Red Chaos Review: They Don't Make 'Em Like This Anymore, For Better and For Worse

It's got the base building, the tank rushes, and the superweapons of a classic C&C. It's also got the jank of a game held together with duct tape and a dream.

The real-time strategy genre I grew up with is dead. It’s been replaced by MOBAs, hero shooters, and grand strategy map-painters. The simple, visceral joy of building a base, amassing an absurdly large army, and rolling over your opponent in a tide of steel and fire has become a relic. So when I heard about Red Chaos - The Strict Order, a game made by a small team of 90s RTS fans, a pathetic little flicker of hope ignited in my cold, dead heart.

I fired it up, heard the thumping soundtrack, the unit callouts, and the familiar sounds of construction, and for a glorious moment, I was a kid again. This is a love letter to the golden age of Westwood Studios, a game that doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, but just wants to let you drive the damn tank again.

For the Brotherhood!

Let's be clear: this is Command & Conquer. The developers at Squarecut Games aren’t shy about it, and they shouldn't be. The core loop is pure, unadulterated nostalgia. You harvest resources from a single field, you build a tech tree of structures, and you pump out units until your population cap cries for mercy. The entire experience is a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart of anyone who remembers the glory days of the genre.

The game pits two factions against each other in a war for the last habitable land on Earth. The story is some generic post-apocalyptic fluff about a tyrannical regime and a plucky resistance, but who gives a shit? I skipped the text and got right to building my army. That's what we're all here for.

A War on Two Fronts

The two factions are where the game really shines. On one side, you have the Iron Hand, a high-tech military force that feels like a mix of GDI and the Brotherhood of Nod. They have powerful tanks, a superior air force, and beefy defensive structures. They win by overwhelming you with raw, unapologetic firepower.

On the other side is the Resistance, and this is where the fun is. They’re a scrappy bunch of rebels who rely on deception and guerilla tactics. I'm talking about retrofitting a flying bus to drop explosive barrels on enemy tanks and using a network of underground tunnels to pop up an army right in the middle of an enemy base. The factions feel distinct and offer genuinely different ways to play, which is more than I can say for a lot of modern RTS games.

The Price of Nostalgia

This beautiful trip down memory lane isn't without its bumps, however. The game is still very much in Early Access, and it shows. The pathfinding, for instance, is absolutely atrocious. I’ve watched my elite tank squads decide the most efficient route to the enemy base is through a cliff face. They did not survive. Performance can also chug when the battles get really big which as I’m running a 4080 isn’t the worst, but I gave it a try on a weaker machine and my frame rate directly suffered hard.

Then there's the price. For an Early Access title from a small team, asking for this much up front is a bold move. While the core gameplay is solid and the skirmish AI is surprisingly competent, there just isn't a ton of content here yet. The multiplayer is functional, but without a replay system, it's hard to learn from your losses and improve.

The Verdict

I really want to love Red Chaos without reservation. It’s a passion project from a team that clearly adores the same games I do, and that passion shines through in its fast-paced, explosive gameplay. The devs are active and seem committed to fixing the issues, which is a massive point in its favor. But in its current state, it’s a rough, unfinished, and slightly overpriced gem.

It nails the feel of a classic C&C game better than anything I've played in the last decade. The foundation is rock solid. If the developers can build on that, patch the bugs, and add more content, this could be the glorious RTS revival I've been dreaming of. For now, it’s hard to fully recommend to go rush out and buy it, but I think it’s worth a wishlist for every rts lover at the very least.

Score: 6.8/10 It's the Command & Conquer sequel we never got, if it were built in a garage and occasionally caught on fire.

We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn't impact our review in any way.