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MENACE

in library

4.3/5

( 85 Reviews )

4.3

85 Reviews

English & 12 more
39.9939.99
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MENACE
Description
From city building to grand strategy, turn-based tactics to RTS, see more strategy games from Hooded Horse. Command a strike force of marines, mercenaries, and criminals in a distant system, cut off from the Core Worlds. At the lawless frontier, the Wayback system is controlled by pirate warlord...
User reviews

4.3/5

( 85 Reviews )

4.3

85 Reviews

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Product details
2026, Overhype Studios, ...
System requirements
Windows® 10 (64-bit), Intel® Core™ i5-7600 (quad-core) or AMD® Ryzen™ 5 1500X (quad-core), 8 GB RAM...
Description


From city building to grand strategy, turn-based tactics to RTS, see more strategy games from Hooded Horse.


Command a strike force of marines, mercenaries, and criminals in a distant system, cut off from the Core Worlds. At the lawless frontier, the Wayback system is controlled by pirate warlords, questionable corporations, and fractured planetary governments who struggle for a new order. Though you initially lead your strike force of marines from aboard the strike cruiser TCRN Impetus, you'll quickly need to unite the disparate locals under your leadership to defeat an unknown threat. Fielding tanks, walkers, and infantry squads with a massive selection of equipment to choose from, you’ll train your troops, plan out operations, and engage in deadly tactical battles.

 

The developers of Battle Brothers take us to the far future in MENACE – a turn-based tactical RPG set in an isolated system where a strange new threat has begun to emerge.

 

 

Your Republic Marine Corps strike force has made its way over to bring the frontier back into the fold, but what was supposed to be a simple pacification mission revealed a threat that puts the entire system at risk…

 

  • Your approach is entirely yours to determine – as distress calls roll in, calling you from planet to planet, you can decide which to respond to, what resources to employ, and when to engage based on your readiness levels. Your choices will determine how the local factions feel about your presence, with a direct impact on your relations with them and what favors they may be willing to do for you. Will you prioritize relations with criminal elements that specialize in gathering intel, hacking enemy equipment, and securing the best deals from local dealers? Or will you ignore them and focus on the recovery and repair teams that keep your vehicles operational while supplying you with powerful advanced tech?
  • With all communications cut off, you're at the top of the chain of command, and your team of marines, mercenaries, and criminals turn to you for answers. Any single operation is not limited to one battlefield, instead taking you on branching paths of multiple missions each, asking you to engage in a series of battles across entire worlds. Make strategic decisions as you progress through an operation, choosing between the missions available to you – will you first take out the enemy air defenses that keep you from landing tanks? Or will you press directly into the enemy to rescue a group of hostages and gain the trust of the locals? Proceed mission by mission to complete the operation, and ultimately, further your grand campaign, but beware – every decision has serious consequences, not just for the operation at hand, but the entire system itself.
  • The strike cruiser TCRN Impetus acts as your base of operations, not only ferrying you between missions, but providing both orbital support and a place for much needed R&R. Invest in upgrading and customizing your mobile HQ to best synergize with your approach on the battlefield, seeking out opportunities among local allies to gain the upper hand for the task ahead of you.
  • Without access to your standard issue naval arsenal, you'll have to rely on local black market dealers and the spoils of war to equip your squads. From the jury-rigged war machines of the pirate factions to the refined, high-end arms of the local mercenaries, each engagement isn't just an opportunity to bring the fractured system under control, but to acquire new equipment to help accomplish your mission.
     

 

The threat of death is real as you find yourself pit against numerically, and at times technologically, superior enemy forces. Large engagements across diverse battlefields are subject to the effects of weather conditions across a multitude of biomes, and human foes are the least of your concern. In the recesses of the system, something alien has taken hold, and its methods are unpredictable and unrelenting.

 

