Cepheus Protocol is an Open-World Real-Time Strategy game by indie studio Halcyon Winds, taking inspiration from titles such as Company of Heroes and World in Conflict, as well as the book World War Z.
Taking place in and around San Francisco amidst the outbreak of a mysterious alien pathogen called the Pangu Virus, you assume command over Captain Winter and the Center for Epidemic Research and Control – also known as the CERC - with the task of not only studying the contagion but also stopping the ensuing Zombie Apocalypse by force before it becomes too big to contain. On top of dealing with the infected, you also have to deal with Anarchists, Police remnants, and other survivors left behind amidst the chaos. All the while, "Patient Zero" continues to elude capture and infects more organic matter. How this all ends, however, is up to you.
The game entered Steam's Early Access on May 15, 2020. More info can be found on its website
.
Tropes that apply to Cepheus Protocol:
- Alternate History: History diverges around 1998, when Chinese explorers discovered a meteorite in Antarctica, containing what became known as the Pangu Virus.
- Anarchy Is Chaos: Subverted. The Anarchists are militant and hostile to the government for leaving them to rot. On the other hand, they're also just trying to survive for the most part and could potentially align themselves with the CERC.
- Apocalypse Anarchy: By the time the CERC is deployed, order within the containment zone has all but collapsed, with some of the survivors being just as likely to attack you as the infected.
- Apocalyptic Log: The in-game news ticker not only gives reports on the outbreak's progress, but also how conditions across San Francisco are deteriorating in the face of the Zombie Apocalypse.
- Artistic License – Physics: Before it got patched out, it is possible to stack◊ helicopters on the very same helipad without issue despite the problems that arise, such as the rotors blades being too close (or even collide) to each other.
- Body Horror: The Pangu Virus is capable of morphing organic matter, especially the human body, into new and grotesque forms.
- Body of Bodies: The Infected towers are composed of multiple rotting corpses, and their function is to spread the infection around the area to generate more infected.
- Cannon Fodder: A few bursts of gunfire can take down a sizable mass of basic infected. Unfortunately, there's a lot more where they came from.
- Closed Circle: The containment zone allows no one to go in or out. This even extends to the CERC, which has to rely on resource drops and reinforcements from the air to keep supplied.
- Command & Conquer Economy: Money can be gained by seizing strategic points and setting up the logistical structures. While base-building is largely done by air-dropping mostly-finished buildings directly on-site.
- Easy Logistics: Subverted. While you're easily resupplied through airdrops, that also includes keeping tabs on ammunition, which can run out rather quickly if you don't pay too much attention.
- Government Agency of Fiction: The CERC is an armed amalgamation of FEMA and the CDC, with close ties with the US military.
- It Can Think: The Pangu Virus is shown to not only produce swarms of infected, but show some signs of coordination, while some are mutated into forms that can counter aircraft and even tanks. Even early on, these clue the CERC in that some higher intelligence is directing the outbreak, and it might not even be Patient Zero.
- No FEMA Response: Subverted. While you are the response, the US Government is still forced to cordon off San Francisco in an attempt to contain the Pangu Virus. This unfortunately leaves the people still in the zone to fend for themselves.
- Noodle Incident: The Liberty Island Attack of 2018, a bioterror incident that led not only to the founding of the CERC, but Captain Winter's subsequent predicament in San Francisco.
- Patient Zero: Chelsey Trader, a young nurse who not only survived direct contact with the Pangu Virus, but is responsible for the outbreak in San Francisco, all while still retaining her sapience and personality.
- Police Are Useless: Subverted. While unable to fully maintain order, what's left of the police force is still active in trying to keep survivors safe. The CERC could potentially bring them on board as allies.
- Sadistic Choice: As the outbreak mutates, Captain Winter and the CERC would eventually be forced to entertain the prospect of either saving as many as they can (with the risk that some may be secretly infected) or indiscriminate killing to stop the Pangu Virus (at the cost of sacrificing the entire city).
- Shown Their Work: The currently-available maps, while not direct mirrors of San Francisco and its environs, take significant inspiration from them.
- Video Game Caring Potential: You could try to save as many survivors as you can. Moreover, you could devote research more towards finding a cure to prevent further infection, assuming your forces are able to hold the line long enough.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: Alternatively, nothing's really stopping you from killing everyone on sight whether or not they're infected. On top of that, some of the higher-tier military options are geared towards inflicting as much collateral damage as possible, at the expense of everyone in the vicinity.
- We Cannot Go On Without You: Even if the rest of your CERC troops are still in fighting order, you automatically lose if Captain Winter's killed.
- Zerg Rush: Basic infected enemies, while easily gunned down, remain consistently dangerous even later in the game due to sheer numbers.
- Zombie Apocalypse: The game's premise has you stopping one in-progress before it becomes a global crisis.
