A cross-platform, multiplayer space shooter with a historical twist, Vanguard: Fight for Rudiarius looks to be an interesting addition to the space-dogfighting subgenre.
Vanguard: Fight for Rudiarius, from Dev Clever, is a space-dogfighting game with an intriguing question: What would the future be like if the Roman Empire had never fallen? So maybe, rather than dogfighting, I had best refer to them as gladiatorial bouts.
Dev Clever’s debut game is borne of the desire of project lead Chris Jefferies to create a cross play between VR, PC and mobile players within this imperial, intergalactic space. There are also plans to build it with dynamic leaderboards to reflect the Roman gladiatorial setting.
Combat can take shape in a variety of game types, with tightly-wound battles set around space stations and wreckage. It won’t feel unfamiliar to those who have experience with the Elite or X series, particularly for those who pivot towards rapid, close-quarters battles.
While at EGX last year, I played through rounds of the arena-esque, dogfighting modes both in VR and on mobile. The mobile controls were extremely impressive considering the amount of stress a three-axis flight system would put on the normal two-stick screen layout.
Perhaps most interesting was the developers’ attitude toward growing the project. Despite its ambitions, technology and birth as a lofty passion project, Dev Clever’s roadmap kept Vanguard at the passion project state— a slow siphoning of funds from their day-to-day business which would prevent them rushing or overscoping.
While it is still early days for Vanguard, they already have an exceptional starting point. If they can hit open testing with a decent playerbase, they have the right attitude to create an excellent project.
Vanguard is in development for mobile, VR and PC platforms. You can follow its development via Twitter or the developer’s newsletter.
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