Camlann Games' Slava Heretz on Neural Dominion, an upcoming cyberpunk 4X strategy title
The game will be the debut outing by GamesBond Studios, an emerging Cairo-based indie studio
Cards on the table, the genre of cyberpunk is my absolute favourite whether in literature, cinema or games. Hell, even the synthwave music that is synonymous with the genre is quite fun. My own dalliances with cyberpunk began with Deus Ex, the films Dark City and The Matrix, and William Gibson’s Sprawl Trilogy in the space of a couple of years at the start of the century. I found the world-building, the characters and the sorts of situations they faced absolutely riveting. These early discoveries led me to dig deeper, read Philip K Dick, Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker and others, watch films like Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Gattaca, Tron and such, and play a variety of different videogames (too many to mention here).
But what is it specifically about cyberpunk that explains its immense appeal? “The crime. The brutality. The music. The fashion. The dystopian anarcho-capitalism. The nastiness of it. The honesty of it. It's a great in-between of what our modern society can be in the very near future and the probable reality of some distant sci-fi future somewhere else,” offers Slava Heretz, CEO and founder of Camlann Games, publisher of the upcoming game 4X strategy game1 Neural Dominion.
A wearer of many hats, Slava is also the lead designer on the project whose inception occurred some point after he played a certain game that, despite a rough start, is considered a most formidable entry in the genre. “I immediately thought of this idea after playing Cyberpunk 2077 and wondering why there wasn't a strategy version of this universe — that was probably six years ago,” he adds. The game is being built by GamesBond Studios — an indie developer out of Cairo (Egypt), with 20-plus cumulative years of experience with Unity development, game art, SFX and design in PC and mobile game development. “As a forward-thinking publisher with a big vision, Camlann Games took a chance on this young studio. It was a great fit as this is an ambitious title,” says the publisher’s founder and CEO.
Civ + City of Gangsters + Final Fantasy = ?
I had the opportunity to try out a pre-alpha build of Neural Dominion earlier this week, but before getting into my findings, I’ll let Slava describe the game for those of you who may not yet be acquainted with it. “Imagine Civilization, but you play out battles like Final Fantasy and in a fully cyberpunk setting,” he begins, “Then instead of cities to capture, you have city sectors that can be captured and upgraded to provide income, unit recruitment, defensive capability etc. The Age of Wonders series and Endless Legend did this to some extent with hero customisation and tactical combat added. They did it quite well in fact. We're taking the same concept of ‘start from nothing and then build a massive empire’. Our approach to gameplay is just a bit different in a brand new cyberpunk setting.”
Inspiration for Neural Dominion came from a variety of sources, although not always the most obvious ones. Slava elaborates, “[We were inspired by] 4X strategy classics like Sid Meier's Civilization and Age of Wonders. The crime elements came from games like City of Gangsters, while the aesthetics and mood from many different cyberpunk-themed games. We were also inspired by many turn-based or “active time” JRPGs like Final Fantasy and Honkai Star Rail.” But a key inspiration for the game came from a little-known source. “It was a retro game called Chaos Overlords. Neural Dominion has a more serious and obviously up-to-date vibe, but the core game elements are there,” Slava adds.
Upon playing through the pre-alpha build, I observed that while it was quite expectedly in a rough and nascent state, the early signs look promising. The setting, the vibe and the look of the game was consistent with the promotional material that speaks of a “brutal cyberpunk 4X strategy where you take control of five gangs in a gritty, neon-lit city and do whatever it takes to dominate”. And the first impressions, particularly those of the way the city was designed, were most definitely positive.
“We've heard from players already that the neon-lit city of Technograd is the first thing they notice. It is familiar, but unique in its own way. It has its own nooks and crannies and character that separate it from other games in the genre,” explains Slava, “But from a bird's eye view, it will be very comforting for players looking for that cyberpunk vibe. The next thing that’ll catch the eye is the set of characters. The gang leaders drive the show. Each have their own unique look, lore, advantages, disadvantages and playstyles.” The build I checked out did not offer a variety of gang leaders from which to choose, but I got a sense of what to expect from later builds.
Marrying the genres of 4X strategy and cyberpunk is an interesting one, and not an entirely unexpected one. After all, the genres of sci-fi and fantasy also lend themselves quite readily to strategy games, so why not cyberpunk? The genre has all the necessary elements, so you’d think a game of this sort (or two) would already exist. “There were no 4X strategy games that combined scratching the strategic itch with the cyberpunk theme itch,” points out Slava, “Most cyberpunk universes have very unique settings and world elements. I felt it was time to take that mood and setting and bring it to the 4X strategy genre.”
During my time playing the pre-alpha, I initially found the combat section a bit confusing at first, but gradually came to grips with its quirks. Combat only occurs once you take on opposing gangs to repel their advances onto your turf or to make your own foray into their territory. The sections outside of combat — conquest, inventory management, levelling-up skills and resource management — seemed a bit simplistic, but I had to keep reminding myself that this is a very early build. While Cyberpunk 2077 (December 2020) may have been the trigger to get the ball rolling, “it was in late 2022 that we finally put pen to paper on the game design document,” Slava recalls, “Coding began in early 2023. And so we’ve been working on the game for only a few years, with a bit of a hiatus due to budgetary issues in between.”
While it’s still too soon to start talking about release dates, the next milestone is the game’s launch into early access territory. What are some of the upgrades we can expect to see further down the road? “Currently, there's very basic functionality in terms of income generation, unit recruitment, hero loadout, research, hacking, combat, and global and tactical powers,” lists Slava, “There's also a limited number of ‘lieutenants’ or additional heroes to add to your gang. We anticipate having more unique maps, procedurally generated maps, custom player-made maps.” In addition, a bunch of more mods, hero and unit skills, buildings, illicit business operations, diplomacy, research nodes and lieutenants are on the cards for this ambitious title. I’ll be keeping a keen eye on updates about Neural Dominion, and I suggest you do as well.
The trailer for Neural Dominion dropped on August 14 and it will be releasing to early access in late 2024 or early 2025 on PC (via Steam and GOG). You can wishlist the game on Steam at this link
A 4X strategy game is a type of strategy-based game defined by four core gameplay elements: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. These games focus on constructing and overseeing an empire, placing significant emphasis on economic and technological progress, alongside both military and non-military tactics to achieve dominance.