Menace

With Battle Brothers (2017), Overhype Studios created a successful turn-based tactical RPG in which players lead a mercenary company through a gritty, power medieval fantasy world. Despite its minimalist graphics and lack of legs, Battle Brothers was very well received by players thanks to its deep tactical combat, strong progression, and emergent storytelling. The game has also received three content expansions. The studio has made a name for itself, spending years working on another game in which players control a mercenary squad in the distant future. This new game, Menace, is a turn-based tactical sci-fi game in 3D. It is comparable to XCOM, Jagged Alliance or, perhaps unsurprisingly, Battle Brothers. However, this comparison is not entirely accurate, as the game is more reminiscent of Company of Heroes in turn-based format, or of the old Final Liberation: Warhammer Epic 40,000 (1997). It features a strategic layer with squad and ship management, as well as turn-based combat on the planets.

Players take on the role of commander of the TCRN Impetus, a strike cruiser stranded in the Wayback system — a backwater group of planets with no central governing authority. The circumstances surrounding the ship's arrival and its severe damage will likely be revealed later in the Early Access period, as details are currently scarce. Within this system, multiple factions ranging from pirates to corporations and organisations are vying for control in order to gain the upper hand over their rivals. Meanwhile, a new, sinister threat is lurking in the dark corners of the system... this is the eponymous Menace.

The Impetus acts as a base of operations and a ferry between missions, providing both orbital support and a place for much-needed rest and relaxation. At the strategic level, players can choose which factions to work with. A variety of operations with different objectives are available, pitting players against four factions on the planet's surface: Aliens, Pirates, the Rogue Army, and the unknown threat. Reputation gained from completing operations for a given faction influences the strength of the relationship with that faction. This, in turn, unlocks access to other elements, such as upgrades for the cruiser.

Each operation is procedurally generated and draws from a pool of up to ten mission types, connecting them through branching paths with different objectives. Missions within an operation can also affect subsequent missions in the same operation. The game is transparent, providing information on difficulty, logistics limits, descriptions, objectives and potential rewards. This allows players to determine which operation path to follow. To prepare for these missions, players can hire new squad leaders, access the Black Market for upgraded weapons and armour, and upgrade the Impetus to provide orbital support. However, at the beginning, almost everything is in short supply, so the aim is to gradually gain strength through the operations, repair the ship, and acquire new equipment.

Armed squads can be sent from the Impetus to the surface of the chosen planet. These squads are made up of soldiers, each led by a Squad Leader. These squad leaders have their own personalities, backstories and unique perk trees, resulting in a diverse range of soldiers being deployed onto the battlefield. While some Squad Leaders command infantry squads, others are pilots who arrive on the battlefield in various vehicles. Leaders have individual backstories and moral decisions must be made from time to time between missions. While the characters are already well-developed, they are not quite as distinct as the characters from Jagged Alliance.

Depending on the mission's requirements and nature, players must decide whether to take many squad leaders with them or rely on many standard squaddies with a few leaders to protect them, for example. But also depending on what is currently available on Impetus. Squad leaders earn promotions and improve over time, enabling players to customise them and enhance their squad's performance. Players can choose perks from varied promotion trees to acquire additional active and passive abilities to use against the enemy. However, it is essential to keep squad leaders alive because there is also permadeath.

Although that sounds like a lot, the strategic element is a smaller part of the game. Compared to the tactical battles, it has even more potential for expansion through additional systems, stories and decisions. This would make things a bit more varied.

Once on the battlefield, players engage the enemy in turn-based tactical combat on procedurally generated maps whose components become familiar over time. Missions during an operation consist of 'rounds', during which all units on the battlefield can act before the next round begins. Unlike in other turn-based tactical games, there is no initiative system here. This means that any squad can move during their turn and no perks, abilities or weapons allow a squad to move before any other. Each faction must move all of its squads once before being able to use a prior one again in the next round. For example, it is possible to move a tank into position at the end of a round and then use it to attack at the start of the next round before the other units. This allows players to react flexibly to threats on the battlefield, but there are often several threats to consider. So, decisions are needed again.

There is also no 'Overwatch' mechanic, so the focus is on forward movement and combat — it's all about risk and high stakes. Every squad has Action Points (AP), which determine what they can do in a single turn, including moving, using equipment and attacking the enemy. So there is no two-action system typical of modern XCOM games. Numerical indicators represent the AP cost for each action. Incidentally: Menace is also exemplary in presenting the necessary information. It clearly and helpfully displays how much things cost and which actions are still possible after moves are made. This demonstrates the developers' experience in this genre.

