Cepheus Protocol

It's a good game for sure in time. I will play when the coop update comes out with friends for awhile but needs more time in the oven. Hopefully after the coop update people are happy and we can fix core issues like the terrible path finding. The huge amount of bugs. The game also needs to go through a lot of balancing updates as well. As it stands the terrible path finding is a real kill joy for me. It also makes the AI very passive when all the units are stuck. The AI stops expanding and that is pretty much it. AI can also place its buildings underwater which you can not kill it. I REALLY HOPE THE DEVELOPERS FIX THE PATH FINDING. Path finding is what can make or break an RTS game.

Game is stuck in a development hell. Devs constantly keep implementing features and then either gutting said features or completely reworking them. I've seen this trend in other games and when devs start doing this, the games just ends up mediocre at absolute best, buggy and abandoned at worst. This is a doomed game, don't bother buying.

So at the current state things are a mess. Many issues like bugs, lack of update on official branch(two available this and experimental), and minimal funding leading to a slightly slow development. But that is only the the downside of things for the positive updates are happening daily. Bugs are being found and corrected with in hours of reports, and to address the funding all members in the development acquired day jobs to fund this themselves. All the developers are actively working and showing their progress, and also here in the reviews you can find them asking questions about what people think so far, and what more they would like to see. Even so far as to ask what they got wrong and what they should fix/remove. Here on Steam you won't see much progress beyond the experimental branch which is called Cepheus Protocol Experimental in your library it comes free so no need to worry about that. The whole reason there is no updates is. They are re-doing everything. They had to. To add the most requested feature. Co-op. Which by the way is up and running, but in a limited capacity for now, and they are still working on the number of people allowed in one match, but the highest number of people so far was twelve (12) I think. There is no PvP and don't plan on it, but will consider it in the future if enough people ask (I personally don't want it I'm terrible at that stuff). To find out what is really going on it's best to join their discord. The developers are always on they are mostly busy, but on and will answer questions for you when ever they take a break from programming stuff. There is a public co-op play test every Saturday,and podcast where they talk about their progress for the week, and next weeks plan. As well as take your questions about what ever. So to finish this up if you are looking for something complete then you better wait, but if you actively want a part in helping create this game and' I do mean "helping create" then yes buy it and join the Discord that funding will help the developers in their progress A LOT!!! and share your ideas. I did and they are adding them.

NOTE: Although this review is Positive, I'd wait until the game is further along. The game is very prone to crashing and bugs from my own experience. Be warned, you generally need a lot of patience if you intend to play in this state. I think what I like about this game the most is that it hits a very specific niche that I hadn't seen before and that's one where it puts you in the shoes of somebody who needs to handle the zombie apocalypse. It's definitely a fun new addition to both strategy and zombie games. Right now the game is super early, but promising. I hope the developers really do continue with it.

So let's start with the fact that I've been with this title since September of twenty twenty., I've always enjoyed the gameplay, and from the start game play was hyper enjoyable, and at that always steadfast in it's ability to keep my busy and determined. You are CERC, and you are fighting the spread of the Pangu Virus, and by everything good does it remind you moment by moment that you are desperately fighting an uphill battle out-numbered, and as time goes on increasingly out performed on a sheer biological level. Special infected, monstrosities and mutations. This is an RTS that keeps you on your toes, but also has a dev time working to incorporate 3rd person direct control and co op elements, Which with that said, I feel gameplay here and the interesting premise and mechanics being developed are only half of the value of this game. I'm in the community discord, and these are devs that honestly love community involvement and input, love questions and interest in the universe they are crafting. If i'm frank they also work tirelessly with a vision they stick too but also quite adore the communities passion within it. I just got through noting today, that alot of what we as gamers miss is when we were apart of the passion, when that was valued and developers really cared about delivering a good product and were excited about how that product could evolve and show us what they see, not about cash grabs, or all this catering to audience but also not so disloyal to audience expectation that we end up ultimately sour about the results. Cepheus protocol is still in development but It is a passion child by Halycon winds I love wholeheartedly, Perhaps even more than that its a game by un-arrogant devs that love what they do and love that they have a community that's interested and involved in the interactive process of understanding and playing their game. I'll be honest sometimes this game can be pain depending on your difficulty settings, and how long your runs have been going and how good you've been about covering your areas, and yet I always find in some way i'm having lots of fun and thinking too about how I can improve how im approaching a situation..Honestly A game just being fun on its own is a plus, but it being fun even when it makes me use my brain, that is in my opinion when a game has been done correctly. Now, keep in mind as i'm saying all this the game is still in development they are still working alot of things out but they are very MUCH WORKING THEM OUT. theres been a few times were I ask if progress is abit slow but the fact it always ends up being is that they are always working when they say they are working, instead of...just sitting around and saying they are like many studios now adays. Long story short, Passionate devs, Player that when Co Op is implemented are passionate to jump in with each other, Enjoyable Rts that keep you thinking, with content vehicles, different types of weapons for the units, so it's not just one load out you can entertain, Features mechanics that are for base building, defensive and structural, turrets, walls, and air frames, It's pretty wild how many approaches you have at your disposal to deal with infected including mortars and such, theres also dynamic civilian groups as a toggle-able option which brings armed civilians into the fray and their dispositions towards you as well, For a game that's being worked on, there honestly is alot of Options for playstyle and approach. I just feel the need to disclaim for my fellow gamers "Look guys, there IS STILL work being done. You know bear with it, expect bugs every build." As I feel it's something that should be absolutely stressed upon. and I honestly Apologize for having so much to say about it, but I really wanted to be thorough about explaining why I enjoy it, and what to expect, and Some of the things that you CAN look forward to that are already here. As while this titles not perfect, for what is being aimed at with the vision of the product, and the way its being approached, I personally think its great. and would recommend it for anyone. that likes RTS, That Likes, Zombie/infected genre, and that always finds it fascinating when direct control aspects are present and or planned.

