By Chris Picone, 06 February, 2025

16 Bit Nights have done it again!  Welcome Back, Commander (WBC) is the third iteration of their Chromosome Evil (CE) series (fourth, if you count Flesh Eaters).  Interestingly, while CE2 was a huge complex evolution of its predecessors, WBC has actually pared back much of the gameplay, returning the focus to the tactical component of the game.  That's not to say the resource management and decision-making are gone, they're still present and important, but they've been relegated into a series of menus.  Why?  Whereas CE was a huge complex campaign you're likely to only play through once, 16 Bit Nights have taken a very different approach with WBC, opting for a shorter but more replayable game through the addition of roguelike elements.

Visually, WBC is almost identical to the other games in the series, the exception being some of the cutscenes, which are fantastic.  That and the pre-mission UI.  In WBC, you're in a command room, and each of the pre-mission stages are presented to you as a range of options.  Initially, your men are in a safe zone, but time is limited so you can only choose one option for how you spend your time, which might be resting, or crafting, or upskilling your troops.  Instead of moving on the world map like in CE, the travel from your previous location to your next location is also conducted via menu; you might encounter a  broken down police car, or an injured soldier, or an apartment building, and you only have time to explore one of these during the transit. Obviously each of these decisions attract a range of bonuses and penalties. In an interesting twist, your approach to the mission location is handled in the same manner. Where in CE you would actually approach the building from the outside, realtime, WBC presents you with more options.  Do you sneak in, or move in quickly and grab more resources, or jump straight into building your defences?  Be careful - many options are just about your next mission, but some decisions have a lasting impact, leaving consequences to be faced later in the game.  Decisions made, you're launched into the tactical component of the game, which is played out like any other game in the series.  You need to find your escape route first, fight off waves of enemies to buy time until they become overwhelming, and in the meantime try to scavenge as many resources as possible.  WBC features new maps and enemies we haven't seen before. It also features far more NPC survivors.  Thankfully, it still features a range of mission types - run away, survive for x time, wave defence, stealth missions, and later in the game, lots of bosses.  Most of the options & levels are randomly assigned, allowing for maximum replayability.  Also, you score achievements as you play through, which attract a range of bonuses which you can use in future playthroughs, helping you survive a little longer and make it further through the game.

The verdict?  If you're already a fan of the CE series, go ahead and jump right in.  If you haven't, but you're a fan of hardcore challenging tactical/survival games, WBC is as good a game as any to jump in and play, and if you like it you can definitely go back and check out the rest of the series. If you don't normally play these sort of games, or aren't up for a challenge, maybe give it a miss.  You're going to die, a lot, and that ain't for everyone. 

 Links:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3015620/Welcome_Back_Commander/