Feneq’s Rogue Command brings a fresh take on the RTS genre with roguelike elements! Read our review of its early-access build to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Everything We Know About Rogue Command
Rogue Command Story Plot
In the heart of a perilous, procedurally generated galaxy, you assume command of an Engineer of a fledgling spacefaring civilization. Your mission? To survive, expand, and ultimately conquer. However, this universe isn't just a static battleground; it is filled with diverse biomes and shifting weather effects, which players can use to gain the upper hand in skirmishes. Expect everything from foggy landscapes that slow enemy movements to storms that impact powerful foes.
Rogue Command Gameplay
Rogue Command fuses classic real-time strategy (RTS) gameplay with a roguelike twist. Players are tasked with building up futuristic bases, gathering resources, and managing an evolving army, all on procedurally generated maps with unique challenges.
The core loop is straightforward: each mission requires you to construct your base, organize troops, and strategically plan attacks on enemy bases. However, unlike RTS games, each run offers randomized options for buildings and units.
At the end of each mission, you're presented with a choice of blueprint cards, which let you expand your arsenal. These cards introduce new structures and units, like powerful turrets or specialized factories. With over a hundred potential combinations of units, buildings, and upgrades, players can endlessly experiment to adapt to enemies and environmental hazards. These environmental interactions add another layer to the strategy, with map features like slow-moving fog or surprise sandstorms that can be used to your advantage.
Early Access Releases on November 18, 2024
Rogue Command will have an early access release on the 14th of November, 2024 for the PC (via Steam). According to its Steam page, it will come out at 12:00 P.M. EDT / 9:00 A.M. PDT.
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| Price | $19.99 | ||||
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Rogue Command Review [Early Access]
Command, Conquer, Repeat
I still treasure the golden afternoons of my childhood, huddled with friends around low-end laptops, playing the first Command & Conquer game. In the mid-2000s, our humble setup wasn’t built for flashy graphics or the high-end gaming of today, but this classic didn’t care. Its modest specs meant it was one of the few games our rig could handle, and its brilliance shone through its pixels. We didn’t have the luxury of the internet back then, so we turned to LAN parties that turned the small living room into a battlefield.
When I booted up Rogue Command, I hoped for a rush of nostalgia to pull me back to those simpler days. And for a fleeting moment, it did. The interface, the mechanics, the faint echoes of something I had long missed—they stirred those memories awake. But nostalgia is ever fleeting; as soon as the initial glow waned, more and more of its flaws became painfully apparent. Even though Rogue Command is understandably in its Early Access phase, some may just be too hard to ignore.
RTS and Roguelike Just Work Well Together
Don’t get me wrong—Rogue Command is fun. There’s something undeniably thrilling about the core gameplay loop of real-time strategy (RTS) games. That rush of frantic multitasking during the "quiet" moments—assembling troops, fortifying defenses, plotting your next strike—all while knowing your opponent is doing the same. But even the most satisfying gameplay loops can feel stale after a while. Predictability creeps in, and the once-exciting dance turns into a routine shuffle.
That’s where Rogue Command shines. The game blends the unpredictability of roguelike mechanics with the RTS formula, and it reinvents the genre in a way that feels both fresh and deep. Each run begins modestly, with a small selection of blueprints for basic units—harvesters, tanks, and buildings. The meat of the game happens as you progress. After every mission, the game hands you a choice of blueprint cards to expand and upgrade your arsenal.
And the customization? Chef’s kiss. Want tanky, support-oriented units to hold down the line? Done. Prefer troops that explode on impact and deal devastating effects? Sure. You can even equip your units with post-mortem revenge tactics, like spawning robot zombies and spiders and even bomber units from the wreckage.
According to the developers, Rogue Command boasts a staggering arsenal of over a hundred units and buildings, each with a hundred possible upgrades. While I couldn’t possibly explore all the combinations in a sitting or two, the promise of discovering something new—like another Engineer—which brings with it a new design and passive skills—kept me glued to my screen well past midnight. And with procedurally-generated maps and dynamic map hazards like fog and sandstorms disrupting both players and enemies alike, every run felt like a challenge that demanded to be conquered. The best part is that if you are ever feeling too overwhelmed, you can even slow down time to a crawl and strategize from there.
But the real hook lies beyond that first glorious win. Victory isn’t the endgame. Completing a run unlocks even tougher difficulties. I’ll admit, some of these higher tiers left me thoroughly stumped. They were brutal, and my strategy was quickly brutalized by a barrage of enemies that I was unprepared for. But that only made me want to do another run to unlock better units, refine my approach, and return to conquer the maps that had humbled me.
It’s this layer of unpredictability—paired with seemingly endless strategic options—that could keep Rogue Command from falling into the same rut as some of its genre predecessors. However, do take note of the keyword here: "could." Despite these undeniably high highs, Rogue Command also has its share of lows.
