Developer, Ish Games has been making the popular browser-based game, City Siege for quite a while now. Available all over the internet, previous City Siege games have been very popular on the Armor Games website. Now Ish is hoping that success will carry over to Steam with their newest entry City Siege Factions.
The project is seeking $6,120 on Kickstarter with an estimated release date of March 2017. The Steam version will be $9.99 following a discounted release price.
Like previous games in the series, City Siege Factions is a squad building, physics-based platformer. Players begin with a single rifleman and complete missions to raise money for new units. The map presents players with a choice between 2-3 levels. They are able to unlock additional levels by earning stars for completing missions.
Island City, Factions Of The Siege
Rather than taking place in a city, as the name implies, City Siege Factions deposits players on a remote jungle island. Playing as the mercenary faction, players are tasked with taking control of the island and robbing it of resources. They are thwarted in their efforts by the island’s native population and a plucky group of poachers who have managed a tentative peace with some of the natives.
At release only the mercenary faction will be playable, but Ish hopes to make the poachers and natives playable as well. Later, as free (for backers) DLC. The campaign page doesn’t mention any pay to play mechanics, but this type of game certainly lends itself to them. Why spend hours grinding levels for in-game currency when you can just buy some?
Putting aside the game’s unrepentant colonialism, the overhauled game engine and new graphics aren’t particularly inspiring. Unlike another Armor Games published title, The Adventure Pals, City Siege Factions hasn’t made the transition to full PC game quite as seamlessly. It still looks like a free flash game. This hasn’t earned it many fans, even after being Greenlit on Steam 3 years ago.
Only time will tell if Ish can rally their browser audience to stop playing the game for free and risk investing in this new version. Relying on their previous fan-base is probably their best bet, since newcomers are unlikely to find anything worthwhile in City Siege Factions.
