It’s easy to forget how important the stranger side of sci-fi is to the history of strategy games. Titles like Herzog Zwei helped cement the idea of tactical gameplay with mainstream gamers, while the RTS genre was widely popularized by the success of Dune II years before the likes of Warcraft came to dominate the scene. Cantata hasn’t forgotten this, though, and developer Afterschool Studio leans into this sense of the weird.
Cantata is a turn-based strategy game set on the planet of Shoal. Three factions are vying for control, one human, one alien, and one machine, although the player will find all three factions to be as strange as one another in different ways. Over the course of nine campaigns, each with a different commanding officer, the player will see through the varied perspectives and witness the machinations of these warring sides.
Based on the early access build of Cantata, which launches on 12 May, it's a game that understands what works about turn-based strategy as a genre. There are recognizable elements from games of a similar ilk, such as resource management, base defense, and varied unit attack types like in Advance Wars, but Cantata expands into other areas like supply line construction and handling the world of Shoal as an active faction too. It’s a lot of spinning plates but the game currently doesn’t feel too complex, although newcomers to the genre will likely want to explore the game’s tutorials.
Cantata also has a very unique look to go alongside these distinctive gameplay elements. Its aesthetic of cool, decaying pastels and occasional splashes of bolder colors gives the alien world of Shoal a solitary atmosphere, like stepping out onto the ground of a world from an Ursula K. Le Guin story. Cantata uses a blend of gorgeous character art and pixel art gameplay models without it ever feeling jarring.
Something that is bound to intrigue players based on this early access version is the game's narrative, as from a story perspective there is a lot of scope for Cantata to grow in interesting directions. There's an immediate depth to its lore akin to the inscrutability of Dune, mixed with the weirdness of Warhammer 40,000 back when Games Workshop's tabletop game was a place full of mystery. If Afterschool Studio keeps this up, this could be a very solid sci-fi story for genre fans to enjoy.
From a narrative perspective, Cantata will look to explore the game's factions with stories to go alongside them. Although the early access version is of course more limited than the final release, the full game will include nine chapters split across nine commanding officers from these three factions. There's plenty of sci-fi mysticism to explore here, from the human dynasties of the 111th Reign of Harmony and Prosper to the ecological-centric People of Sun and Shadow, and the player will delve into these different cultures while also peeling back the layers of the planet of Shoal itself.
Perhaps more intriguing from a meta perspective is the level of customization that Cantata promises. Afterschool Studio is making the game extremely open to mod and custom scenarios, and a look at the game's level editor certainly suggests that Cantata will provide players with comprehensive functionality to create unique maps. If Cantata can get a community going through its early access release, then this could be a vital lifeline for ongoing play.
Of course, Cantata isn't perfect, much like any other early access model. There are certainly some balance tweaks to be made to help things feel a little more level, and there may need to be some changes the clunkier gameplay elements like its potentially overly-restrictive action points system. Nonetheless, that's exactly what early access releases are for, and no doubt players will make their voices known about what areas may need changing.
As such, Cantata is shaping up extremely well so far. 2022 has proved to be a very strong year for the indie video game scene, and this early access version of Cantata certainly suggests that there's going to be another top tier indie launch coming very soon.
Cantata releases into early access on 12 May 2022 for PC. Screen Rant was provided with a PC code for the purposes of this preview.
