Neural Dominion preview: A cyberpunk strategy game that’s breaking the mould

Camlann Games and GamesBond Studios’ Neural Dominion is an upcoming 4X turn-based strategy game that’s looking to do things a little differently.

Set in the city of Technograd, you’re tasked with playing as one of five gangs to wrestle control of the dark, crime-ridden city by “doing whatever it takes”, including running money laundering schemes, running extortion rings, trafficking goods, hacking into enemy networks, fighting rival gangs, and more.

I was lucky enough to play the game’s tutorial, which gave me a chance to test out the game’s strategic elements and its unique turn-based combat. The demo began by immediately plopping me into a makeshift grid of the city, comprised of multiple tiles of buildings or empty, acquirable spaces.

I took on the role of gang leader Sybil, but Camlann Games has confirmed a total of five gangs to select from, each with different strengths, weaknesses, special abilities, and powers.

Within my first few turns, I captured sectors (Acquired empty spaces on the grid), constructed a nightclub where I recruited a thug to expand my gang, constructed a mod shop to purchase upgrades for my units, unlocked items in the research tree, and jumped into third-person, turn-based combat against another gang.

If that sounds a little overwhelming, don’t worry, because it wasn’t in the game. Although it seems like there are a lot of different gameplay mechanics in play – traditional strategy elements, turn-based combat, and the ability to customise and upgrade your gang leader – Neural Dominion manages to blend them together.

Capturing Technograd

Like most 4X strategy games, you move across Technograd tile-by-tile to capture sectors (Tiles) and expand your territory, although doing this requires AP which is limited per turn. There are two types of sectors; neutral which can be captured immediately and enemy sectors which can only be captured by defeating the gang members based there.

To aid your gang, you’ll need to construct buildings like the nightclub and mod shop mentioned above. The former allows you to hire thugs of varying stats to your gang, while the latter gives you the opportunity to customise your units with new weapons and armour, cybernetic implants to improve stats and unlock abilities, and purchase performance-enhancing consumables to give you an edge over your opponents in battle.

Other buildings and structures included in the demo but not available to me were office towers and back alley fronts, with other structures likely available in the full game.

As someone who’s sunk hundreds of hours into Civilization V, these elements felt familiar but benefit from a coat of fresh paint, thanks to the colourful but gritty cyberpunk design.

Similarly, Neural Dominion employs a research tree, where you can spend Research Points (RP) – acquired per turn – on technology to improve your gang. Some of the abilities I found included the ability to increase tactical points (TP) to use in combat, an unlockable shield to use in combat, and more.

Turn-based combat

One major part of Neural Dominion is its turn-based combat, which is one of the many elements that set the game apart from other strategy titles. To take over enemy sectors, you’ll need to fight and defeat rival gang members, with two options available: manual combat that puts you in control and simulate combat that simulates the outcome for you.

Units in combat take turns depending on their Speed stat, and you’ll have to use skills and Tactical Powers that come with cooldowns, which forced me to carefully think of when to use them.

In my combat encounter, I used Sybil’s ‘Go for the Head’ skill to inflict over 300 damage to an enemy, with the skill increasing Sybil’s accuracy and critical percentage chance for her next attack. After waiting for the remainder of the units to take their turns, I was prompted to use Sybil’s Electro Shield Tactical Power shield my companions, giving us a chance to survive upcoming hits.

We promptly won the fight and returned to the city grid, where I learned how to heal my units (Via the research tree and consumables) and hired a lieutenant to help me manage my gang before the demo finished.

Final thoughts

My time with Neural Dominion was short but sweet. The cyberpunk design and Technograd’s neon-lit city are paired wonderfully with the game’s gritty and dark nature. I enjoyed the traditional 4X strategy elements that, despite being similar to those of other games, benefited from a new lick of neon-coloured paint.

I admire Camlann Games for trying something different by implementing turn-based combat, but I’m hoping to see some improvements as we draw closer to release, including the ability to control my gang’s other units rather than just my gang leader. It was detaching to view my gang members attack of their own free will. I’m unsure if this was just for the demo or if it’ll be changed for the full release.

Regardless, Neural Dominion has all of the DNA of a traditional 4X strategy game, as well as several unique gameplay mechanics not usually found in them. While I’m not entirely convinced that everything works together perfectly, I’m looking forward to seeing how the finished product develops and how these mechanics blend into the final product.

Neural Dominion will launch on Steam for PC in 2025.