At the dawn of the 2010s, a palpable sense of discontent permeated the community of PC strategy and tactics enthusiasts. The indie gaming renaissance, which would later usher in titles like Mewgenics and Slay the Spire 2, was just beginning to flicker. Meanwhile, mainstream publishers were rummaging through their vaults of cherished ’90s franchises, contemplating how to reshape these classics for a wider audience.
Among the notable announcements was the reboot of XCOM, reimagined as a first-person shooter by the creators of BioShock. Similarly, Starbreeze, the Swedish studio known for titles like Riddick and The Darkness, took the helm of Syndicate, the beloved isometric classic from Bullfrog. Unfortunately, both projects transformed into first-person shooters, much to the chagrin of dedicated fans.
For many PC gamers, these ventures were not merely spin-offs; they felt like affronts to the legacy of beloved franchises. EA and Take-Two were perceived as resurrecting relics, hoping to penetrate the blockbuster shooter market with little regard for the original essence. This environment made it challenging to evaluate these games on their own merits.
As Eurogamer noted in 2011, the new iterations were “very traditional in that sense. It’s really tough.” However, traditional first-person shooters of the late ’90s and early 2000s typically offered players the freedom to navigate their surroundings, providing opportunities to retreat, reassess, and discover hidden resources. In stark contrast, the 2010 reboot confined players to tight spaces, where enemies spawned in waves, leading to frustrating experiences that deviated from the “excellent shooting experience” once promised by the genre.
Unsurprisingly, EA’s attempts to win over long-time fans of Syndicate fell flat. Yet, in an unexpected twist, the backlash against the shooter reboot inadvertently paved the way for the resurgence of strategy games. Veteran Bullfrog developer Mike Diskett harnessed the disappointment to launch Satellite Reign, a tactical spiritual successor to the original series that garnered critical acclaim three years later.
In a way, Diskett’s efforts provided a silver lining to the missteps of the FPS reboot. Freed from the weight of expectations tied to its legacy, this ill-fated endeavor has become more palatable in retrospect, allowing for a newfound appreciation of its place in gaming history.