Took Minimalism to the Max
If you’re here for a gripping narrative or an explanation for why you’re sending troops to obliterate the red team across the map, Rogue Command might leave you scratching your head. But truth be told, it doesn’t really need one. RTS games have always thrived on simplicity: The enemy is there, you’re here, and victory means leaving them in shambles. No deep lore required.
That said, Rogue Command takes this minimalism to an extreme. Boot up the game, and you’re dropped unceremoniously onto a map as a lone robot Engineer, tasked with building factories and tanks to survive. There’s no story, no context, and—here’s the unfortunate part of it all—no tutorial. It’s sink or swim, and the pool isn’t even there.
Now, while I can appreciate a game that respects a player’s ability to figure things out, Rogue Command stumbles by offering absolutely no guidance. Not even a pop-up to explain how its inventive mechanics—like the blueprint drop system—actually work. Instead, you’re left to muddle through by trial and error, relying solely on your instincts and experience on previous games you’ve played. For a title that leans so heavily on its clever mechanics, failing to teach players how to use them feels like a missed opportunity. It is worth noting that some explanations can be found on the game’s Steam page, but it’s a shame none of these are explained on the game itself.
The developers are well aware of Rogue Command’s glaring lack of a tutorial, and they’ve acknowledged it openly on their Discord. They’ve promised to implement a "nice onboarding process" before the game’s full launch. Perhaps one day, I’ll look back at this review, cross out this section, and commend the devs for the game’s triumph.
AI Often Struggles to Find Its Way
A less catastrophic but still irksome issue with Rogue Command is its AI. Both enemy and allied units sometimes behave like tourists lost in a maze, oblivious to the paths they could take to reach their destination. It’s not uncommon to see a group of enemies or your own units stuck behind a wall. For instance, in one of my runs, I had unknowingly built my Crystal Harvester at the base of a cliff. A cluster of melee enemy units stationed above seemed determined to destroy it, yet they refused to take the nearby incline just a couple of steps away. Instead, they stood idly at the cliff’s edge, relentlessly pressing into an invisible wall they could not break.
That said, this issue isn’t particularly game-breaking, but it’s hard to ignore. An RTS thrives on its ability to simulate intelligence—on the feeling that your opponent is as cunning as you are. And since the game does not and will not have multiplayer for you to play with friends, the game’s AI is all you have, and you’d better hope the enemies in your run don’t find themselves scrambling for a path to your base.
Looks Simple, Runs Rough
The visuals and user interface in Rogue Command are serviceable, but they stop short of being memorable. Compared to the sleeker design teased in its 2022 reveal trailer, the Early Access iteration feels pared down, favoring function over flair. The game’s low-poly aesthetic and minimalistic UI seem to work in the game’s favor, however, particularly during the later stages of the game, when the maps stretch wider and more enemy units swarm your bases at a moment’s notice.
Despite this, I did experience occasional slow downs and crashes. The crashes happened no more than three times, but these instances were particularly punishing, as they occurred in later maps that took upwards of thirty minutes to complete, forcing me to start over and replay the entire map from scratch.
Still, there’s a potential in the polish that’s missing. But for now, the cracks in the experience, while not deal-breaking, are hard to ignore when they interrupt the flow of an otherwise engaging game.
An Indie Game with Big Ambitions
Despite Rogue Command’s flaws, it’s nothing short of remarkable that this ambitious blend of RTS and roguelike came from the tireless efforts of just two developers in Germany. Sure, the game isn’t perfect. Its lack of onboarding, quirky AI, and occasional technical hiccups leave room for improvement, but the game undeniably feels alive with potential, even in its early-access stage, with a passionate community of players on Discord providing feedback and rallying behind its success.
There are surely more improvements to come, as players on Discord and other social networking sites continue to provide feedback to help shape its eventual full release.
The developers, for their part, have shown that they are far from finished, having released a list of planned changes fueled by player feedback. They ambitions for the game's full release speaks volumes about their commitment to improve. Beyond addressing the glaring need for a tutorial and expanding the game's content, they've set their sights on a complete overhaul of the Orbital Drop system to enhance its depth and usability. Plans are also in motion to introduce quality-of-life improvements like an autocast system, smarter control group management, and clearer readability for some of the game's more intricate systems. To top it off, they're exploring the possibility of adding controller and Steam Deck support.
For all its rough edges, Rogue Command is a game that dares to be different, and while we may have to wait for fixes and new content to fully realize its promise, the foundation is already there—bold, creative, and above all, fun.
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Rogue Command Product Information
| |
| Title | ROGUE COMMAND |
|---|---|
| Release Date | November 18, 2024 |
| Developer | feneq |
| Publisher | feneq |
| Supported Platforms | PC(Steam) |
| Genre | Action, Simulation, Strategy |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Rogue Command Official Website |
