A 4X built for group play
ZEPHON is a post-apocalyptic 4X strategy game from the developers of Warhammer 40,000: Gladius. You lead survivors of humanity across a ruined Earth, dealing with mutated wildlife, broken military robots, alien soldiers, eldritch horror and cyberpunk monstrosities. The game combines city management, turn-based tactical combat, research, diplomacy and branching narrative quests on a single map. Combat happens directly on the main map, so there is no switching to a separate battle screen or auto-resolving fights. You command over 50 unique units, each with its own graphics, voice overs, weapon systems and traits. Between battles you build up settlements, manage 11 tiered resources, unlock over 150 technologies across 10 tiers, and negotiate with AI opponents who have their own likes and dislikes.
Playing together
ZEPHON supports Online Co-op, Online PvP and Remote Play Together. In multiplayer you can play with or against your friends, using distinctive leader abilities. Diplomatic maneuvering matters: you can establish peace, trading agreements and alliances, or use your influence to turn your friends against each other. Non-player factions including ZEPHON, Acrin and Reaver move across the world with their own agendas, so your group will have to contend with them alongside each other. Battles are turn-based and tactical, and since combat takes place on the main map, everyone sees the same field as it develops.
Before you start
You pick a Leader and one of three asymmetric paths: Human, Voice and Cyber. You can also combine paths in surprising ways. Your choice shapes your build order, your units and your architecture style. The world itself is procedurally generated, and you can tune generation settings such as cliffsides, ruins and deformed woodland before starting. Expect multistage branching events like nightmares, cries for help and economic crashes to hit during a campaign. Each leader has a unique quest chain with a permanent reward for completing it. Tooltips show exact modifier numbers, and an in-game compendium keeps the rules readable without leaving the game.