The game places you in the role of a commander leading an emergency response team after a catastrophic event at a secret laboratory located deep within the Arctic. Your mission involves either covering up the incident and maximizing profits for the corporation Xenowerk or potentially saving the world from the disastrous consequences. The narrative offers players a choice-driven experience, influencing how the story unfolds based on your decisions and actions.
Exploration is a core element of the gameplay. You deploy squads into zones affected by infection and chaos, navigating through dangerous terrains such as jungles, swamps, laboratories, and industrial facilities. During these expeditions, you utilize your operatives’ skills, traits, and mutations to overcome hazards, combat horrors, and manage mishaps. The game encourages swift, strategic exploration, scavenging resources, completing various missions, securing safe zones, and rescuing missing operatives, adding layers of depth and challenge to the adventure.
Combat is real-time and intense, requiring you to control your squad actively against waves of mutants and other threats. You can leverage special operative skills and mutations like grenades, traps, adrenaline boosts, and powers like pyrokinesis to turn the tide of battles. The game also features a Tactical Pause function, allowing you to halt real-time action to plan precise orders, thus adding a tactical layer to combat management. This setup demands quick thinking and strategic planning to outmaneuver the enemies and preserve your team.
Management aspects include recruiting and evolving various types of operatives such as Marines, Rangers, and Scientists, each with their unique traits and potential mutations—sometimes dubious. You spend resources to upgrade and expand your base facilities, including barracks, recruitment centers, hospitals, and armories. Additionally, options to sell resources on the black market or follow the moral route of saving the world influence your funding and gameplay experience. The game supports multiple save slots, offline play, and features excellent graphics, providing a comprehensive tactical squad-based experience with exploration, character development, and story choices.