Review: Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone’s badass, affordable starter set

Cyberpunk Red: Combat ZoneThe real deal is this miniatures skirmish, which comes with an affordable price and delivers a satisfying experience straight out of the package. The developer and publisher Monster Fight Club could have a hit in their hands if the game is popular with gamers. Cyberpunk 2077. Pre-orders for retail are open. The game will be released later in the year. Here’s what we found inside an early preview copy.

Combat Zone is based on the same source material as CD Projekt Red’s own blockbuster multiplatform hit, R. Talsorian Games’ Cyberpunk tabletop role-playing universe. First published during the 1980s. Cyberpunk 20Then, it was rebooted. Cyberpunk Red,The analog prequel Cyberpunk 2077. Fans of V or Johnny Silverhand will recognize many factions, weapons and tropes even though the game technically occurs 30 years prior to the actual events.

It is also important to have a strong brand name recognition. Combat ZoneThe cost of the game is much lower than that of large-format games like Warhammer 40,000. That’s because you only need about three to six miniatures to do battle in a relatively small area — here, a space that’s 22 inches wide and 30 inches long. It means you’ll spend less time and money than in a typical miniature wargame.

It’s a turn-based game similar to XCOM, Fire Emblem or other tactical strategy games. The players can activate several figures at once, hiding their soldiers behind cover and then launching them into action when it’s time. The rules are not as complex as some other games, like NecromundaYou can also find out more about Infinity, Combat Zone The system relies on cards that are easy to read and tokens made of cardboard. It’s the kind of system that truly only takes a few minutes to teach, but one that easily expands and adapts to cover all manner of situations. This includes netrunning, which is a form of hacking similar to casting magic spells. Like Infinity, Combat Zone allows you to interrupt your opponent’s turn, which tends to keep both players engaged during what can be a fairly long game turn. This way, you won’t just sit back and wait 20 minutes for your time to come. Instead, you’ll need to be looking carefully at how and where your opponent is moving across the table for a chance to spoil their plans.

Cards and tokens sitting below two artfully-painted miniatures. — Tokens are a quick way to see what characters can do. The Maelstrom character has completed all of his actions by turning over the tokens. The Tyger Claw has only two remaining actions.

The included 54-page rulebook is a workmanlike product — a bit fluffy around the middle, perhaps, but with its heart in the right place. The massive examples of play are a highlight, and they clearly show the game’s systems in motion. This book also provides a comprehensive guide to the game’s rules, which includes guidance on how to play in single-player, multiplayer, or campaign modes. It was the campaign rules that I liked best, because they allowed for an asynchronous game experience. Basically, so long as you and the other players involved in your campaign keep pace with each other game-for-game, you can play with whomever you want — even with someone playing in a different campaign or a rando that you met at your friendly local game store. Campaigns are even topped off with climactic missions that can bring a given faction’s storyline to a satisfying conclusion.

Overall, Combat Zone It’s an unbelievable value. You get all you need for $120: 12 minis (six each from two different factions) with extra weapons and heads, over 250 cards with campaign scenarios, character, loot and spells, the necessary cardboard tokens, several 3D buildings, non-destructive push-fit connectors and an open-and-close plastic container. Everything else in the box, except for the miniatures and their painting, is already assembled.

There’s just one problem, however: Monster Fight Club neglected to include proper assembly instructions for either the miniatures or the terrain. That’s likely to be a deal breaker for folks new to the hobby of miniatures gaming, especially since Monster Fight Club’s methods and materials depart from industry giants like Games Workshop.

Two figures stand inside a cardboard mockup of a ruined urban building. — This box contains a heavy-duty terrain.

Those same figures standing on the deconsctructed bits of cardboard building. — All of it folds up flat and fits easily back into the storage box.

You can also contact us by clicking here. Combat Zone miniatures are fairly easy to put together, with only two or three pieces each, they require cyanoacrylate (also known as CA glue or “super glue”) or another, similar type of adhesive to assemble. That fact isn’t mentioned anywhere in the boxed set, and considering there’s a chance you could ruin your miniatures by using the wrong stuff, it absolutely should have been. Additionally, the flashing on these miniatures — leftover imperfections common to figures of this size — can be a challenge to remove. Whatever material they’re using (I’m all but certain it’s a new formulation known by the brand name Siocast), the flashing can’t be easily scraped away and must be cut away instead with a very sharp knife. For me, that led to putting a few gouges in Polygon’s models.

A photo showing the contents of the Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone starter set, including a game board, cards, tokens, and rulers.

In the same way, there is very little instruction on how you can assemble any of the barricades and miniatures that are inside. In fact, the plastic connector pieces themselves are hidden underneath the plastic pack-in — I didn’t even know they were there until I emailed the manufacturer. Monster Fight Club tells Polygon it’s creating a series of videos to deal with these oversights, but it’s a shortcoming that I hope will be corrected with the game’s second printing.

Even with those imperfections, though, I’m still extremely enthusiastic about Cyberpunk: Red Combat Zone. It’s a game that you can get started with for as little as $50 — the price of a six-figure Combat Zone Starter gangs and cards required to play. Two starter gangs are available at launch, The Zoners and Lawmen. Six more will be added in the future. That’s a total of 10 factions in all, each with its own unique abilities, gear, spells, and thematic scenarios to explore. All of this adds up into a high-quality launch, with few bugs.

Cyberpunk: Red Combat Zone You can pre-order the game now online, or at your favorite local retailer. $120. Delivery should be completed by fall. A pre-release version of the game provided by Monster Fight Club was used to review it. Vox Media maintains affiliate relationships. Vox Media can earn affiliate commissions, but this does not affect editorial content. This is where you can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.

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