Terminal Conflict

Don't buy unless it's really low priced. Ok, so the interface is awesome if you like the old terminal view and the sound effects are really on the spot. Where it's less good is the whole gameplay and understanding of the whole situation. This is a combination of a risk game wanting to be a geopolitical simulator. The fact is that you have no real say in the decisions, and the MIRVIN system is joking all the time, it's just plain stupid. - Like choose your side, either you are serious with this or this is a complete joke. Don't buy unless it's really low priced. Create a serious version, without MIRVIN jokes and trying to be funny and all, and you might have a solid game - i say might because even then, the game is really not that fun with all that you have to learn just to endure the stupid remarks and jokes. - Bought it for the interface, never completed a game, was bored before the end.

The game is definitely unique and is one of the rare grand strategy games set in the Cold War era. The problem for me was that it is conceptually too silly, and uses a rock paper scissors warfare design which is too simplistic. Just not the game that it could be.

TLDR: Game is unfinished and resembles a started status, stay away. Game is unfinished. I liked the idea but the execution is not very good. There are spelling errors in the flavor text and the tutorial video the devs suggest to watch is outdated, the game has changed since then. I will keep trying to learn the game but that is only because I dropped money on it. At this moment the game is only a handful of tutorial scenarios which do not allow for free play, a verses mode with the AI and a 1v1 mode against people. No custom games with drawbacks or unit restrictions, no limiting the campaign to certain regions of the map.

Been with it for a while. Definitely recommend seeing the replayability citing the twilight struggle rng regarding turn focus theaters. Although there could be some improvements regarding some win conditions, I think it's definitely a game worth playing and following.

The game greatly improved since the initial release. At the moment it is the best Cold War game available, it is way better than Twilight Struggle.

This could be a great game with some polish. It would benefit from a more detailed tutorial, as a lot of the mechanics are not explained that well and the objectives are sometimes a bit vague. Also, the game needs a better way to save and load games that are in progress. There aren't a lot of video games set in the Cold War so it's nice that somebody at least tried to make this, I think it just needs a bit more work.

Not intuitive. From the start already bugs/graphical glitches: Uses >5 GB of Ram and growing, until it crashes back to desktop. Later on random crashes. When it works, it does not feel 'fun' at all: - Unfinished, half-cooked at best. - Spelling errors and hard to understand concepts. - Usability is bad. - Misses not only proper testing but grand plan/structured design approach. All in all it showcases lack of developer experience (?). Not recommended & Refunded.

This is a thoughtful simulation of the Cold War. The logic and mechanics of the game take a bit of getting used to, which is due to the game's rather novel take on some things, but it seems to have a lot of depth and gives an engaging gaming experience that should appeal to strategy gamers. The developers are very enthusiastic, responsive, and active on Discord. My earlier criticism concerning lack of multiplayer saving capability (see my original review below) was resolved in less than two weeks of me making the complaint on Discord and here. The game has its quirks, and some features are not well documented, but I recommend it for anyone looking for an intelligent take on this subject. Previous review: If you are buying this game primarily to play multiplayer, as I did, then I can't currently recommend it since it is not possible to save a multiplayer game. It would take many hours to complete a full multiplayer game, especially if you are new to it, and you'd have to do it in one session. This is an unreasonable expectation, and really should be disclosed somewhere. When I raised this with the developers they said it is on their to do list. I'll happily revisit this review if it is ever implemented.

Edited review at 106 hours played. I would definitely recommend this game for anyone interested in the cold war. I haven't played the game 'Twilight Struggle' myself, but I hear it is quite like that game and I reckon if you like that game chances are good you'll like Terminal Conflict too. I think game captures the essence of the cold war quite well - USSR vs USA, proxy wars and managing the home front while you're trying to achieve your goals. Intelligence is a big part of the game, especially with the Eyes Only DLC. War is abstracted, but still challenging. You go through ten timelines, from 1946 to 1991. In these timelines, you and your opponent in turn pick a focus that decides the main area of the world the action takes place, even though you can still be active in any other theater at the same time. There are 5 domestic needs you will have to manage throughout the game: finance, people, elites, army and government, as mismanaging these can cut your game short early on. The mentioned focuses also affect these needs. Next to all this, there are policies which will grant you victory points required to achieve a major victory, but also can affect the domestic needs. Victory is achieved by getting 100 victory points more than your opponent, winning the space race of by simply surviving until the end of 1991. The interaction from the developers is very good. Be sure to check out their Discord to find a multiplayer challenge, and give feedback! Every Thursday they organize 'Terminal Thursday' and between 18:00 and 22:00 CET you can challenge the developers. Not everything is perfect. Multiplayer is awesome I think, but once you get the mechanics under control you will find the AI to be a bit lackluster. Although this has also improved quite a bit, it is still some way off from the same challenge as a human player. This is always a difficult aspect in any game though, and doesn't stop me from practicing my skills against 'Mirvin' as the AI is called. The game truly shines in multiplayer though! In my opinion the in-game tutorial could still be improved. Although the developers have recently released an update to this system. I still would prefer to have a linear tutorial which goes through all the aspects of the game. The current tutorial system tries to 'unlock' the aspects one by one, but it doesn't work if you ask me.. new players don't know where to click yet, so don't know what to unlock. I have made a YT vid myself which is already outdated a bit since I learned a lot since then, and also some systems have changed. I still have plans to update that video though, so hopefully that can help new players!

This game is horribly bad. Whoever rates this above a 5/10 is plain out lying. Realistically it's a 2/10. --- LONG RANT --- Some reviews hinted it might be a good cold war game. It's not. This is not only unfinished but riddled with bugs. Crashed multiple times while i played it. The 'game logic' is at best 'interesting' but more like weird (the bad kind of weird). Due to the bugs and unfinished state unplayable & should be taken off the store.