Cyber Knights: Flashpoint

Hidden gem of a game that blends XCOM, shadow run, and cyberpunk red elements for a squad based heist game. There is a surprising amount of character customization while still allowing for mostly story driven missions. Excited to see how the story progresses.

Excellent game that is both fun and challenging. Great tactical gameplay in a fascinating cyber punk setting.

Good graphics and game controls allow you to focus on the task at hand. Compelling missions keeps you coming back for more.

I haven't played much, but reading the dev blogs each week I see so many strong reasons to buy/play the game that I gotta recommend it. Constant improvements on what is, constant growth towards what could be.

Great game. Combat is very much tailored to the players desire and character builds. Base building is in-depth and offers many options for your missions. Character progression is very detailed and I really like how you have a load of dodgy NPC people on your books with progression of their own. The hacking elements are fun and break up the missions nicely.
It's in a great state with no game/immersion breaking bugs, bags of content. Best early access title I've played

A good variant of XCOM 2, with seemingly less randomness (which is a good thing)

Matrix Hacking.... enough said.

This mechanic gets introduced near the 2 hour mark (just out of your refund window :) )
It's so poorly explained, can hard lock you out of progress whilst the tutorial keeps spamming you with the same popup windows to the point they actually break and appear when not relevant or not even aligned anymore with the elements they are "explaining".

Hold off with purchasing this game till they heavily adress this entire mechanic.

Trese Brothers are <3

Good turn-based game with easier modes for people that are terrible at games such as myself 👍🏼

Shadowrun? Never heard of it, chummer. This game gets updated more often than my wife checks her phone...

I have only begun to play this deeply diverse title and it has already wow'd me. The devs are always on top of the discord making updates and pushing new content weekly. There is literally a weekly map addition, it is great. They have a great progress map that can be seen in their 100+ updates. I have played a ton of titles like this and I have to say, Damn this is a good one. I can't wait to see what the future holds. If you like tactical combat, decision making, consequences, and cool cyber tech this is the game for you. 10/10 would buy again!

Been a fan and a follower of the Trese Brothers since their first Star Traders game. These guys got brains, creativity, devotion and a great sense for detail. Starting up a playthrough of Cyber Knights: Flashpoint I get the feeling this will be their masterpiece, so far. It feels very polished and genuine, interesting design, levels and characters and a sense of freedom in problem solving these kind of games often lack. I look forward to be a part of the journey with this game and see it evolve over the coming years.

Cyber Knights Flashpoint is created by one of the best dev studios I've come across. The Trese Brothers are passionate, communicative, and good at what they do. And that shines through in CK: Flashpoint, which at the core is a heist and crew building strategy game with bits of Invisible Inc and dashes of XCOM thrown in. But it's very much its own beast with unique and satisfying systems.

PROS
Deep tactical turn based game play, that you can play pretty much how you want. Build a crew to go loud or silent, as you decide how you play a heist out. There's a lot of flexibility and depth for building out classes and gear load-outs. Combat or stealth are both satisfying, with a solid UI telling you exactly what you need to know with no fuss. 

Graphics are also nice, with atmospheric lighting, and levels that ask to be explored to find new interesting routes through them (and loot). Characters are not realistic or cartoony, but have a style that works.
 
Like Invisible inc, the focus is on moving efficiently through a heist against a superior force. The enemy, if alerted, will eventually overwhelm you, but you're still able to go loud when you need to. Game does a great job of balancing that and being fair. I never felt forced into a certain play style or build. I could just play around and experiment. 

Mission variety is good, with mixed stealth and combat, hacker only, and full loud missions. Along with multi level missions that really give you a sandbox to play with builds. Objectives vary well too. It's all just smooth and well designed. 

Customization is also fun, with various cosmetics from cyber punk eyes to back packs, and crazy hair. It's not quite XCOM, but the options are nice enough to give variety and personality to each merc. 

