Welcome to iDigitalTimes’ newest column, Weekly Freebie, a post highlighting great free-to-play games every Friday. That should give you plenty of time to install the game and spend a couple of days playing before the weekend is over. We won’t be beholden to a specific platform. Some weeks you’ll see a console game recommended here, other weeks it might be a PC or mobile release. The only constant will be the game’s F2P business model.
With Stellaris tearing up the Steam charts this week, but not necessarily making the same great impression on everyone who played the game, we decided to hunt down a free alternative for any strategy fans either not feeling Stellaris or unable to afford the game right now. And we didn’t even have to go back very far in the 2016 release calendar to find one. Allow us to introduce, Istrolid, a free-to-play strategy game from treeform that ditched its beta label earlier this month.
Istrolid is a “fleet design strategy game” that allows players to design the battleships, cruisers and fighters they’ll lead into battle. The game features a single-player campaign, primarily intended to familiarize players with the ship design menu and the handful of mechanics you grapple with while playing Istrolid. At the core of the experience, Istrolid is an extended take on paper-rock-scissors, with players constantly trying to determine how many small, medium and large ships are needed to counter the fleet assembled by their opponent. Players start each match with a small pool of cash, which gradually replenishes with time, and the game doesn't end until one side controls every capture point on the map.
By working your way through the campaign, you also unlock a variety of parts for the game’s ship builder, many of which will prove incredibly useful if/when you decide to check out the multiplayer portion of treeform’s F2P strategy game. There are no shortage of unlockables, ranging from smaller power sources to larger weapons and weapon emplacements. Istrolid even includes a handful of boss fights to see just how much your skills have improved along the way.
Of course, like most free-to-play releases, multiplayer will be the reason anyone sticks with Istrolid for more than a day or two. Treeform’s bite-sized approach to real-time strategy gameplay makes an excellent case for itself in campaign mode, but it really shines in the game’s online offering. Think of Istrolid like the RTS Hearthstone ; a massively-streamlined, time-efficient take on a genre known for games that frequently devolve into multi-hour engagements.
Best of all, Istrolid ’s multiplayer component isn’t just limited to head-to-head battles. Players will also find listing for 2v2 and 3v3 matches in Istrolid ’s server browser, which also includes a list of currently available players and a large chat window where members of the community can organize their own games. Matches generally don’t last longer than a few minutes, even when playing group games, but Istrolid still feels complex enough to keep us coming back for more.
To give Istrolid a try, head over to the game’s official website or download Istrolid on Steam .
