A new game from the creators of [Mutant Year Zero: Path to Eden] was announced just two weeks before its release. The developer, The Bearded Ladies, announced a completely new game almost without warning, and that it would be another stealth turn-based tactics game that was not a sequel to Mutant Year Zero.

Instead, Corruption 2029 is set in a dystopian, semi-apocalyptic post-apocalyptic America, where two indistinguishable factions, the hostile New American Council (NAC) and the player-aligned United Peoples of America (UPA) The game is divided into two eternal wars between two indistinguishable factions: the hostile NAC (New American Council) and the UPA (United Peoples of America), which sides with the player. These wars are fought between soldiers called "units. They are cybernetically enhanced, appear to have lost their free will, and are remotely controlled by a drone-piloted commander. It's a bit of a meta-commentary on the concept of strategy games, and unfortunately, the setting comes close to being the most interesting. [There is no personality here, especially compared to "Mutant Year Zero," which has a far more impressive cast of lovable anthropomorphic freaks; even by "XCOM" standards, "Corruption" falls short. With no visual customization, no permanent leveling options, and no permanent death, the units are as incompatible and unmemorable as they are in fiction. There are three people in the unit, but I have already forgotten the names of two of them.

The unit's design has a visual style reminiscent of "Titanfall" as well as "XCOM," with light armor, angular armor, and a mashup of robotic limbs. Unfortunately, the environments are not very interesting, and the same locations are reused over and over again for missions. You will raid the same motel over and over again, with different guards and different objectives, giving the impression that this entire continent-spanning war is actually being waged in a single horse town.

Once you dig into the tactical toolbox, you will find many fun toys. Each level has two distinct phases. Units can walk around in real time as long as they are not spotted, and then enter and fight in turn-based combat. The first half of the level is spent carefully dispatching stray enemies. The second half occurs when soft targets are exhausted and the main force of the enemy must be fought. Again, the "Mutant Year Zero" style is in evidence here, but the balance is strong, and it's not uncommon for the enemy to be annihilated by stealth. There is always a fight somewhere.

Much of this first phase becomes a complex dance of carefully considering how to inflict the perfect damage so that the enemy is defeated before anyone notices. Weaker enemies can be taken down with the few silenced weapons available, but tougher enemies require a knack for it. Luring them out of range of your allies may allow you to use a loud weapon, or hitting them with a stun attack may give you a valuable second turn of silent fire. Just don't give them a turn to act, or you'll be radioed in by enemies all over the map. It's a little arbitrary, and apparently "silent" to fall through walls and topple enemies, but it's still a fun puzzle.

The level is also littered with pickups that will help when the real battle begins. Often you will find turret codes guarded by several soldiers. If you turn on the radio, lure one of them in, and kill the other, you can set up an automatic turret and knock out a couple of enemies on your first turn after a loud shout.

Inevitably, however, you will encounter enemies whose stealth breaks down or who simply cannot be defeated, and you will have to start a normal turn-based tactical battle with a loud shout. This is where the more flashy abilities, carefully distributed throughout the campaign, come into play. My favorite is the giant bionic leap that can launch units across the battlefield and onto the roof. If you land on top of the enemy, you can knock them out of cover. If you knock an enemy off a rooftop, you can kill them without firing a shot. Other abilities include shots that freeze enemies in place, charge moves, and a wide variety of passive stat boosts. These can be changed or mixed as much as you like. Nothing in the unit is permanent. They are completely interchangeable.

There are not many enemy types. There's the rifle guy, the rifle guy who inexplicably has twice the health, the elite sniper guy, the elite armor guy, the resurrection drone, and the director who throws strange seeker missile drones that attack at close range. The last guy is called "dude" in my game.

In between missions, there is little substance beyond a very basic loadout screen that allows you to re-equip your soldiers and select missions from a branching tree. Occasionally, you are asked to choose between two almost indistinguishable missions and pick the one with the better reward. Not particularly interesting.

I would love to know how "Corruption 2029" came about. It feels like a very stripped-down, bare-bones game, a space for designers to test concepts in a turn-based tactical space, and the big problem with "Corruption 2029" is that the same developer released a very similar game only two years ago with the same strengths and far fewer flaws. Fans of "Mutant Year Zero" may want to check this game out for a little more stealth tactics fun, but those who don't should opt for its more well-known predecessor.

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