Decoherence is a free-to-play strategy game from Efecto Studios. This is a turn-based tactics experience putting you in the shoes of a pilot, creating your team of robots from whatever scrap you find. Build bots and give commands as you defeat your enemies, whether in the single-player Entropy Tribunals or in online PvP matches.

Its wide range of robot designs, plus the weapons and attack animations available, make Decoherence a fun replayable sci-fi game. More importantly, it’s not always about the better loadout, but how you play your pieces on the field, much like a tabletop Gladiabots.

Be the best builder-pilot ever

Decoherence has a rather straightforward premise: you build your bots and win battles with them. The game is gracious enough to start with a beginner-friendly tutorial that explains how the game is played. It has excellent support for both keyboard and mouse, as well as for gamepads. As the pilot, you are thrown into arenas where you deploy bots — each having a different specialty and purpose.

In terms of graphics, it has a unique design. It takes visual cues from deck builders, creating a 2.5D view where the pilots and bots are visible and easily distinguishable. More than the main bots, there are also separate tabs for powerups, microbots, and pilots. Each of these tabs offers a unique strategic aspect to the gameplay. The overall feel is wrapped up nicely with its background music.

The main issue with this version of the game is its challenging online PvP lobby. Despite being a well-crafted strategy game, it continues to struggle to reach out to more players. This can make wait times exceedingly long, although the single-player progression and AI opponents can keep players entertained for quite some time. Still, the AI opponents get predictable and the game repetitive.

An underrated tactics game

If you’re a fan of sci-fi battles that require strategies more than anything, Decoherence is a good place to start. The graphics suit the concept of the game well, and it extends to both the user interface and even the soundtrack choices. Expect multiple layers of strategic gameplay options, making the game a promising experience. If it would have a healthier player base, then it’s all set.