancements in game design that have allowed for procedurally generated levels instantly add a wonderful element of replayability to any title.
It’s like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, except the box actually changes each time you look into it. We’re not sure what weird boxes of chocolates Gump is getting, but you get the idea.
Both in and out of combat, there’s so many choices to be made when playing Falling Frontier. It feels like a game that will always feel new as you deepen your understanding of it’s strategic elements and master the different aspects and approaches you can take.
There’s loads of weapons to choose from, for example…
There’s also a whole host of “lineage” options. These are essentially the factions of Falling Frontier.
To top it all off, there’s over twenty different types of ship! It’s hard to think of another title with this level of depth, especially an “indie” game like Falling Frontier.
” Falling Frontier incorporates over 20 different ship types, including frigates, destroyers, cruisers, and battlecruisers, alongside an array of civilian ships. You may create your own designs and choose weapons, utility modules, and other components to best serve your strategic needs.”
We don’t have a release date for the title just yet, but it is slated for a 2021 release and the steam page is going to be one worth bookmarking. For now, let’s check out a little bit of gameplay…
Keep an eye on Stutter Fox Studios… They’re going to be one to watch.
