TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A digital version of a board game produced by ESC Taiwan is to be released on the online gaming platform Steam, it was reported on Friday (Nov. 4). The game, Reversed Front, will begin a new round of funding on Dec. 12 for the digital release.
Reversed Front is a turn-based strategy game where dissident factions must build organizations and work together to topple the government of the Chinese Communist Party. It received a limited physical release in 2020 as part of a Kickstarter campaign, which raised over NT$20 million (US$620,000).
The game map includes 269 territories covering the eastern portion of the Asian continent. In the game, the wider region is identified as the “Cathayan Continent,” which is divided into major sub-regions. The setting of the game cleverly incorporates modern geopolitical tensions with some fictitious history to create a compelling narrative for gameplay.
Reversed Front game map.
Players can choose one of nine factions representing Taiwanese, Tibetans, Kazahks, Uyghurs, Mongolians, Manchurians, Hong Kongers, “Cathaysian Rebels” or the Communist Party of China. Each faction has different advantages and disadvantages based on cultural characteristics and the geographic region that serves as their home base.
Artwork for four of the game's factions: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, and the Communists.
While the 2020 board game was only marketed in the Chinese language, the online version of the game will be available in English, Japanese, as well as traditional and simplified Chinese, according to the Steam page. There will be three difficulty levels, which have been named “Xi Mode” for novice, “Jiang Mode” for standard and “Mao Mode" for expert.
According to ESC Taiwan, the name of the game “Reversed Front” was inspired by the Communist Party’s “United Front,” an organization that works abroad to further the interests of the party and preys on unsuspecting nations and people. ESC Taiwan inverted the idea and developed a game in which different groups must work together to topple their common adversary from within the region.
The creators of Reversed Front have skillfully crafted an entertaining game that uses creative storytelling and vibrant artwork to highlight real world geopolitical challenges. ESC Taiwan hopes that the game will raise awareness of Taiwan’s political situation as well as the struggles of all those who suffer under the authoritarian government of the Chinese Communist Party.
The company made the following statement about the game.
“All the people who were oppressed by CCP, whether they are the Americans, the Australians, the Coreans, the Philippines, the Vietnamese, the Indians, the Tibetans, the Turkic People, regardless of race and religion, no matter your country government recognizes Taiwan as a country or not, you are the allies of Taiwan. Hence, we developed this game to dedicate to the revolutionists against the oppression of the CCP.” (sic)
For more information about the game, check out the Steam page or the official Twitter account.