Cruel Angel's Thesis

A tactics game in a universe like Evangelion

I think I’m finally settling in to a rhythm of content creation for this newsletter in the research world!

Hello Scientist Gamers!

The 1990s was a golden era for anime, bursting with iconic series like Rurouni Kenshin, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Gundam, Slam Dunk, and Yuu Yuu Hakusho. These shows not only gained massive followings but have also inspired various adaptations, including live-action films and series.

One standout anime from this period was Neon Genesis Evangelion, which deviated from the typical "unlikely hero saves the world" narrative to offer a deep introspective look at human psychology and behaviour. Over its 25-episode arc, plus a complex two-part finale and two subsequent movies, what Evangelion offered was a wild ride. It has left, and continues to leave, a lasting impact on viewers.

But this isn’t a post about Neon Genesis Evangelion, though its influence is palpable in a brand new turn-based tactics game called Arc Seed. This game will resonate with fans of the iconic anime: playing the game might make you feel like you’re controlling Eva-01, tasked with defending the city from apocalyptic threats.

🔗 Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2332970/ARC_SEED/
📅 Release date: Q2 2024 (early access)
🖥️ Developer: Massive Galaxy Studios
📢 Publisher: Massive Galaxy Studios
🎮 Available on: Steam (PC)

Introducing Arc Seed

Arc Seed is a deck-building, turn-based tactics game where you control a single mech, protecting cities under siege by entities known as Angels. You’ll draw a hand of cards from a customizable deck, which determines your mech’s actions. The object of the game is to neutralize the threat and save as many people as possible.

The game’s story and details like enemy unit names mirror the Evangelion universe, providing you with a chance to reimagine yourself in an alternate reality version of the show. Curiously, a tactics game wasn’t released for the franchise so this feels like the missing piece of the puzzle.

Arc Seed is a tactics game, which means it will require thoughtful planning from you. Because it is a 1 vs. many combat system, you’ll want to make sure that you don’t get swarmed by enemy Angels — nothing good will come out of being surrounded on all sides.

Outside of the battle map, you’ll need to decide how to spend the money that you received from the citizens that you saved. Those citizens are hiding in the destructible buildings on the battle map — the more buildings that get destroyed, the lower your reward. It’s an added consideration that I haven’t seen implemented very much in tactics games. But it’s a cool way to ensure that you are a “responsible” hero (or not, there’s a role playing angle here).

Barriers to playing the game

It’s best to approach this as a deck-building game first, before thinking about the tactics. Your hand at the beginning of each turn will determine the actions you can take. Sometimes, you will only get movement cards; other times, your hand will skew towards attack cards. You don’t get complete freedom of actions like you do in XCOM, but you will still have to think about the cards that you are dealt.

Otherwise, all of the informational elements of the game are clearly explained and labelled so the learning curve isn’t steep.

How long you can expect to play the game

It’s hard to say how long the full release of the game will be, but if I had to take a guess, I would say that it was in the 10-15 hour range. Deck-building games want you to play through the game a couple of times, trying out different deck combinations or starting characters. The developers are planning for more mechs, pilots, weapons, enemies, bosses, and maps to be added to the game meaning there will be plenty of combinations to choose from.

My play session with Arc Seed lasted about 45 minutes, which got me to the end of the demo. Each battle probably took between 5 to 10 minutes to complete, which feels right for the size of the map and number of enemies.

The game hasn’t even released yet so it is a bit premature to talk about mod support, but it would be cool to see players create pilots, mechs, cards, enemies, and maps for the game. It isn’t always everyone’s cup of tea but it can go a long way to extending the shelf life of a game.

Final thoughts

For fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion and the turn-based tactics genre, Arc Seed will be an engaging blend of nostalgia and fun gameplay. For deck-builder fans, the way your rewards are tied to battle actions will make your brain work just a little bit more to balance those rewards against eliminating enemies quickly.

This is a good game to try if you are new to the genre (deck-building or turn-based tactics) since the learning curve isn’t that steep and the game does a good job of easing you into combat. Give the demo a try on Steam right now!

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