Welcome to the weird Terminator future, where John Connor gets assassinated on a beach and never becomes the grand general in the war against the machines – in other words, Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance is based on the ridiculous Terminator reboot timeline. To me, this is a big strike against the game, but honestly, while in-game, it’s mostly a question of aesthetics. Which, to be fair, can make or break a game, but here it’s mostly a minor disappointment, then stay-away annoying. For example, the units you control look like typical modern US marines, instead of the cool sci-fi and Vietnam-inspired badass soldiers from Terminator 2.
Brutal future war
The reason this is a quick impression, rather than a review is that I’m unsure if I will ever finish the game. See, Terminator: Dark Fate has “Russian” difficulty, even when you set it to normal mode. With this I mean, the title in question is designed in such a way to constantly screw you over, through for example mission scripting. This forces a way to play that I despise – save scumming until you form the correct tactics for the map. Any casualties will set you back in such a way that the missions can’t get completed, or any future missions for that matter if you somehow manage to make it out, that is. I’m just too old for this crap. I do understand many people enjoy this kind of brutal difficulty, but I find it mostly arbitrary, especially when sudden mission scripting decides to run you over by spawning a bunch of Terminators on top of your head.
Resupplying units are very expensive, from buying new units to providing fresh ammunition, which does translate well to the apocalyptic hellscape that the Terminator future is supposed to be, but gameplay-wise it means that you will be low on stuff constantly if anything get as much as a scratch. I do find some micromanagement enjoyable, especially when it involves logistics, but man, that action sure is draining here. I noticed that instead of fighting and maneuvering, I was babysitting ammo trucks and making sure the units fighting actually got enough supplies. Enjoyable in a way, but managing all this requires a Korean level of APM (actions per minute). Once again, too old, even with the pause button going warm.
Another issue I have with Terminator: Dark Fate is the los system (line of sight). While it seems true to what units can see in-game, which is cool, it’s hard to tell what will block the line of sight, and what won’t. It’s very noticeable through the AI because those bastards know exactly where to stand for an optimal killing view while your men run around like headless chickens to get a good shot in. It seems the best way is to place all infantry in buildings, lure the Terminators over, and let God sort it out, instead of moving around and attacking – because it’s just messy, especially in combination with the somewhat poor path-finding.
Looks like war, alright
It’s not all bad. Terminator: Dark Fate looks great, and seems to run on an interesting engine that allows for a lot of good stuff when it comes to real-time strategy, like the mentioned true line of sight. The effects are also cool, and while the resource stuff is a bit frustrating, I do enjoy the struggle in the campaign map, where you pick who to upgrade, who to recruit, and who to resupply, and that units are a permanent thing throughout. I will give it another go for sure, but it’s just the load-and-save aspect of the game that bores me.
For example, in my campaign, while I did succeed in my mission, it seems every future mission is doomed because way too many men died in the battle. This means that I will have to replay a lot of missions to even stand a chance in the upcoming ones. Who knows if your casualties are sustainable or not? The game allows for a lot of deaths but then punishes you in making the campaign unwinnable 2-3 missions down the line. Not sure if this is my kind of fun when it’s a linear game. If it functioned like X-com, sure… but this? Oh well. This is my impression of Terminator: Dark Fate so far after a few hours in. Not totally bad, but not that great either.
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Addendum (2024-03-07)
I was curious and decided to try out the studio’s (Cats Who Play) former game (Syrian Warfare) to compare. For some reason, this game really clicked with me, and I’m playing on “realistic” mode to boot, which is the hardest difficulty setting. This means that my quick impression article might have been made in haste somewhat, as the mechanics and general gameplay are the same (except for a few things). So, when I finish Syrian Warfare, I will definitely give Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance another go, because I should enjoy this title. I guess I was in a cranky mood or something!
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