UFO: Aftermath

UFO: Aftermath is a 2003 strategy game that blends real-time tactics with turn-based strategy, developed by ALTAR Interactive. It pays homage to the X-COM series and has roots in the unfinished game *The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge*. Two sequels followed: *UFO: Aftershock* (2005) and *UFO: Afterlight* (2007). The player takes the role of commander for the last surviving humans on Earth, guiding forces through a crisis to eventually defeat an alien threat. The game combines global strategy with tactical missions, and each soldier’s attributes and skills are developed in an RPG-like manner.

The gameplay alternates between two phases. In the strategic phase, players equip and train troopers, acquire new gear and personnel, send fighter planes to intercept UFOs, and research advanced equipment. Mission markers appear on a globe, indicating where teams can be dispatched. Players expand territory by capturing bases, which can be freely designated as military, research, or engineering bases to suit their needs. Later, growing bodies of biomass threaten to consume bases, requiring specialized anti-biomass bases to stop them. The tactical phase is real-time combat, where all units move and act simultaneously. Players can pause time or set the game to auto-pause on certain events to issue orders. Unlike the X-COM series, the battlefield is displayed in a fully rotatable 3D view.

The plot begins in May 2004, when a giant spacecraft hovers over Earth and releases clouds of spores into the upper atmosphere. The spores multiply, darken the skies, and block the sun—a period called the "Twilight." They then rain down, clogging streets and water, smothering people and animals. This "Nightfall" wipes out most higher life forms. Governments chose caution over aggression and were overwhelmed, but a few survivors sealed themselves in underground bases. After weeks, the spores disintegrate and settle into the soil. In January 2005, survivors form the Council of Earth to reunite humanity. The player, as the council’s military commander, must gather remaining peoples, uncover what happened, and seek vengeance. Early enemies are mutated lifeforms called Transgenants, but later the true threat emerges: an alien species heavily based on the Greys.

Large concentrations of biomass begin enveloping landmasses due to spores from certain UFOs.