Games Description:
Nuclear Option is a “Near Future” arcade style flight simulator, Face Land, Air and Sea threats to wage war against AI or other players in PVE or PVP with a wide array of future “Potent” weapons ranging from the Aim-64 (Future Mav’s) and Wield 1.5 or 2.5kt Tactical Nuclear warheads capable of annihilating EVERYTHING in their path!!! Fly original designed near-future aircraft with Immersive Physics. You can fly Keyboard and mouse. Joypad or Even Hotas (hand on throttle and stick) with even the ability to use Head tracking!
Review:
The game was released onto Steam in early access on October the 16th 2023 but was being tested by some as far back as November 2021. Nuclear option delivers an engaging and intense journey through a post-apocalyptic near-future world. From the moment you dive into the game, the atmosphere pulls you in with its awesome graphics and immersive sound design. For such a small game (size wise) I was really very impressed.
The gameplay mechanics are well made, offering a blend of strategy and action that keep you on your feet. The aircraft purchase system is a nice touch, allowing for a satisfying sense of awarded progression, as you get awarded $ for completing mission objectives and killing Enemy AI units you can buy essential gear ranging from aircraft and armaments. Scouting out enemy positions and the engaging combat is really rewarding and discovering hidden areas while remaining vigilant against lurking threats is a real joy!
One of the standout features and the main reason for my purchase was the multiplayer, getting to team up with my friends and other players to tackle tougher missions on a PVE or PVP scenario and tackle challenges together. This adds a layer of replay ability making it easy to just jump back into the action for more fun.
I did encounter a few bugs and some graphics assets but the developers are actively addressing issues and releasing patches and updates quite regularly, so i kept flying remembering it is only in “EARLY ACCESS”. I hope future updates will further polish the experience. For me, if I wanted to fly Aircraft without setting up my entire DCS (Digital combat Simulator) equipment, this and Vtol VR are my go to games.
As for my first experience in the game I joined my team as a member of BDF (Boscali Defence Force) in a PVE scenario against the AI controlled faction of PALA (Primeva Armed Liberation Alliance) in all out war mission called “Escalation”
“Escalation: An enormous, high intensity war of attrition with all air bases active and using all available assets. Successively more power aircraft, and eventually thermonuclear weapons, are unlocked by increasing individual and team point score respectively”
Starting with a set amount of funds I started off with the ability to choose between 2 aircraft the CI-22 Cricket ($11.5m) or the T/A-30 Compass ($21.8m) Each aircraft and weapon’s total amount was subtracted from my personal in game funds $, with mission objectives rewarding me with more $ to spend later on. If you die, you must buy another aircraft, obviously reducing your total funds. If you land safely once your jet or helicopter comes to a stop the “eject” function works differently, as you climb out instead. Ready to buy a different aircraft with my current one stored away. After a little dog fighting I went back to base and upgraded to the T/A-30 Compass, Armed with a 25mm gun pod and 4x AGM-68 I went convoy hunting taking out 4x Tanks in one volley. There was a lot of back and forth battling with AI, getting shot down MULTIPLE TIMES. I never got to use the nuke, but one of our guys did. Dropping it next to the enemy Carrier and destroying it along with 2 smaller corvettes, along with a lot of smaller enemy targets on the island.
Conclusion:
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this game. It's very small in size so I didn't expect much from it. My friends at Trident Games were playing in multiplayer so I picked it up to play with them. The only real thing that drew me to it was being able to drop Nukes. All I can say is I was VERY wrong. Nuclear Option is a great game with a lot more promising things to come.
Nuclear Option is available on PC Steam for £14.99 (DLC of Soundtrack for £4.99)https://store.steampowered.com/app/2168680/Nuclear_Option/
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