Bought this game in 2021, and in 4 years, nothing much has changed for the better. Sure there may be new things, but the same issues from back then plague it now. The biggest issue being pathfinding. This negatively impacts not only your own units, but the horde as well. Building walls in certain chokepoints seems to just break their pathfinding, so they'll just sit at their base refusing to attack. This leads to you easily being able to cheese enough money via the evacuation system to just build up an army and crush them. Except, did you allow the zombies to build up enough and also send enough units for you to get 650 DNA? No? enjoy being softlocked buddy, as Patient Zero will not die without the Shredder Rounds upgrade. Sure you can constantly just pop her back into her regeneration cocoon over and over again by surrounding her with units with AT weapons that will rip her HP pool apart, but she is literally built different and can just tank those for hours on end. But even if you evacuate a majority of the map, the only victory condition is the death of Patient Zero. Horde Mode is also unfun, as the two maps are the CERC Railway, which more or less becomes the Horde of Juggernauts by wave 10 (think tanks from L4D) requiring you to spam Engineers with SMAW launchers and Cerberus with the 105mm cannon to survive (which then trivializes the other zombies, as they have enough splash damage to kill the units running in right next to the Juggernaut). And the CERC Base, which I only played 4 waves before quitting because the spawning is incredibly slow on the map, leaving you sitting there twiddling your thumbs wishing to play something else.

This is a game I never knew I wanted until I saw it. You're basically the good guys from Prototype, have to save a city in face of overwhelming odds. Or, if you know NSS and his extinction cycle, this is basically what that is on a smaller scale. The game is still quite buggy and suffers from crashes in the late game, but the devs are very dedicated and the content updates always look great. I am looking forward to whatever comes next!

I will rate this game 10/10. This game is an open world RTS (Real Time Strategy) and TPS (Third Person Shooter). The game start you off with aircraft carrier and your mission is to kill Patient Zero. Between you starting and finishing your mission, you encounter factions (who can help or hurt you), to dealing with different types of infected (from your standard zombies to giant creatures). This game creates battlefield that you can either take control of or lose it all and force to retreat and rethink your plans. In experimental version (which offer more than standard), this game doesn't offer tutorial or smaller version of Pandemic (open world version). However, the game is being redone from ground up. The Developers create a Discord, YouTube, and Twitch. They have a large (and growing) community that offer them suggestions and listen too. The Developers do podcast showing what's been done and what's being worked on. They answer question and take ANY feedback without criticism or though. They are small team that working to make the perfect game for everyone, so they take any and all suggest serious. Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/@HalcyonWinds/streams) or join the Discord and ask any question you want (its free). Current Update (06-26-2025) As of right now, the game offers Co-op (however many friends you want to play). They do public play test every Saturday at 3:00 pm EST to invite people and take feedback (if you purchased the game) with Devs. playing with you. There's not many Devs. doing this, so if this game you and your friends might enjoy, suggest getting or supporting them so this game can be finished.

Been following this game for a little bit, know a few of the devs. It's quite literally my dream game once it is finished. Updates are slow ASF rn because the developers are working on an entire rebuild which you can test if you join their discord. I have the upmost faith that this can be the ultimate pve RTS game. Something that has been an underdeveloped genre for a decade. Hope they add mechs :)

While still in a very early build you can tell where the focus of the devs is. I love the mix from RTS and TPS. Especially with coop on the way.. that is just the cherry on top of the game. I just enjoy starting a match... and trying to think ... on a larger scale. "How many percent of the population can I realistically save?" And often I will give up 60 % of the population centers for those others ... "Which bridges can I block against regular assaults?" and so on It does have regular EA title problems like but come on... that is to be expected. I am talking random crashes... some FPS drops stuff like that... 9/10 so far for me

Alrighty, I wasn't expecting the game to be as good as it is. The devs are working on it a lot, preparing some major updates. I'm not that good at making reviews unless its for a complaint, so I strongly recommend this game if you're into RTS.

