Pax Autocratica is what happens when you successfully play with your food, as it’s a satirical totalitarian colony sim mixed with a roguelike FPS. My brief demo with it had me exploring a pre-made colony that was full of scared, happy citizens who were all volunteering to work 15-hour days, and even asking to push it to 20 hours because they dream of labor.
A Satirical Spin on Totalitarian Rule
Set on an alien planet with an imposing tentacled creature in the distance, your colony exists in the Tyris System, and your goal is to fight back against other authoritarian factions in the galaxy. You’ll be able to improve your colony by passing policies that may excite or anger your populace, like instituting curfews or public feasts. Doing so could cause your citizens to love you or rebel—the latter can be swiftly quelled with simple propaganda or brute force. You’ll be able to build barracks, housing, surveillance towers, and more as you assign duties to your citizens and watch their every move to make sure they’re staying in line. You can even get into the nitty-gritty of things by deciding on housing density, working conditions, and salaries.
When I was done exploring my colony, I ventured out into the roguelike element of the game, where you can choose missions like assassinating targets or assaulting outposts, all while leading an army of loyal soldiers who are ready to die in your name. It’s here where you’ll acquire resources to bring back to your colony and level up your character to unlock a variety of new skills. Sublime is probably the best way I’d describe how the shooting in Pax Autocratica feels, as I was blitzing across the battlefield, taking out swaths of enemies with a gun I upgraded to fire balls of explosive electricity that would take out groups at a time. This could honestly be the game, and I’d be fine with it; adding a colony sim on top of it is just the cherry on top.
Final Thoughts on Pax Autocratica’s Unique Blend
I didn’t get to spend too much time with Pax Autocratica, but the time I did spend was memorable enough. Although it has a vague “Q4 2025” release date, a demo is available to give you a small taste of what to expect.
