Tempest Rising Preview: An RTS That Takes Me Back to the ‘90s

From the moment I launched the Tempest Rising demo, I had a great feeling. The opening cinematic, complete with cheesy dialogue from heavily armored soldiers and a nervous scientist, instantly brought a smile to my face. The music, UI, and unit designs perfectly channeled the nostalgia of my high school days, spent late nights playing Command & Conquer with friends, fueled by Mountain Dew, Pringles, and sleep deprivation. This game expertly recreates that feeling, and I'm thrilled to see what Slipgate Ironworks has planned for the full release. Whether battling bots with surprisingly clever AI in Skirmish or diving into Ranked Multiplayer, Tempest Rising feels instantly familiar and comfortable.

This nostalgic experience is no accident. The developers aimed to create an RTS game that captures the essence of 90s and 2000s classics, while incorporating modern quality-of-life improvements. Set in an alternate 1997, where the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated into World War 3, Tempest Rising unfolds in a world ravaged by nuclear war and overrun by strange, energy-rich vines. This new energy source fuels a new era for those daring enough to harvest it.

Tempest Rising Screenshots

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As the preview build focused solely on multiplayer, I'll have to wait for the story mode, which will feature two replayable 11-mission campaigns, one for each main faction. The Tempest Dynasty (TD) is an alliance of Eastern European and Asian nations devastated by WW3, while the Global Defense Forces (GDF) unites the US, Canada, and Western Europe. A third, currently unannounced faction, will be revealed later.

The Tempest Dynasty immediately captivated me, not only because of the hilariously destructive Tempest Sphere—a rolling death machine that crushes infantry—but also due to their unique "Plans" system. These Plans activate faction-wide bonuses. Your Construction Yard can activate one at a time, requiring only sufficient power generation and a 30-second cooldown between switches.

The Logistics Plan accelerates building and resource harvesting, speeding up mobile harvesters. The Martial Plan boosts unit attack speed, adds explosive resistance, and grants Machinists a health-draining attack speed boost. Finally, the Security Plan reduces unit and building costs, enhances repair capabilities, and expands radar range. I found a satisfying rhythm cycling through these plans: boosting economy with Logistics, accelerating building with Security, and unleashing offensive power with Martial.

This flexibility extends to other aspects of the Dynasty. Instead of a stationary refinery, they use Tempest Rigs—mobile harvesters that move to resource fields, harvest until depletion, and then relocate. This makes fast expansion incredibly easy, as these self-contained units can operate far from the base. Sending Rigs to remote locations proved a fantastic strategy for uninterrupted resource gathering.

The Dynasty's Salvage Van is another fun unit. It repairs vehicles, but can also switch to Salvage Mode, destroying nearby vehicles (friend or foe) and reclaiming resources. Ambushing unsuspecting opponents and destroying their vehicles proved a highly effective tactic.

Ambushing unsuspecting opponents and destroying their vehicles proved a highly effective tactic. The Dynasty's power plants can switch to Distribution Mode, boosting construction and attack speed of nearby buildings (yes, some upgraded buildings have cannons!), at the cost of taking damage. Fortunately, this mode stops at critical health, preventing self-destruction.

While I favored the Tempest Dynasty, the GDF offers its own appeal, focusing on buffing allies, debuffing enemies, and battlefield control. Their Marking mechanic is particularly effective. Units can mark enemies, who then drop Intel (used for advanced units and structures) upon defeat. Doctrine upgrades enhance this, inflicting debuffs like reduced damage output and increased damage taken.

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Each faction boasts three tech trees, allowing for diverse strategic approaches. Beyond the tech trees, constructing specific advanced buildings unlocks powerful cooldown abilities, adding another layer of strategic depth. While both factions have area-of-effect damage and troop-spawning abilities, the GDF also features spy drones, remote building beacons, and a vehicle-immobilizing ability.

The Dynasty's limited building count makes losing structures impactful. To counter this, they have the Lockdown ability, preventing enemy takeovers but temporarily disabling the building. The Field Infirmary, a deployable healing zone, proved incredibly useful, complementing the Dynasty's repair units and special infantry.

There's much more to explore, especially the custom lobbies for teaming up against the challenging AI (which employed impressive hit-and-run tactics). Until then, I'll be content crushing bots with swarms of death balls.