Tempest Rising is basically a new Command & Conquer

Tempest Rising
(Image credit: THQ Nordic)

Tempest Rising is a new real-time strategy game from Slipgate Ironworks and THQ Nordic, and it's a very direct, obvious, and loving tribute to the original Command & Conquer.

In the not-too-distant future, a mysterious resource called Tempest (Tiberium, in C&C terms) has suddenly appeared, and the game's two playable factions are fighting a war over it. The GDF (GDI) is a well-funded government military fighting the Tempest Dynasty (Brotherhood of Nod) cult. Each faction has its own solo campaign, and there's also an as-yet-unrevealed third faction that will appear in multiplayer.

If the setting and factions hadn't tipped it off, the UI, visual treatments, mission design, and even sound effects the devs showed in a brief gameplay presentation make abundantly clear that this is a love letter to C&C. The mission we saw featured a small group of GDF soldiers dropping into the mission, doing battle with Dynasty forces, and setting up a base for a larger scale conflict.

There are environmental effects like exploding barrels, which you can set off in a chain reaction to efficiently take down foes. You'll also be able to take advantage of specialist units with unique abilities, like the option to heal nearby units. Completing bonus objectives will unlock these specialist units for use in further campaign missions.

The devs say they've been working on the game for three years in "complete secrecy," and Tempest Rising is now scheduled to launch for PC in 2023.

Tempest Rising is certainly doing its best to court comparisons with many of the best RTS games.

Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.