Re-Legion, the neon-infused cyberpunk RTS, is out now, along with a launch trailer showing off all the sorts of things you can do as the leader of a murderous, brainwashed cult. Mostly, it seems, you’ll be causing some good old fashioned mayhem in an effort to topple corporations and eradicate unbelievers. Check the trailer out above. 

As a prophet determined to take down an oppressive, technocratic society, you can craft your own religion by selecting various dogmas, develop new abilities and turn ordinary people into followers who will gladly walk into a wall of bullets for you. These followers can attack unbelievers, generate cash and take over territory through hacking. It’s cyberpunk—of course there’s hacking!

Eric Watson went hands-on with Re-Legion last year. “The demo was a pre-alpha build and a bit rough around the edges, and the graphics and animations felt at least a decade old, but I was intrigued by the mixture of classic cyberpunk with religious body horror,” he said. “Using actual humans as a limiting third resource is a fun concept, and the ability to convert enemy forces directly on the battlefield gave me fond memories of Sacrifice, or Age of Empires' priests.”

Judging by some early impressions from players, it’s still a bit rough around the edges, with some buttons not working, the UI being hard to parse and the AI no being quite up to snuff. Conceptually, however, it’s definitely appealing, and while the once stagnant RTS genre is improving, it still desperately needs more weird games to move it forward.

Its out on Steam now for £14.39/$18.

Re-Legion, the cyberpunk RTS about recruiting people into a religious cult and convincing them to fight and die to support your messianic ambitions, will be out this fall, publisher 1C announced today. A new "announcement teaser" has also been turned loose, which is a little bit strange since the game was actually announced back in January. I believe this is the first Re-Legion gameplay video, though, or at least the first one we've seen around here, so we'll give that a pass. 

Set in humanity's grim, grey future (is there any other kind?) Re-Legion follows the journey of Elion from lone prophet to powerful shepherd, delivering peace and comfort to his followers. But as his power grows, his grip on reality loosens, and his benevolence warps into a quest to strike down the infidels. 

Unlike most RTS games that require resources to build new units, in Re-Legion players can convert ordinary citizens into followers, which can then be upgraded in various ways. Praying increases faith, required to gain and use special abilities, while buildings and billboards can be hacked to expand territorial control and convert even more citizens. The ultimate goal of the cult will be based on its dogma, chosen from among dozens promised for the final release: Some cults will strive for a peaceful existence, while others will embrace a more apocalyptic fate. 

We took a closer look at Re-Legion in January, shortly after it was announced, and despite being in a very early pre-alpha state at that point, it sounds like it might be one to watch: "I was intrigued by the mixture of classic cyberpunk with religious body horror. Using actual humans as a limiting third resource is a fun concept, and the ability to convert enemy forces directly on the battlefield gave me fond memories of Sacrifice, or Age of Empires' priests." 

The announcement confirmed that a single-player campaign will be present in the full game, featuring a "mature storyline with profound background and moral choices to be made." Find out more at re-legion.icecodegames.com, or check out the listing on Steam.