  • Battles in MENACE are deadly affairs – under the hail of bullets, plasma bolts, and missile fire, you will face off against enemies that are well prepared, and ruthless. Expect to permanently lose squad leaders and their squads, and prepare to adapt to constantly evolving situations on the battlefield. Pacifying an entire system doesn’t come without a few risks, and superior tactical prowess will determine the victor.
  • Use flanking maneuvers to make your way around cover, or use heavy ordnance to flush enemies out from their firing positions. Rush from cover to cover as you plot pincer attacks, opening fire to suppress enemy squads and pin them in place while working to destroy cover they might run to. A tactical approach is essential to coming out on top but remember to stay on your toes – though you can plan around intel gathered for mission briefings, plans never survive first contact with the enemy.
  • Keep an eye on your weapons' efficient ranges, their damage over distance, and whether they're best used against heavily or lightly armored enemies. Even beyond accurate ranges, every round fired causes some degree of suppression to the squad it lands next to – whether they were the intended target or not, and whether friend or foe. With heavy fire more likely to pin an enemy down than small arms, you’ll be able to adapt based on the tools at your disposal, but make sure to adjust your approach as needed. Study the enemy to assess if you should be sniping from a distance or aggressively closing the gap under the cover of suppressing fire.
  • Arrive on the battlefield with a variety of vehicles - from troop carriers to MLRS to jury-rigged pickup trucks and more, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and a variety of weapons systems to choose from. The firepower of a lumbering tank is immense, but the nimble walker is able to respond to fast-moving threats in an instant, rotating freely and quickly. Designated pilots are able to bring these vehicles to the battlefield, albeit at a high cost. Will you opt to bring in self-propelled artillery you’ve commandeered from the mercenaries at the cost of better equipment for your infantry? You might lose an entire squad, but the extra firepower might just be what secures your victory.
  • Use limited supplies to kit your squads out before each mission and ensure you're equipped for the task ahead. Infantry squads can swap their armor to strike a balance between protection and utility with additional accessory slots, where accessories range from drones to grenades to target designators. Each squad can be equipped from a wide selection of weapons with different advantages and disadvantages, as well as particularly powerful specialist weapons – everything from flamethrowers to sniper rifles to EMP cannons.

 

 

Pike is the model marine – loyal to the Republic, and a professional soldier, unwavering in the face of adversity. Rewa suffers from the trauma of past scars, a violent rage constantly boiling beneath the surface. Lim owes Pike for saving his home colony, and distrusts non-Marines – but he'll have to learn to meet them in the middle as the going gets rough. Every squad leader in MENACE has a history and personality, and as their commander, it's up to you to navigate the trouble that can bring.

 

  • From the marines you flew in with to the locals you need to recruit, each squad leader carries their own expectations and aspirations. Their accomplishments and failures on the battlefield will influence their leadership – a mission with multiple confirmed kills might help bolster morale for the following engagements, but a squad leader that sees their entire team eliminated might perform worse for some time as they regain composure. Will you take on the liability of an underperforming squad just because you need the numbers, or will you put them on leave until they recover, potentially jeopardizing the current operation entirely?
  • Squad leaders earn promotions and improve over time, giving you the option to customize them to your liking and improve their squad’s performance. Keep your squad leaders alive and choose perks from varied promotion trees, acquiring additional active and passive abilities to use against the enemy.
  • Each playthrough features a selection of characters from a massive pool – learn how individual backstories are tied together and prepare to navigate the unique combinations of each run. Stories unfold in unexpected ways as your squad leaders push from engagement to engagement. Watch them crumble under pressure from a cataclysmic threat, and do your best to train them for the fight against the MENACE.

With procedurally generated multi-mission operations and battle maps, alongside a big selection of characters and countless equipment options, every run of MENACE plays different from the last. Find yourself face to face with a seemingly insurmountable challenge that takes on multiple forms across playthroughs, and put your strategic and tactical prowess to the test in new ways each time.

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Why buy on GOG.COM?
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Game details
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Release date:
{{'2026-02-05T00:00:00+02:00' | date: 'longDate' : ' +0200 ' }}

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User reviews
Overall most helpful review

Edited on: February 10, 2026

Posted on: February 5, 2026

Early Access review

Coreyus

Verified owner

Games: 138 Reviews: 3

Dreams come true. Even the ones you didn

Dreams come true. Even the ones you didn’t know you had. I played the demo several times, which doesn’t happen to me even with full games. This game has everything I need. Full immersion—I feel like I’m actually taking part in the battles. If the finished game turns out like this, I have hundreds of hours ahead of me. There are bugs, but they don’t bother me enough to pull an all-nighter at the computer. A game for fans of Jagged Alliance, but here you really feel the assault, the gunfire, and crawling out from under suppressive fire. For example, the camera work could be better, especially when we’re under heavy fire. Things like that will surely be improved soon. That said, the magic is powerful—the game has enchanted me like a beauty queen enchanting an 80-year-old millionaire. I’m over 50, not many games still give me real fun or manage to surprise me. This one surprised me like waking up in the morning without back pain. After thirty hours of gameplay, here are my conclusions. Pros Combat system – very extensive and well-developed. The variety of weapons and their technical parameters, combined with perks, allow you to create truly unique squads. This gives you a wide range of tactical options – for example, you can build a heavy armor-piercing destroyer or an excellent scout-sniper. Missions – in my opinion, they are diverse, and depending on the objective, it’s worth carefully selecting your squad composition. One mission in particular stuck in my memory: the objective was to hold 5% of the map. I thought, “That’s easy.” But when my soldiers were defending themselves with their last bit of strength among the ruins of bunkers and collapsed watchtowers, I found myself anxiously counting down the turns until the required 10 rounds had passed. Cover system – and the ability to eliminate cover using grenades or mortars. Overall, I really like the weapon design and mechanics. Atmosphere – the sci-fi setting seems to be used mainly to allow for more varied missions and terrain types. The weapons themselves are realistic representations of modern equipment, which is a big plus for me. Alternating turns within a round – this forces deeper tactical planning and creates a more dynamic battlefield. The game is more complex and demanding than XCOM; in that regard, it feels closer to Jagged Alliance 2. Graphics – absolutely awesome, like a bomb combined with a grenade. Cons Camera work – definitely needs improvement, ideally modeled after the old Incubation. There are probably a few other minor issues as well. One last thing: this game should come with at least a couple of weeks of vacation included!


