Grey Goo is a real-time strategy game that you probably weren’t expecting. Brought to us by Petroglyph (which includes some of the developers from the famed and acclaimed Command & Conquer series), three factions wage war on a lush, vibrant planet. Yes, the game features playable grey goo. Yes, the name is a bit silly. Yes, you should probably play this.
The game features three “asymmetric” factions, each with its own play style and abilities: the alien Beta, the mech-happy humans, and the mighty goo.
The campaign starts you off as the Beta – humanoid aliens who are in the midst of trying to open a wormhole, when a suddenly invasion occurs. Fearing that “The Silent Ones” have returned, they begin their strategic retaliation, only to realize that they are faced with two threats: Humans, and the gooey collective.
Those familiar with the standard RTS setup will feel at home straightaway with the controls. The Beta operate simply: gather resources, build buildings, build units, blow things up.
For the Beta, building placement is fairly loose – buildings are attached to “hubs” that can be built just about anywhere around the map.
Humans are similar to Beta in that structures need to be built close to one-another, but they are far more restrictive. Utilizing a “conduit” system (literally a system of power lines), humans can place buildings along constructed rails.
The Goo is by far the most innovative and unique faction that I’ve seen in an RTS. The Goo starts off as a giant “Mother Goo.” The goal is to glob on over to a resource hub, where it will start accumulating resources and dividing into additional units. Some Goo even has the ability to flow over mountains and other impassable terrain. Neat!
Grey Goo is worthy of a playthrough, but the long-term investment for many real-time strategy games lay within the multiplayer, and here things suffer a bit. A lack of maps and a 4-player restriction (that’s 2v2 at most) bring the chaos down to a whimper, leaving us wanting more goo and robots and aliens, damn it!
The controls will feel familiar to a veteran of any RTS, but are easy enough to pick up for a neophyte. The graphics are pretty nice for an RTS, and the cut scenes have some pretty good voice acting and animation. The story is fairly minimal, but this game appears to put its focus on actual game mechanics, and not so much the backstory. Unique elements such as using brush for cover make for some interesting strategic plays, and the asymmetry of the three factions leads to some nice dynamics on the battlefield.
Here’s hoping for more updates on this game, and that it gains more traction in the coming months.
4.5/5
