Indie Review: Achron

Achron is a Real-Time-Strategy game which has a different approach to the world. It allows you to play with loads of players, but also bend time as it suits you. Never be caught off guard, use the time manipulation device to your advantage, each time.

• Name: Achron
• Genre: RTS
• Players: Singleplayer & Multiplayer
• Multiplayer: Up-to 15
• Platforms: PC, MacOS and Linux
• Developer: Hazardous Software
• Publisher: Hazardous Software
• Price: $29.99 for Two on Steam
• Reviewed On: PC

Ever wanted to go back in time and fix a stupid mistake you had made? You know, those cringe moments of the past where you were embarrassed, or missed your shot at something amazing?

You know, mistakes like:

• That time you wet the bed at camp.
• Not asking the pretty girl to the matric-dance.
• Getting throw-up drunk at your parents’ 20th wedding anniversary.
• Buying ‘World of Warcraft’ and actually extending your subscription past the first initial free days.

You know, those kinds of moments.

Well Achron’s not going to help you with any of that. Although, it might actually help you win your first RTS game. Don’t worry, I know Starcraft 2 is hard and that you aren’t Korean enough to get the micro right, but Achron might give you that upper hand you have so desperately been waiting for. Achron offers you the ability to bend time. You may scout into the future to see enemy troop movements, or reverse time after you lose more than half of your army due to horrible micro skills.

The time travel mechanic is rather complex and would take a lot more space than I have for this review to explain how it works in detail. Granted, it is probably one of the most entertaining mechanics I have seen in an RTS game. One second I would be pounding poor Richard’s army into the dirt with my superior numbers and insane micro, only to have him reverse time and counter attack me with units I could not deal with. You may also take your current units into the future to fight alongside themselves, where units you had queued up at the production facilities would help double your army size.

All in all it results in a great multiplayer experience between friends, especially if you are all on some sort of VoIP application. Playing against people you don’t know often turns into a bloody time mess. Units all over differing time fighting at differing periods, it may result in a headache. The only way to defeat an opponent is to beat him into the dirt so badly that he or she could not reverse time far enough to prevent their destruction.

Although the game mechanic is quite entertaining and rather lulzy, the game is rather unpolished. Granted it is an indie title, however the menus are poorly done and the game aesthetic can only be described as dark and bland. The units, however, are detailed very nicely and have that ‘Supreme Commander’ feel about them. It does become apparent that most of the development time into this game was spent on the time bending mechanic and the detailed look of the units. Every other aspect of the game seems to have been left for last and thus resulting in a rushed look. This is why I say the game seems unpolished. I feel that being an indie game is no excuse. I have been reviewing quite a number indie titles recently with great aesthetics that completely justify the game’s lack of graphics (Dungeons of Dredmor, case and point).

However, these factors are ever more apparent in the rather poorly delivered singleplayer campaign of the game. The whole campaign is voice acted by what sounds like two brothers constantly nagging at one another in an overly passive-aggressive tone. They are both extremely annoying — you have been warned. Although the best way to learn how to exploit Achron’s time bending mechanics is through this campaign, I wish you strength. A lot of the missions are not terribly exciting and only exist to exhibit the time bending mechanics, as stated before.

All in all Achron is a great RTS experience that everyone should try once, at least once. The price is a little steep, but with an extra game included you and a buddy can share the price and play together.  After all, that is how Achron should be played, as a multiplayer RTS experience.