Compared to Battle Brothers, combat in this game tends to take place at a distance, accompanied by additional, cleverly interlinked game mechanics. These include cover and suppression.

Both infantry and vehicles can utilise cover, with each tile offering various levels depending on the terrain or buildings. Cover can also obstruct a squad's line of sight, hiding their position and making urban combat much riskier than combat in an open field. In the latter case, it would be advisable for the troops to crouch down. Caution is especially required when advancing in urban areas to avoid falling into an ambush. Incidentally: All cover can be destroyed except the level architecture, which can quickly turn the tide of battle.

Another mechanic is suppressive fire. Against human factions, it is an effective way of pinning down an enemy unit, weakening it and eliminating it later. As a unit accumulates suppression, it moves from 'Unaffected' to 'Suppressed' and finally to 'Pinned Down'. Each subsequent level of suppression reduces the squad's combat effectiveness, affecting everything from accuracy to the amount of AP they will have in the next turn. Furthermore, all projectiles are calculated using a physics simulation. The weapon arsenal is also excellent and diverse, but more importantly, the sound design of these weapons is excellent, greatly emphasising their power and intensity.

There are also different types of ammunition and armour to consider, and vehicles have their own unique characteristics and strengths. For example, parts of vehicles can be destroyed, although they are not specifically targetable. Not to mention that not all tactics work for all factions. Suppressive fire, for instance, is pretty much useless against melee-attacking bug-like aliens, especially since they usually have thick body armour. In addition, the battles are also influenced by weather effects.

At the end of a mission or operation, rewards and promotions are given to improve the troops and spaceship for the next operation. However, it is also important to give squad leaders a break because they become 'weaker' after several missions. Therefore, it is not enough to simply level up a few people; it is also important to have replacements. This continues operation after operation until the threat posed by cybernetic constructs spreads further and brings new challenges with its rigorous approach to combat.

The initial Early Access offering features 50 unique procedurally generated mission types used to procedurally construct different types of operations across three biomes/planets with four different enemy factions. More biomes, mission types and equipment are planned throughout the Early Access period. The team will also develop the storyline and endgame scenarios in response to player feedback. They intend to keep the game in Early Access for a year, though this may change depending on how the design evolves.

Overhype Studios is an independent game development studio based in Hamburg, Germany. Its debut title, Battle Brothers, was released to great success in 2017. "We are devoted to making great games that we want to play ourselves. With Battle Brothers we strive to reflect the creativity, complexity and originality from the old days when game developers were passionate gamers, not corporate businessmen," the company said in a self-description. Menace is the Hamburg studio's second game, with 13 Overhype Studios employees and composer Scott Buckley credited. The project received €1,073,555 in funding from the German government's Games Funding Programme. The three-year funding period ended at the end of 2024. At gamescom 2023, Overhype Studios announced their partnership with publisher Hooded Horse on Menace. In early December 2025, this collaboration was extended to include Battle Brothers.

Hooded Horse is a publisher of strategic and tactical games. Its portfolio includes Manor Lords, Against the Storm, Endless Legend 2, Old World, Norland and 9 Kings. The US-based company has a catalogue of over 50 titles and has plenty more planned for 2026. These include the Early Access releases of Nova Roma, a Roman city builder, on 26 March; Mars Tactics in May; and the Early Access release of Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era. The latter is on over a million wish lists.

Menace was released on PC via Early Access on 5 February 2026. It is available on Steam, GOG, the Epic Games Store and the Microsoft Store for $39.99 / £34.99 / €39.99 / ¥3,980. A 25% launch discount is available until 19 February 2026. It is also available via PC Game Pass (Game Preview). The first launch day was a huge success. On Steam alone, the game reached 20,623 concurrent players - Hooded Horse's second-highest CCU to date - just below Manor Lords and the Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era demo, and well above the concurrent user record set by Battle Brothers (8,060), Overhype's previous game.

Conclusion

Wow! Menace is already a treat for turn-based tacticians craving thrilling, multi-layered battles. During the Early Access period, the variety of missions and enemies, as well as the story and strategic layer, can be expanded further. But the foundation that has been laid is stronger than ever.

Features:

• Outstanding, multi-layered and exciting tactical battles
• Mercenaries with different backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses
• Strategic levels with different factions