Heavy Metal

ZERO-K is a free RTS featuring deformable terrain, enormous battles and more robots than you’ll know what to do with.

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Reminiscent of strategy games like Supreme Commander and Total Annihilation, Zero-K is an entertaining RTS developed by a team of volunteers and released for free on Steam. It’s a passion project which has earned a dedicated following, and it’s not uncommon for fans of the game to become involved in its development. Anyone who wants to support the game can make a donation via Steam, which keeps it clear of free-to-play clutter.

There are only the faintest flickers of story in Zero-K, but it’s a game whose action needs no justification beyond the fact that thousands of robots fighting for control of a map is really fun. The focus is squarely on the strategy, and it’s refreshing to play a game that does away with all the usual cinematic pomp in favour of pure play. There’s a campaign with around 70 missions that has you conquering a series of planets, but even here the narrative is slight to the point of nonexistence. The early campaign acts as a tutorial, drip-feeding you the game’s systems until it yanks the stabilisers away and leaves you to fend for yourself.