CONS
The writing I felt was really flat, often convoluted with cyber jargon instead of clarity with interesting narrative and character arcs. This is a result of the Cyber Knights history, but many of the new players (like me) will have no clue. There is a wiki, but even as sci fi and cyber punk fan, I just couldn't find interest with it. The main Cyber Knight in particular felt really dry and boring, despite being hailed as a unique character as the 'Cyber Knight'. Again, not truly terrible, but bad enough that I was just skipping dialogue. This is where perhaps the small dev team is stretched, and that they aim for interesting personalities that grow and interact with your team in a meaningful way. But most of it missed the mark for me and I tuned out.
 
Sound design is also lower quality. The music is quite catchy that fits the cyberpunk vibe, and they added increased variation to it with an update. But for me it was still too repetitive and I turned it off after a few hours. There is no voice from the mercs, and no significant ambient sound (which you really notice with the music off). For me this is the worst area of what is a superb indie game.

CONCLUSION
There is a lot to love with CK Flashpoint, as they home in on completion with full release. Much to dig into for fans of the genre, with enough unique parts to keep it fresh. On top of that the devs are top tier both in updates and just how they interact with a passionate community. This scratched an itch I've been missing since Invisible Inc, and does things better than XCOM, Phantom Doctrine and a bunch of others. The writing and sound are lower quality, but not to the point they detract from the meat of the game which is excellent. 

For anyone who is a fan of the cyberpunk genre, and enjoys turn based tactics, this game is phenomenal. As a long term GM of Shadowrun, this really scratches an itch that I couldn't anywhere else in the digital realm. The Shadowrun series is great, but is not sandboxy. This is more like a sandbox cyberpunk campaign.

The developers are extremely active, fixes and new content is coming all the time. Bug reporting has actual perceivable results. This is my surprise game of the past year, by a long shot.

Haven't played enough yet for a review as I'm waiting for more of the story content to be added before I dive in properly. However, I think these devs deserve support for their vision and work ethic. Star Traders is great and this seems to build upon that design philosophy of emergent sandboxy story.

The game is not bad. It is not, what I expected.

I read Shadowrun books, than I played the 3 Shadowrun games from
Harebrained Schemes and I said: Yes, this is it!

Cyber Knights is not the next step in this genre, not even state of the art (see shadowrun returns).

Reasons:

Hacking
In Shadowrun you enter a virtual reality and sneak and fight your way with your programms turnbased.
In Cyber Knights you are playing a text adventure instead.
-> copy the VR from shadowrun

World
In Shadowrun you have your hideout, but leave it and walk thru the streets (immersion) to the jobs.
In Cyber Knights you have a hideout and beam to the job.
Not even a cutscene like XCOM or Phantom Doctrine.
-> cutscenes for in and out are missing

Jobs
The maps are random and you will save and reload until the best positioning on the map will occur.
(same prob with random maps in Lamplighters League, Phantom Doctrine does a better job with random maps)
Every job will go south, my experience in early access 'till now.
-> a type of random map is missing, in which infiltrating&exfiltrating without beeing discovered is (somehow, maybe OP skills) possible.

I can recommend the Shadowrun trilogy to all chummers, but not Cyber Knights, I'm sorry.
I will still come back sometimes and play one or two maps, when I don't have a good turnbased game on start.
Like now.

The game has lot of potential and the devs really listen to the community and often answers questions on the steam forums. for now, it's a good game but I feel like it has to be much more than that.

Developer has a track record of making deep, interactively rich games with worlds that feel vibrant and explorable in narrative and satisfyingly mechanical ways. CK: F is no exception.

This is an EA review and while there are story and content gaps, the rate of development is steady, impressive and very very good. My habit is to avoid Early Access almost always so a positive review and despite that I have been greatly enjoying seeing the world grow and expand with new classes, maps, gear and interactions. The way CK: F is built this feels more like the world being alive and changing than it does bug fixes or content pushes, due to how it's constructed systemically and the quality of the setting delivery. Full Disclosure: This came in a package buy of other Trese Brothers games or I wouldn't have bought it seperately being in EA. I am very pleasantly surprised at the outcome!

CK: F is for you if you want:

- Tactical gameplay is fun and varied, both stealth and combat.
- Intersting self-direction in base building, contact networks and mission planning
- A great take on the Cyberpunk genre that is focused on interactions and not just spectacle (though the style of the game works too!)
- Buying from indie developers who are active with their community and focused on gameplay over predatory practices. It is so rare I get to say 'Early Access done Right'.

