Conglomerate 451
A cyberpunk dungeon crawler with turn-based combat and clone soldiers.
Conglomerate 451 is a dungeon crawl video game from developer RuneHeads, published by 1C Entertainment in 2020. Players lead a team of cloned soldiers against the corrupt corporations ruling a cyberpunk city. The game is a first-person, party-based dungeon crawler with turn-based combat, set in a procedurally generated world where characters move on a 2D grid.
Players can create new clones, customizing them and developing their skills over time, much like in traditional role-playing games. Characters can suffer permanent injuries and become unplayable if killed. After each mission, which takes one in-game week, players can research new technologies to grant their clones special abilities. The story-driven campaign ends after 75 weeks, though an alternative mode lets players continue running missions indefinitely without story interference.
Developed by Milan-based studio RuneHeads, the game entered early access on May 23, 2019, and fully released on February 20, 2020. A port titled *Conglomerate 451: Overloaded* arrived on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in June 2021, published by 34BigThings.
The Windows version received "mixed or average" reviews on Metacritic, while OpenCritic reported weak approval, with only 29% of critics recommending it. Nic Reuben of *Rock Paper Shotgun* praised the character customization and tactical variety but found the game lacked sufficient challenge and criticized the cyberpunk setting as underused and shallow. Alex Fuller of *RPGamer* called the setting "forgettable," noting the game has a solid gameplay base but little else. Jason Bennett of the *Arkansas Democrat-Gazette* recommended it to fans of traditional fantasy dungeon crawlers like *Legend of Grimrock*, saying it applies the same mechanics to a cyberpunk theme.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Conglomerate 451
- Developer
- RuneHeads
- Publisher
- 1C Entertainment
- Engine
- Unity
- Platforms
- Linux / macOS / Windows / Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One
- Released
- NA · February 20, 2020 / NA · June 3, 2021 (consoles)
- Genre
- Dungeon crawl
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Conglomerate 451 was developed by Milan-based studio RuneHeads. It entered early access on May 23, 2019, and was released on February 20, 2020. The game was later ported to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in June 2021 under the name Conglomerate 451: Overloaded, published by 34BigThings. The player controls a team of cloned soldiers sent to free a cyberpunk city from corrupt corporations. New clones can be created, and these characters can be customized and gain new skills over time. Characters can suffer permanent injuries and become unplayable when killed. After completing missions, the player can research new technologies to give their clones special abilities. Each mission takes one week, and the game ends after 75 weeks. An alternative game mode allows players to continue running missions indefinitely without interference by the story.
Reader's Guide
Conglomerate 451 received mixed or average reviews on Metacritic, and OpenCritic assessed that the game received weak approval, being recommended by only 29% of critics. Nic Reuben of Rock Paper Shotgun enjoyed the game's character customization and the wide variety of tactical options in combat, but felt it lacked enough challenge to warrant this level of detail, and criticized the game's cyberpunk setting as underused and shallow. Alex Fuller of RPGamer described the setting as 'forgettable' and wrote that the game has a solid gameplay base but little else. Jason Bennett of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette recommended the game to fans of traditional fantasy role-playing games like Legend of Grimrock, noting that it uses the same mechanics with a cyberpunk theme. The game's significance lies in its attempt to blend classic dungeon crawling with a cyberpunk aesthetic, though critics found the setting underdeveloped. Its legacy is as a niche title appreciated for its tactical depth and customization, but criticized for lacking challenge and a compelling world.
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