Indie studio Zachtronics, whose previous releases include three puzzle games—Infinifactory (opens in new tab), Opus Magum (opens in new tab), and Exapunks (opens in new tab)—and a graphic novel about AI therapy called Eliza (opens in new tab), is doing something a little different for its next project. Mobius Front '83 is a turn-based strategy game set during the height of the Cold War that challenges players to defend America from attack by another America from an alternate universe.
You thought it was going to be the Soviet Union, didn't you?
Mobius Front '83 will feature turn-based battles between cutting-edge military hardware from the early 1980s including powerful tanks, fast-moving helicopters, and heavy artillery. The singleplayer campaign is estimated to run 15-40 hours in length, "depending on how much you engage with the game's side activities," and will use fully-voiced cutscenes to tell the tale of who this other-America is, and why it's waging war on regular America.
As for those "side activities," Mobius Front '83 won't abandon its heritage completely: The game will also feature "a Zachtronics-style puzzle minigame and, as usual, a fresh take on solitaire."
"This is what happens when I start reading old U.S. Army manuals," Zachtronics founder Zach Barth said.
Mobius Front '83 is set to debut on Steam (opens in new tab) on November 5. Find out more at zachtronics.com (opens in new tab).