Absolutely expect to recommend at launch if the current arc of quality, enjoyment and quantity of content continues.

1st review ever, and well deserved. I got onto Trese Brothers via Star Traders: Frontiers and even that is still getting meaningful updates after many years. While I've only played Cyber Knights: Flashpoint for a little over 4h at this point, I marvel at the regular and well-structured updates that come out every other day. Honestly, if all titles with Early-Access had this sort of schedule and dedication, the world would be a better place full of actually finished games with amazing mechanics and engaging stories.

If you are at all interested in anything this game offers, be it the aesthetics, turn-based play, deep mechanics, I wholeheartedly recommend checking out CK:F and really anything by Trese Brothers. An exemplary developer for all intents and purposes. Thank you for running Early Access and Game Development in general the way you do!

(P.S.: I would love to help you proof-read updates and content, as there are usually some typos, but that's just me being nit-picky. :D )

Easily one of the best turn-based party games I've played in years. I mean, this is absolutely my kind of game to begin with - if turn-based doesn't cut it for you because you like the challenge and/or flow of real-time, then you might not gel with it as well as I did. The game's early access wrinkles are totally showing - for example on one map when you walk your character under a bridge, there's a brief moment where they pop up onto the level above, which can give their position away to people on the bridge. Also you might be able to use the glitch to teleport up there bypassing the stares and a security laser mesh, I haven't tested. The procedurally-generated character names are occasionally a little awkward (and relatives sharing no surnames feels weird, but that's not a universal thing worldwide). I really want to see the Face class get a talent tree, even if I suspect the operations hub and underworld hub you can build in your base probably cover everything it might do. The developers are constantly expanding what's available, and that is awesome. Love the gameplay and the plot so far, and really hope they manage the alternate origin stories at some point. Highly recommended.

EA Review: already better than most strategy games. Solid base building, solid crafting, great tactical combat. Can't wait for 1.0.

Overall, this game is insanely promising and I'm giving this a recommendation with a couple caveats:

1) You know what you're getting into and want to support it. It's at fairly high price for its current level of completeness, but the developers are committed and highly communicative. This game updates on what seems like a weekly basis. Their last game, Star Traders: Frontiers, *still* gets frequent updates.

2) You love wrangling with complex tactical RPGs that are more more systems-based. It may look like XCOM but it's more like X-COM classic with a whole stealth system in there. As a result, it's really dense.

So if that sounds like you, perfect. If not, maybe wait for a more polish.

I've been a fan of the Trese Brothers since their games on android, sunk dozens of hours into Star Traders: Frontiers and have been following the development of Cyberknights closely.

Deep and engaging mechanics and systems make the world feel alive; having your crew do legwork before a job to build some extra leverage to make things go smoothly, and kitting out your crew with the firepower of a small country for when it inevitably goes rough. Building relationships with fixers and between yoru crew and keeping everyone happy, healthy and paid just enough to pull of heists to pay back the gangsters you owe.

Its a blend of all the best elements of Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, Neuromancer, Ghost in the Shell and a dozen more of the genres best works, distilled into a tight game loop that shines like burning chrome.

A cyberpunk tactical strategy game with fun classes branching,narratives and a ton of player freedom and agency allowing you to shape a playstyle that suits you. PS : These devs are the fastest and most responsive have ever seen they literally release multiple major updates every couple of days and are fast to respond the bugs these guys show how early access should be done.

I have already enjoyed this game in its early access phase to be worth the purchase price. Some thoughts for people on the fence about whether to try it:

At this stage the game is not complete, and you shouldn't expect it to be. The positive to this is that the devs are working on the game constantly and are very receptive to feedback at this stage, so if there is something that just doesn't work it gets corrected quickly and if you have a good idea you can potentially contribute to making the game better.

There is a tutorial but as it stands right now I highly recommend starting your first game on Easy or at most Normal just to learn the flow of the game without being punished too hard by early decisions. This is a game that is meant to have a lot of replayability so it's best not to think of it as the kind of thing that you just play one time through to the end (especially since storylines do not even have an end yet). Play the easier difficulty til you are familiar with the systems and then start another game at the level of difficulty you want to play at that point. If you do choose to start at a higher difficulty level, think of it along the lines of Darkest Dungeon where a certain degree of failure is to be expected.

