Redcon (video game)

Lore & Background

Redcon is set in a world where World War I, referred to as the 'Great Unification War', never ended and continued for millennia. The player controls Strike Commander Triumphant, who leads an offensive against the rebel nation Krux, led by former mentor Franz Erhard Kranz, on behalf of the dictatorial Empire State under Fuhrer Adler Grimm. After defeating Kranz, Grimm declares Strike Commander a traitor, prompting him to succeed Kranz as leader of Krux and start a counteroffensive against the Empire State.

Reader's Guide

Redcon's significance lies in its blend of strategic fort management and real-time combat, drawing inspiration from classic anime and offering a challenging mobile experience. The game features over 100 missions, a variety of weapons including artillery, missiles, and energy weapons, and a soldier crew system that handles repair, destruction, and infiltration. Critics compared it favorably to FTL: Faster Than Light, praising its depth and visual style, though some noted the back story was confusing and the PC version's graphics could be more polished. Its legacy includes being a standout title in mobile strategy gaming, with a narrative that explores themes of perpetual war and betrayal.

Did You Know?

• Soldiers use six tools during the game, including a hammer, jackhammer, telescope, and rifle.
• The protagonist's full name is 'Strike Commander Triumphant'.
• The game's ending is ambiguous, suggesting either success in ending perpetual war or failure continuing the cycle.

Tactical Architecture & Combat Systems

Redcon places the player at the helm of a fortified position—initially a modest fort that can evolve into a full Fortress—tasked with annihilating an opposing stronghold before suffering the same fate. Between engagements, players reconfigure an arsenal of weapons and support facilities to suit their tactical philosophy. The armory spans artillery cannons firing shells of varying caliber and density (with hit probability tied to target exposure), missile launch pads dispensing explosive, toxic, or incendiary projectiles, ICBM silos, and energy-based weapons that trade ammunition for raw power while delivering superior precision. Facilities split into passive roles—bolstering defense or sharpening accuracy—and active ones that upgrade soldier gear, deploy sleeper cells, or operate systems like the Charon Impact-Landing ICBM, which demands one or two dedicated pilots. The human element is equally central: soldiers serve as the fort's crew, fulfilling roles from intelligence officers to engineers, repairing friendly structures, demolishing enemy ones, and engaging hostile personnel in close-quarters combat. Infiltration options include airships, sleeper cells, and—most memorably—rockets. Six primary tools (hammer, jackhammer, telescope, rifle, phone, and Control Room) plus a hidden seventh, "Facility Controls," round out the soldier's toolkit.

A Perpetual War and Its Cycles

Set in a world where the First World War—called the Great Unification War—never ended, Redcon's narrative pits the authoritarian Empire State of Fuhrer Adler Grimm against the rebel nation of Krux, led by Master General Franz Erhard Kranz. The player, Strike Commander Triumphant, steadily dismantles Krux's forces. Crucially, he defends a dam whose destruction would flood the gambling town of Pompey and kill the Empire's General Staff alongside Grimm. Kranz, his former mentor, warns him they are not true enemies and mocks his naivety. Yet Strike Commander presses on, defeating the Krux army and killing Kranz. Grimm congratulates him, then reveals the Empire needs an enemy because war is profitable, branding Strike Commander a traitor. Lieutenant Bella Warren sides with Grimm while the Field Sergeant tries to join Strike Commander. He inherits Kranz's leadership and flag—a black X on blue—launching a counteroffensive that eliminates every Imperial general. Bella hints she was actually spying on the Fuhrer. Strike Commander then prepares to destroy the dam himself, mirroring Kranz's plan. The ending is ambiguous: the perpetual war either ends at the cost of endless prosperity, or the cycle continues.

Critical Reception & Player Response

Redcon earned generally favorable reviews across its platforms. Rob Rich of Gamezebo awarded the title four out of five stars, singeing its distinctive visual style and tactical depth. He drew a parallel between Redcon and FTL: Faster Than Light, noting the shared emphasis on strategic decision-making under pressure. His criticisms centered on the absence of a proper tutorial for certain mechanics and what he called a "lackluster default base layout." Thomas Olson highlighted that the gameplay delivers a challenge well beyond what players typically expect from a mobile title, and he praised the content volume, which includes over one hundred missions. His main reservation was that the PC version's graphics could use further polishing. Steve Lichtfield, reviewing the Windows Phone edition, expressed particular enthusiasm for the presentation, writing that he had "never seen such superlative animation and atmosphere in a mobile game." He commended the gameplay loop but noted the backstory felt confusing. Across all three reviews, the consensus pointed to a game whose tactical systems and atmosphere stood out, even if onboarding and narrative clarity left room for improvement.

Anime Roots & Thematic Identity

Hexage's 2016 real-time strategy title draws its creative DNA from an unexpected source: the Japanese anime anthology film Memories, specifically its third episode, "Cannon Fodder." That connection is visible in Redcon's core aesthetic—massive fortified positions bristling with artillery, the spectacle of shells and missiles arcing across a battlefield, and the claustrophobic tension of soldiers operating within a single structure. The anime influence also seeps into the game's thematic preoccupation with the dehumanizing machinery of perpetual conflict. Redcon's world, where a single war has raged for millennia without resolution, echoes the existential dread of Cannon Fodder's endless bombardment. The narrative reinforces this: the Empire State does not seek peace but profit, viewing the enemy as a necessary economic and social function. Even the ambiguous closing—where the protagonist may either shatter the cycle or perpetuate it—mirrors the source material's refusal to offer clean resolution. Rather than a triumphant victory, Redcon presents war as a self-sustaining system, and the player's ultimate act of destroying the dam to kill the Fuhrer is structurally identical to the enemy's original plan, underscoring how conflict consumes everyone who operates it.

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