After a decade of stale turn-based tactics, Menace is a breath of fresh air

After a decade of stale turn-based tactics, Menace is a breath of fresh air | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these Action Styx: Blades of Greed review: Engaging, challenging stealth in dizzyingly vertical puzzle boxes Third Person Shooter Arc Raiders full interview: ‘Nobody whatsoever thought we’d have this many players’ RPG The new game from Disco Elysium’s studio feels like the first Christmas after your parents’ divorce Third Person Shooter Helldivers 2’s siege of Cyberstan is the greatest galactic campaign the game has seen so far Action This bloody medieval carve-‘em-up has me praying the devs deliver a holy gaming experience Sim I didn’t expect to kidnap alligators, save Woodstock or give people dysentery in a game called Transport Fever 3—but here we are Strategy Heart of the Machine, the strategy game that lets you be the fun kind of evil AI, leaves early access in March with two possible endings: ‘One is focussed on committing ALL the war crimes’ Card Game The Killing Stone combines occult contract law with card-battling in an isolated 17th century mansion RPG Warhammer 40k: Dark Heresy might just have everything I want from a CRPG Games The best cyberpunk games on PC Roguelike Mewgenics review: The creator of The Binding of Isaac has transcended his own past work with this sprawling, ridiculous, and endlessly surprising roguelike RPG The best King’s Field-likes on PC Third Person Shooter Helldivers 2’s overpowered, wildly fun tank is the culmination of two years of balancing Roguelike Mewgenics provides the best proof yet that the turn-based tactics genre is the true home of drama and excitement in gaming FPS Highguard review PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Arc RaidersBest PC gearFalloutGame Quizzes Games Strategy Menace After a decade of stale turn-based tactics, Menace is a breath of fresh air Features By Jonathan Bolding published 24 February 2026 The Battle Brothers makers have done it again, this time with a platoon-scale wargame. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Overhype) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Signup + Every Thursday GTA 6 O’clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O’clock experts. Signup + Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what’s on the horizon. Signup + Every Thursday The Setup Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more. Signup + Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo’s new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play. Signup + Every Saturday The Watchlist Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Menace has the bones to become one of the best strategy and tactics games released in years. The new early access game from the creators of Battle Brothers, years in the making, blends campaign strategy and platoon tactics—think the quicker-playing fun of Jagged Alliance or X-Com with the best bits of tabletop and board wargames.In Menace, you’re in charge of a shipful of volunteer space marines sent on a politically unpopular mission through a malfunctioning faster-than-light travel gate to a remote planetary system ruled by criminals, megacorporations, and military juntas. Naturally, this goes disastrously wrong and your ship half-explodes due to that busted warp gate and lots of people on board die. You’re in charge because everyone above you in the chain of command is dead.I can’t stress enough how much fun Menace’s core strategy play is.So now you’re spearheading a peacekeeping mission that’s low on manpower, supplies, and weapons… but you’re going to do it anyway, because that’s just what a TCR marine team does. That means you’ll be recruiting new soldiers not just from your own ship, but from the scum and mercenaries and villains of the Wayback system. You’ll take them into different strategic operations, each a series of tactical battle missions against giant alien bugs, space pirate raiders, renegade local army units, and the eponymous Menace. Related articles Terra Invicta review In defense of XCOM: Chimera Squad Xenopurge turns Aliens into a stressful desk job and somehow manages to capture the movie perfectly I can’t stress enough how much fun Menace’s core strategy play is, even with a few early access quibbles and only something like a third of its full content implemented. The basic rules simplify the kind of ultra-crunchy stuff you find in dense wargames into a faster-playing game without sacrificing any cool simulation—so you still have individual to-hit rolls for every bullet and five different assault rifles to choose from, it’s just elegantly automated or combined into more accessible systems.You can go into this game with a basic understanding of combat infantry tactics and pretty much start winning missions using the core military theories of fi