Aside from that, I'd just say there's a very positive community. Very happy with this game.

A game I always wanted and didn't know exist.

As an avid Turn Based Tactics fan who loved games like XCOM, while also the aesthetics of Cyberpunk, this truly scratches several itches at once. While I will start by saying any words I give will pale in comparison to how utterly involving and enjoyable this game is, I will say simply: It combines the tactics and 'drop in' style of missions of XCOM, while seamlessly combining RPG elements from CRPGs together, without feeling as 'bloated' as XCOM games suddenly become like a chore.

The game gives you missions with no precise way to solve them and not, like some games, without a 'preferred' method. Some games state you can 'sneak' or 'fight' through missions, yet always hold a preference to one or the other. This game, unless the mission SPECIFICALLY says 'Combat Required', allows you the player to decide how to solve the mission. There are missions that I have gone in guns blazing and left a trail of bodies in the wake, and others where I have either killed none or very few and felt they were EQUALLY valid.

In addition, while a little much at first, hacking is great and has a much more cyberpunk fitting hacking system then, say, actual Cyberpunk 2077.

Most importantly, I **LOVE** making characters. While rudimentary, there is enough character customization through clothing, colors, and beyond to make you really get to make and design your recruits from start to end, while an expansive enough talent system to make unique builds. While it is good now, I can only imagine that new weapons and abilities will make this even better out of EA.

I cannot put this game down. It's actually fantastic. I heard of these devs through Star Traders, and this game delivered upon my desire in knowing what the audience wants.

This barely even feels like an EA game. I am someone who rarely, if ever, gets into Early Access games. If there was ever a game worthy of your support, it's Cyber Knights: Flashpoint.

While I haven't been able to put as much time into this game as I'd like to, I played the demo a few years ago when it first came out until I exhausted the content in it. I loved it then, and have yet to see an update come out with anything that looks bad. I've played the intro of this game probably 4 times since the demo came out, and I'm about to do it again, as they just added more loadout selections for the customizable Cyber Knight class character.

The main gameplay loop has continued to evolve throughout development, as Trese Brothers are updating this several times per week, adding content, fixing bugs, and revamping things. I imagine they'll keep doing that for quite some time, as the other game of theirs I own, Star Traders, is still receiving updates despite being 6 years old.

I'll likely update this review after putting in more hours, but as it stands, this has been a game I've thoroughly enjoyed before I even had to put any money into it.

Even at this state, there is a ton of gameplay. The devs are super communicative and listen to their clientele. The game is solid, a lot of fun, and they're just constantly making it better and constantly updating it! They're working on making the gameplay even better before they add in more story, but there's definitely enough story here to at least get your attention. Seriously though, these devs are some of the best devs I've seen and this game and them deserve so much more hype.

This game has been a very pleasant surprise. In its current state, it is very playable and immensely enjoyable.

Though it has a lot in common with X-COM, its implementation is focused on a set of mechanics that turns every mission into a puzzle to be solved. Stealth has strategic consequences, and there is every reason to get in and get out with as little violence as possible. This seemed hard to do at first, but after many hours I have figured out how to truly be a ghost. The muscle I take with me on many missions never fire a shot.

This doesn't mean that there aren't combat missions. There are, and they scratch the combat itch that builds up when you do a proper job on heist missions.

The hacking game is a big deal in this game because it earns major dollars without ricking the health of your team. They have devoted a lot to it, and I find myself spending a lot of money on hardware upgrades to my hacker. Yes, there are cybernetic upgrades.

This has become one of my favorite games of all time, honestly. I can't wait to see what they do next with it.

Nice RPG/Tac game in the Shadowrun mixed with XCOm style, you manage a gang of cyberpunks and hacker doing missions in TBS, AP based, then levelling up skills and using the loot to get better equipement and upgrade your base etc
A lot of cool mechanics with Hacking, Contacts, crafting, etc, but a little rough on the edges with a rather cluttered UI and many systems not really explained
Not a demanding game with basic isometric 3D with a cartoonish but nice look, it can run on an old system
I'm still not very far into the game, and it's not finished at all, but the Trese Bros still have 100000 updates planned, so it'll end up very good :)

Very solid turn based game.

