At Eurogamer Expo Nathan got his first look and play of the prototype of a prototype of the upcoming espionage strategy game, Sigma Theory.
The build on show is very basic and still has a long way to go before it resembles a finished project, but, it still provides a valuable insight into what the game will be like when it is released.
In Sigma Theory the player takes on the role of the head of an organization tasked with uncovering the secrets of the “Sigma Theory”, a potential discovery that could save humanity, or at least the nation that uncovers its secrets first.
As the head of this task force players must infiltrate and uncover the progress of other nations in their pursuit of knowledge with the Sigma Theory.
Developer Mi-clos studio have put a huge emphasis on strategy and tactics with this, while sticking close to a very player driven story.
The role of governments, the dirty tactics that they use, and the end result of these approaches are all down to the player to uncover.
In the playable build players can only infiltrate a few countries with their agents and attempt to extract intelligence, or enemy scientists, to aid in their research into the Sigma Theory.
The game is turn based. Each agent may assigned one task to perform, with some actions taking multiple turns to complete. Agents can also be discovered by enemy agents which leads to players needing to assist their unit in escaping with their lives.
This takes on a “choose your own adventure” style of gameplay where the player is updated by their agent as to what’s happening and what they could do. Players then have a limited time to tell their agent what to do and how to handle their situation.
For example if an agent is escaping through a town they might describe the potential escape routes and ask their commander to advise on the best path. They will then take that path and the consequences are on the player’s head.
This build is still very early, and many features haven’t been implemented yet.
The developers are hoping for a mid 2016 release, but nothing is set in stone yet.
Are interested in Sigma Theory? What would you do with a set of secret agents? Let us know in the comments below.