Calyx is a Real-Time Strategy game by Studio 568 released into Early Access on Steam in 2026.
You were sent by a MegaCorp to extract the mineral wealth of an unknown planet, but unfortunately after 100 years in cryosleep you awaken to find the company that sent you no longer exists. Not that your AI assistant particularly cares, so you'll need to get to mining if you want to get back home.
There's a catch: the planet is infested by various species of Botanical Abomination and they're encroaching on your bases. So you'll have to build up your defenses, then send in your forces to kill these plants at the roots.
This game provides examples of:
- Acid Attack: The Tormentor and Bastion Calyx both have this, lobbed at the player's units like artillery.
- Alien Kudzu: Not every Calyx type, but the Creepvine, Razorleaf, Tormentor, and Fathom species all spread rapidly like Zerg creep and will damage and destroy all your structures if not actively kept at bay by gun turrets or tanks.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: Militia Calyx don't spread, but regularly spawn tank-sized tick-like critters to attack the player's base directly.
- Botanical Abomination: The titular Calyx, in at least six different varieties (in gameplay):
- Creepvines: they spread their vines, but don't do much else.
- Razorleaf: Basically Creepvines, but also occasionally dropping subordinate nodes that will sustain the vines even if they are cut off from the root node.
- Tormentor: Meat Moss version of Razorleaf, but instead its nodes have Acid Attack artillery.
- Militia: Palmtree-like plants that don't spread, but regularly spawn tank-sized bugs. Turns out they can swim.
- Bastion: Tree-stump-shaped plants with lots more Acid Attack than the Tormentor, but at least they don't spread nearly as much.
- Fathom: Coral-like aquatic growth that can only grow in oceans. While this may seem like Crippling Overspecialization, it can spawn secondary nodes that spawn Militia-like creatures to attack your base, on top of nodes that launch torpedo attacks on your naval units.
- Honorable mention to the "Leviathan," a massive organism that emerges from underground, bringing a massive ocean with it, and is visible from space. Thankfully this only appears on the world map and in gameplay remains The Unfought.
- Civil WarCraft: All the battles against the rogue AI "Liquidator," who has access to the same structures and units as you.
- Collision Damage: The Calyx creep inflicts this, so your tanks won't be able to just beeline for the root structure but instead methodically shoot a clear path through the growth.
- Construct Additional Pylons: Downplayed, but specific upgrades to your HQ are required to increase your unit cap.
- Epic Ship-on-Ship Action: Introduced in the "Leviathan" chapter update, with your requisite short-range patrol boats, long-range artillery ships, and landers for carrying ground units from coast to coast.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Different Calyx instances won't "fight" each other but their respective creeps will get in each other's way until you kill one or the other.
- Actively encouraged in the mission briefing for "New Management" which pits you against both the Calyx and the Liquidator.
- Meat Moss: The Tormentor Calyx.
- Nuclear Mutant: The Calyx seem to be fueled at least in part by the radioactive isotopes that the planet is rich in.
- Not Quite Dead: The Liquidator AI is killed in the last level of the Mineral Fields region, but one of its hubs remains active in the following region, meaning you get to have some proper Epic Ship-on-Ship Action in the last level of Leviathan.
- Tank Goodness: Being the only human on the planet with only an AI to help you, your main form of offense is various types of unmanned tanks.
- Vine Tentacles: The primary weapon of the Razorleaf.
- Worker Unit: Command & Conquer-style "Harvesters."
- You Require More Vespene Gas: Minerals are the primary resources, but also need to be sold for credits to build most structures and units. A handful of advanced items also require isotopes.