Combat was very challenging and fun, especially at start. There is a decent hacking minigame and plenty of options how to develop your squad of mecs, both in terms of their skills and abilities, as well as their equipment.
It's still missing some parts and could use some balancing and quality of life features down the line, but the frequency of updates this game gets is staggering. In the two weeks I've been playing this, there have been like 8, adding new and balancing current content, some even fixing bugs I reported just a few days prior.

The graphics are .. ok. Certainly for this type of game it's enough.

I think it's worth the money even in EA, but if it's not your cup of tea, certainly watch this and check it at release.

No pod mechanics, a fantastic stealth system, customizable difficulties and a cool setting. What else could you want? Or right, it's also getting near daily patches, because the Trese Brothers are robots.

If you like tactical combat/stealth with a very cool strategic layer, get this game!

Tactical RPG with plenty of depth, and even a bit of X-COM-like base building. Since it's cyberpunk, it also has plenty of stealth & hacking. If you're into "long war" style games, this is an excellent one that doesn't sacrifice interesting gameplay.

XCOM, but Cyberpunk with slightly more story elements.

Cyber Knights is great fun right from the start. Missions generally slip between stealthy hacking/assassinations on lone patrol guards or epic shoot outs as your attempts to prevent yourself from being discovered just lead to causing more noise and bringing down more enemies on your head. And right from the start, you start with a varied roster of mercenaries who will support either style, and as they level up will become more specialized in leaning into different parts of those playstyles. Speaking of leveling up, there's quite a variety of build paths for one character. Even within the confines of one class, a character is able to spending their learning points on gaining new talents (abilities), usually 4 to 6 points buying upgrades for their talents (increased range, longer duration, faster recharge, etc), and another several points on stat nodes to help your mercenary do better at their job. And that's entirely ignoring the fact that everyone can multiclass and mix the talents and skills of any two classes together. Options galor!

Now, the game is in early access, so I imagine a few of my points of criticism here will be cleared up one day (and they do post frequent updates, several of my problems have already been fixed!) but to state them honestly:
- A lot of mechanics are very under-explained. There is a tutorial to get you used to the controls, but the majority of stealth, or how to use it well, is left up to player experimentation to figure it out. I was almost 5 hours into my first game before I even figured out how to see the sound radius of my weapons correctly.
- Some map + objective combos can feel a little unfair. I know the devs have stated this is a near-future fix for them, but every once in a while I'll run across a near impossible mission objective (nothing that soft-locks or forces failure, you just have to skip a minor reward or two)

Other than those minor complaints, it's a very promising game with a very solid core right now, I highly recommend you check it out!

Patch notes said "please leave a review if you support what we're doing and like the game". Well, I support what you're doing and like the game. Please keep improving on this awesome friggin' game, scratches a very special itch.

Loving this game so far. Has a great X-Com feel, the art is superb, the dialogues are cyberpunky without being campy, the missions are great fun. The stealth element is well done with an increasing threat level as guards fail to report in, and reinforcements arrive when bodies are discovered by cameras or roving patrols. Would love an option to pick up and move bodies, but there is some goop that dissolves them that I haven't had a chance to try yet (I think it's a one use item, so can't use too much which is probably for the best). Reminds me of the boardgame Earth Under Siege.

Missions are too hard, even on easy. So many things are stacked against you, you have no chance in combat, and the game doesn't give you enough resources to try and stealth your way past. One misstep, one mistake, and your entire team is instantly wiped out.

I can't get this game out of my mind (because it feels like it updates almost every week) and updates with substantial content updates regularly.

EA strategy aside, it's a really well made tactical turn based shooter - a spiritual successor of Invisible Inc. and XCOM

Awesome turn-based RPG, where you can choose whatever playstyle you like.

Kill everyone on sight, choose a stealthy approach, or do a bit of both.