This long out, it seems half baked and I lose performance quick on a 4060 with 32 ram No matter the settings, I can never get a slow-build up game where I systematically fight the infection, it all gets out of control too quick to have anything to aspire to protect Regretful purchase

please fix the game just fix it please for the love of god stop adding useless updates that never work and just make a playable game

It needs optimization badly, but its a great concept.

It's very fun and cool but has a lot of jank still in it especially pathfinding. Had 3 of my guys die because they went in front of people shooting them.

i love rts games i grew up on them but many do not remind me of the classics like this does if your a fan of the old command and conquer then this is the game right up that ally right now the game is being redone i myself love the new additions that have been added i do recommend it but please remember it is being rebuilt from the ground up in its current state

needs more time in the oven but so far I've been playing it obsessively since I bought it. The pathfinding sucks so much ass tho and I'm praying for the devs to fix it or have it in a playable state

Short Review: Cepheus Protocol is an Open world, RTS/TPS zombie outbreak experience. You C.E.R.C. a special division of the US Military are tasked with dealing with the situation. (Things go south very, very quickly) How will you lead? Will you Evacuate civilians, Order them to shelter in place, or take drastic measures to slow the spread of this outbreak? Cepheus Protocol is getting a ground up rebuild aiming to properly implement its co-op vision. You still have access to the “Legacy” version of the game that is great fun and content filled in and of its self “Legacy” worth the buy. Longer Review: Cepheus Protocol is getting a rebuild, the developers realized that the game would not meet their vision in its current state and made the call to reset the project. As someone who has been playing for years I feel that was absolutely the right call. Starting in January the rebuild began and is well underway. I have had the opportunity to take part in play testing many elements, including the core of what the game was supposed to be, Co-op. Running through an infected San Francisco during the early hours of a viral outbreak with a full squad (they are shooting for 16) of other players is a unique experience. As stated in the shorter review the Legacy version is available now. The first wave of open access for the rebuild will be out before too long. Stop by their discord and say hi to the devs, they are a shockingly small team and engage with their community daily. (Games Rebuild Road map Steam Post) https://steamcommunity.com/app/979640

Hello Hello, let’s start this off with the Game is being rebuilt, but with what I’ve seen from the from the ground re build it’s amazing to play and have lots of fun with people, the Devs could have just easily left it as it was and called it a day but went through the effort to fix and make the game look so much better, and it’s all worth the effort just comparing the two is night and day, just seeing how much work and effort they placed into this game, just because “We deserve better” is down right what almost no other dev team would do. Moving on from this though The game is and always has been really good IMO, as I loved the idea of hey zombie apocalypse where YOU are the first responders to the threat, the city depends on you, humanity depends on you, and wether or not the Cepheus protocol is enacted depends on you. The game has only gotten so much better since then, and with the rebuild approaching the legacy each week is amazing I’d recommend checking out the discord and just listening to the devs constant progress on the game.

Cepheus Protocol is a solid real-time strategy game that puts you in charge of containing a deadly outbreak. It offers a challenging mix of combat, base-building, and squad micromanagement, all set in a tense, virus-ridden city. The learning curve is fair, and once you get a handle on your team and resources, the gameplay becomes really satisfying. The visuals and audio aren’t flashy, but they serve the story and gameplay well. You can tell the developers are passionate and continue to improve the game based on feedback. There’s still room to grow, but what’s already there is more than worth your time if you enjoy tactical, squad-based gameplay. It’s an engaging, thoughtful game with a unique premise—and a lot of potential.

Thats the shit, i like everything about this. Its an idea i never seen before and it works. The game itself needs to be polished but the gameplay works and it keeps u intrested. There is nothing better as building up a base with infrastructure. The most time i spend with creating a base, defences and units.

It's a neat zombie RTS. Right now, there is still a decent amount of jank in unit movement and things like the DNA research tree isn't fleshed out yet.

unfinished hodgepodge game that tries to do too many things, so ends up doing nothing properly... after all this time the game is now worse then it was years ago

The game is a fun game and with the various sound mods you can download being able to play ride of the Valkyries while you swarm Patient Zero with various helicopters is some of the fun you can have. But be warned this is a Early Access Title and Development has currently slowed in favour of releasing multiplayer which is hopefully going to be release by August latest which will bring FPS-RTS Hybrid COOP which should be a heap of fun.

While this game is "Good" and has a lot o potential looks like the Devs are focusing in so much thing that nothing is done properly. the RTS part of the game still not good but they started to make a TPS mode that makes no sense.

Just another buggy low budget trash game.

good

Simply amazing.

kill all the horde

good but needs finishing