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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   1890 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 6, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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If anyone plays turn-based strategy games, MENACE went into early access last Thursday. If that is your genre, I do recommend, but with caveats.

While social media types have characterized it as a new XCOM-like, since it is sci-fi with aliens, it's really more like a tabletop wargame. Specifically, it uses a points-buy list-building format, where your company-scale force is built with every model and equipment costing points to field, as opposed to capping you to a maximum of X characters of most squad-scale tactics game. It also has an alternating-activation system more akin to chess as opposed to you-go-I-go turn order of moving all your pieces at once ala XCOM. Add in some of its own systems, and it's proving to be more of a (de)buff meta, as opposed to the XCOM alpha-strike meta that most XCOM-likes fall into. Plus, no overwatch, so no glacial-but-optimal defensive turtle crawl across the map.

Instead, MENACE uses a suppression system of heavy debuffs to suppressed unit actions and accuracy that promote a find-fix-flank-finish combat loop. This combines with the point-buy system because every weapon, manpower body, and even promotions increases the cost to field a unit. Every point you spend on fielding or upgrading one asset is a point that can't buy another capability or upgrade. Specialization is the cost-efficient name of the game, but over-specialization can make you brittle. It's a combination of systems that can be rough to learn or pick up, but a very high skill ceiling means that when you do, battles can transition from brutal grinds to practically dancing.

There are rogue-like progression elements to the system, meaning no two campaigns will be quite the same in terms of character recruitment, gear progression, or mission format. The game breaks missions into operations of 3-5 missions each, with more rogue-like progression for selecting between different rewards or modifiers for the mission. There is no tech/R&D/manufacturing system, but instead a barter-economy market where you trade in (RNG) salvaged enemy gear towards a (RNG) selection of items, with a rotating selection of offers that means you can't just save for good things that may not come. Since the gear system under point-buy means sidegrades are often preferrable to upgrades, you get get different sorts of tensions as its rarely 'what's best' but 'what is best for what,' which in turn depends on character builds and promotions.

All the same, the game is very clearly in early access, and not complete. This is normal for the developer, who did the cult-hit Battle Brothers which was in early access for a year. Here it means the story and character writing is only at the introductory level, there are clearly unfinished assets, and various balance aspects will doubtless be revisited. There is also the inevitable jank that comes from RNG maps and, meaning sometimes RNJesus will bless you and sometimes you will feel abandoned. It is still an excellent tactical combat system, but you can be forgiven for holding off.

Price-wise, MENACE will probably maintain a $40 base price. However, Steam has a 25% discount for the next week and a half, so $30 thru 19 Feb.

I do recommend, and if it seems like I'll be posting less for a while, well, yeah.

Do you know if they have the same writer or not?

They do. Casey Hollingshead is on board. What do you make of that?

I liked the writing in Battle brothers so that's a big positive to me.

Did you read any of his books? See https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/6559488.Casey_Hollingshead.

Nope, but I might, didn't know he had written books. Have you read them?

I read all the Battle Brothers tie-ins, and had a brief email exhange with the author about historical source material. He pointed out My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue, by Samuel Chamberlain, which I should've read long ago since it's also a main component of Blood Meridian.

As for Hollingshead's books, so far I'd say they're...weird. I wouldn't call him an outright good author. He makes plenty of technical mistakes, his worldbuilding is paper-thin, the plot often seems to make no sense or to exist only to move the characters from set-piece to set-piece, the dialogues can at times be unnatural in the extreme. But as a package deal, it's kinda enjoyable. A guilty pleasure? The action hits hard, he pulls few punches, and sometimes he gets a nice turn of phrase in. If you enjoyed the Battle Brothers writing, I'd recommend giving his books a try, they're cheap after all. Curious to hear what others think.

I have a few other things on my reading docket but I'll try first book eventually and I'll get back to you.

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