Pax Autocratica has been very public for years, but you might not know that due to its name. It used to be called Earth From Another Sun and was set to have NFT and crypto shenanigans included. This didn’t go over too well, but now the game has rebranded and has been released in Early Access on Steam. The game’s an FPS with base-building and rogue-lite elements, so it’s pretty unique, and it’s set to spend two whole years in Early Access, adding more content along the way. So, is the game worth it already in Early Access, or should you wait and see how this ship takes off before climbing aboard?
The game kicks off with your character being held captive after coming into contact with hostiles. The leader of your people wants to make sure you haven’t switched sides, but once confirming that you’re still loyal, you’re cut free and asked to head into combat. You’d be forgiven for thinking this is a pure FPS based on this opening, as you’re tasked with blasting enemies before heading into a large battlefield for a couple of minutes. The game’s large battles are a solid spectacle too, with tons of friendly and enemy characters on the field shooting at each other. It’s pretty epic.
It doesn’t last long, though, as you’re then taken to a base and told to build it up. You’re expected to gather resources at your base, research buildings, and then construct and staff them afterward. You can do much of this on your own or delegate, but it’s pretty simple. You’ll need certain buildings to address the needs of the people, so you’ll need to build barracks for them to live in and buildings to store food, alongside many others. You’ll often need materials from off-world to build or upgrade things, though.
At any time, you can take to the stars (and bring a couple of folks with you) to go and mine resources from other planets, as well as attack your enemies wherever they may be. The latter means dropping into a location (space stations, planets, etc) and fighting through enemies to find and kill a boss. Dying means you lose a portion of what you’ve found, and you are taken back to your base, but pushing forward means better rewards. The further you travel in space, the stronger the enemies get, though, so there’s a risk-reward mechanic in play. Plus, you can capture enemy soldiers like they’re Pokémon (and then you have to brainwash them into joining you).
The shooting is honestly quite good, with decent-feeling guns and enemies that explode into bloody chunks on defeat. You have just a pistol and dual SMGs at first, but you can get better weapons and upgrade your armour as you construct better buildings and get more resources. It’s a very satisfying game loop, and it doesn’t hurt that Pax Autocratica already has many hours of gameplay to it. Honestly, if you want to jump in already, the game is in a pretty good place, so I think Early Access is worth it despite how long the wait for full completion is going to be.
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