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Posted on: February 6, 2026

Early Access review

Lexandro

Verified owner

Games: 19 Reviews: 3

A nice start for EA

A game I have long awaited for, so I maybe a bit biased, but I have satisfied with it after a few hours of play. Did not encounter gamebreaking bugs, crashes, etc. The game feels balanced, there is a lot of stuff to try, doesnt feels grindy, graphics are nice, and fighting the pirates is straight up hilarious. The game's music is also nice and fitting for the game's athmosphere. There are also a ton of references for 80' sci-fi and action movies, like Terminator, Alien, Rambo, etc. If you are looking for a promising turn based tactical strategy with resource management, costomization elements and a potential for replayability, I can already recommend this game for you. The only games which gave me this kind of promising feeling were Starsector, Battletech: Restoration and Wartales, and long, long ago, Heroes 3.


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Posted on: February 6, 2026

Early Access review

Spice

Verified owner

Games: 319 Reviews: 1

Turn Based Indie Gold

A solid turn based tactics game. With character building, equipping, and advancement left in your hands. Jagged Alliance 3, XCOM2, and so on players will be able to scratch that itch with this game. Then replay it for a different experience. Menace is under development. That said there is a lot in the game already. This is a -challenging- squad level tactics game with a strong sense of humor and style. The teams you field are a joy and a laugh. Think 90's space action movie vibe voice acting, a lovechild of XCOM2 and Jagged Alliance 3 barks. Something in there will make you smile. The hard Marines sound like hard marines. The crazy space pirates? crazy. Vehicle and Squad models are solid as the gameplay itself. Missions are complex with many side mission possibilities, but you will have to choose if the reward is worth the risk. Equipment drops have a feel based on their faction, modern but future feel for the military, thrown together for the pirates, and well. i won't spoil the last group for you. This is only the start too. At least one more faction, two more planets and biomes, and quite a few squad leader personalities are yet to hit the game. I got this in EA because i felt the developers deserved my support, and i still get a very playable experience from the beginning.


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Posted on: February 6, 2026

Early Access review

grandwazir

Verified owner

Games: 67 Reviews: 2

XCOM 3 this is not

I do not understand the hype around this game at the moment. The strategic layer appears quite shallow to me and while the squad leader progression is different for each leader, I do not feel that invested in the squad leaders. The combat basically is run towards enemy, kneel and then shoot until they are dead. The AP system does not allow you to do much other than just shoot 2 twice. My personal feeling is that it should not take AP to come out of defence mode. The removal of overwatch does not speed the game up if you have to use almost half your AP each turn to get up and then kneel down again. The mixed turn order for me is just a bit confusing - it was not telegraphed sufficiently enough for me to care who is going when - for a game that gets this done right you can look at XCOM Chimera Squad. Graphically the game also feels dated. Maybe it is the zoom but the models and enemies themselves are not very interesting and just variations of the usual head crabs and spitting aliens. Yes you can bring some different weapons but it still is boils down to move turn 1 and then shoot twice turn 2. Cover MIGHT do something, but it is a bit weird how your units can seem to just shoot through buildings. As I write this, I think the main issue is a lack of feedback - the weapon sounds feel pretty ordinary, you chip away at health bars without any feeling for if your positioning or the unit you are firing with made any material difference As someone who likes squad based tactic games with a strategic layer, this should be right up my street and I was looking forward to playing it, but right now I cannot say it is fun enough to play for any length of time.


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Posted on: February 5, 2026

Early Access review

RHoenig

Verified owner

Games: 78 Reviews: 4

Not X-COM, but different (and good)

So this is a turn-based tactical game, with some simularities to X-COM 2, but also quite different. It DOES have Turn-based, tactical combat, improving your base (ship) but that's pretty much where it ends. You're commanding a bunch of squad leaders, leading up to 8 squadies each instead of single fighters and the more squaddies you bring, the more support they require (this is the limiting factor on how many guys you can bring). Improved equipment also adds to that limit, so do you bring 4 full squads or do you go with 5, two of which are dedicated anti-tank squads with only 3 or 4 squaddies? Ok, I start rambling now, so let me finish with saying. If you are in turn-based, tactical combat games, this is most definitely for you. But don't just take my word for it, the game is all over YT, so just watch a couple of fights and see for yourself.


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