Most tactical games give you direct control over every move your squad makes, but not Deadlock Station. Your soldiers can handle the fighting themselves. Your job is to make absolutely certain the enemy doesn’t stand a chance when they do.
Developed and published by Luxorix Games, Deadlock Station launches today on Steam, combining tactical RPG combat with roguelite progression and an unusual indirect control system. Instead of carefully selecting every attack, you’ll position your squad, issue orders, manipulate the battlefield, and hopefully watch your carefully constructed plan come together.
If that plan involves shoving an alien onto a land mine or trapping an entire group of enemies behind a wall of spikes, even better.
The Battlefield Is Just Another Weapon
Deadlock Station takes place in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi world where humanity has mysteriously disappeared following something known simply as the Event. What remains isn’t exactly welcoming, with deadly Ravagers, Renegades, and alien creatures standing between your squad and the answers they’re looking for.
Surviving means making use of far more than whatever weapons your team happens to be carrying. You can construct spike walls, create choke points through ruined cities, lure enemies into traps, push them toward environmental hazards, and generally make the battlefield as unpleasant as possible for anything trying to kill you.
Your Squad Can Handle Themselves
The big difference between Deadlock Station and many other tactical RPGs is how much control you actually have once combat begins.
Characters move and act independently, leaving you to influence what happens through positioning, abilities, equipment, and the orders you give them. That puts much more emphasis on the decisions made before and during an encounter rather than controlling every individual swing of a weapon.
There are 10 distinct characters to master, allowing you to experiment with different squad compositions and ability combinations as you work out who belongs together.
You’ll also find plenty of technology to make them stronger, including Energy Shields and Time Weapons, while hunting dangerous aliens can provide even more loot to take into future battles.
Of course, putting together an incredibly powerful combination is half the fun of a roguelite, and Deadlock Station seems perfectly happy to let you discover strategies that might be a little too effective.
Every Expedition Changes Your Options
You’re not just fighting a collection of identical battles on the way to the end. Different enemies, environments, equipment, and abilities are combined throughout your expeditions, forcing you to adapt your strategy to whatever situation appears next. A squad or setup that works beautifully against one group might require a completely different approach when the terrain and enemies change.
Making it back successfully also feeds into permanent progression at the Station. Upgrading your base opens up new quests, weapons, gear, and abilities, gradually expanding the number of options available for future runs. That means failure isn’t the only thing pushing you toward another attempt. Every new unlock gives you another excuse to experiment with your squad and see what happens when different systems are thrown together.
Fight Smarter, Not Harder
The game doesn’t focus on whether you can click on enemies faster than they can kill you. It’s far more concerned with whether you can look at a battlefield and figure out how to turn every part of it to your advantage. Sometimes that might mean finding the perfect squad combination. Sometimes it’ll mean positioning everyone exactly where they need to be. And sometimes the smartest tactical decision available is simply pushing an unfortunate alien directly onto a land mine.
There’s also a free demo available on Steam if you want to put your tactical skills to the test before committing to the full game.
Humanity may have disappeared, aliens have taken over, and your squad apparently doesn’t need you telling them when to pull the trigger. Just point them in the right direction and make sure you’ve filled that direction with traps.