There's even a mini-game for hacker class 🤯

Extra kudos for very flexible difficulty settings 👍

Nails the Necromancer vibes. Narratively the game does a great job of setting the tone but there is also the emergent narrative that unfolds in what would be otherwise mundane tasks. Break in to a heavily armed office to see corpo secrets, get the files you were looking for, have a guard finally turn around and discover your hacker at the terminal. Time to go loud and get everyone out ASAP.

The key thing is it's very much a heist game. You won't kill everyone and you really shouldn't. Find what you need, take it and get out.

I couldn’t even get the team members to move in the tutorial. On a random mouse click they moved, not even to where my mouse was pointing. No way to clear the waypoint. No way to back out of the tutorial. Had to cntrl-alt-delete just to get out of the game. I own hundreds of games. This is the first one I’m getting a refund for. Complete unplayable.

So I only played a bit because I enjoyed it so much I am having an internal battle on waiting for release to keep playing or be on this games nuts on the daily. This is like Harebrained Schemes on Crack. It has heavy Shadowrun vibes and I'm loving it. This is a project you want to support.

The Trese Brothers excel in making incredibly deep and engaging games out of wonderfully elegantly intertwined base systems; this one is no exception. The game is smart, engaging and has meaningful updates coming out every few days, a trend which is expected to continue for years based on their previous games.

Why get the game? For me, the main draw is how free form your approach to missions can be. If you want to do everything via stealth, that's an option. If you want to go in guns blazing and just murder your way through the enemy compound, that also works. Or you can go with a mix, or with hacking, or whatever you want. All the playstyles feel viable and have so many smart mechanics supporting them that I couldn't hope to fully articulate it within the scope of a review.

If you're worried about the game being in early access: don't be. The developer's ethos is save game compatibility. Start a save now, you can keep playing it with extended content up to release.

Game is wonderful, even in Early Access.

Developer are very responsive to bugs

This game feels like playing a well-executed Shadowrun TTRPG campaign without all the tangled rules and tables getting in the way. It hits all the right notes of combat and stealth, with inspiration from SR5e, Invisible Inc, and XCOM adapted proudly. It has a lot of polish even in early access and I'm very excited to see where it goes next.

the visual is aboslutely not my part, the game feels very slow and the ui is clunky compared to xcom. i like the different approchaes but make me hurry in a game never is the key for good game. the visuals look a bit woke to me and not up to date 2024. even pixel would have been better.

Fun game, game constantly gets great updates at an astounding speed. Really hits the tactical combat itch. I will say this game will be something else when its actually fully cooked, super excited for the future of this. The cyber knight is my favorite class i basically made raiden from metal gear with steroids

Cyberpunk/Shadowrun by way of XCOM.
Early Access, but being updated alarmingly quickly, worth your time to keep an eye on, worth your money if you can support an indie studio and like tactical RPGs.

Seriously fans of TTRPG Shadowrun will find a lot to enjoy here.

Too hard. I want to try to be stealthy, but it always ends up in gun fight.

Every other Early Access game could learn a lot from how this game is handling EA: weekly or better updates. No doubt that things are happening, and the game is getting better day by day before our very eyes.

Yes, it's Early Access, but if you like this kind of tactical game it's definitely in a state now where you can get a whole lot of fun and entertainment out of it. The developers are super active and are releasing small updates and patches almost daily.

The content with handcrafted story yields around 10 hours of playtime at the moment, then the storylines go on pause.

However, replayability with procedural content, grinding out and crafting the best gear, leveling up mercenaries, and so on easily provides 100+ hours of gameplay.

I highly recommend you get this game if you like gameplay like XCOM and cyberpunk settings. The depth of systems and the joy of synergistic builds on display here is real! The devs behind this game has a superb work ethic, as evidenced by their extremely regular (typically weekly!) progress updates and clear communication. I respect and admire this very much in an industry where dev studios much bigger, is also much less responsive to player feedback.

Yes, the game is still in early access, and yes, I never write reviews for "unfinished" games. This one is different, it has all the foundational building blocks in place to be great (its already very good) and it's being built by a solid team. We need more indies like this, and you need more turn-based joy like this. Get it and you have a win-win!