About Flee The Facility:
At last, there is a game to fulfill an innermost craving that many of us have; the intrinsic yet deeply buried itch any game hitherto has yet to scratch: it is, of course, the desire to pilot massive neo-dieselpunk airships in battle high above the Arabian desert. This game is amazing. It’s also incredibly difficult. There’s no explanation for anything at all, but there is a forty page long manual on Steam that you have to read if you want a basic understanding of the mechanics. At every point in the campaign you will be forced to juggle a multitude of threats, objectives, supplies, map reports, random events, and the slowly-accumulating weight of your past mistakes. There are two parts to Highfleet, and each has great depth to it. The first is the high-adrenaline aerial combat which requires excellent maneuvering, tactical positioning, precise fire, and correct use of assets and weaponry. All warships are completely modular and all of their stats depend on their composition. Destroying a generator will cut off power from certain modules and losing the bridge will send you straight into the desert dunes. The second part relies on strategic decision-making, careful resource management and the ability to assess threats and pick battles. You will be staring at the map, using your intelligence equipment to amass all the info you can about enemy fleets, their locations, and compositions while also manipulating the enemy’s knowledge of you. With your fleet initially being composed of only a few standard ships, you’ll need to get any advantage possible while maintaining stealth before crushing the enemy with a decisive blow. Highfleet’s atmosphere is rather unique, combining the aesthetics of the Middle East & central Asia, imperial Russia, and, uh, Arrakis?.. The music is glorious and the battle visuals are… highly explosive. On the downside, this game can get very frustrating very quickly. You WILL need to go out of your way to search up how various mechanics really work because the game won’t tell you and the manual only explains the bare minimum. If you don’t, you will keep making the same mistakes over and over not even knowing that you’re making mistakes while the campaign mercilessly beats you with a stick. The UI is quite messy; I’m not sure if it’s meant to add to the atmosphere but it does make your life a little harder. Highfleet is a fantastic game. It’s extremely unique and very compelling. I would not say this game is for everyone but if you like what’s written here and in other reviews, it might be for you.
