$24.99Silica Fight on foot, command armies
Battle across the dunes of Baltarus as a soldier, then take command of the whole war from above, alone or with friends.
Is Silica worth it?
Silica is worth it if…
- you want to shoot in an RTS battle or command one from a rifle's length away
- you like big combined-arms fights with vehicles, infantry and giant aliens on one map
- you enjoy team games where one player calling the shots changes everything
- you can live with rough edges while an ambitious early access game grows
Screenshots
Fight on the ground, command from above
One battle, two ways to play it. Grab a rifle and hold a ridge as infantry, or take the top-down view and direct squads, harvesters and buildings like a classic RTS. The switch is seamless: when a unit under your command gets stuck or a fight needs your hands, you hop in and take over personally. That jump from map to mud is what makes Silica different. You see the war you were orchestrating from inside it, and a siege tank landing a hit on an alien queen while you fight for your life nearby is the kind of moment the game is built for.
Land and air on planet Baltarus
The war for Baltarus plays out across sandy dunes with units at true scale: small infantry squads, colossal harvesters, massive buildings. You drive buggies and heavy armor on the ground and take gunships and fighters into the sky, and the vehicles feel fast and physical. There is a specific kind of adrenaline in racing a dune buggy across open sand while a giant alien dog closes in behind you. As commander, you balance harvesting, research and unit production while coordinating land and air pushes against the other side.
Play together, against each other, or alone
Silica is built around shared battlefields: online co-op and PvP where one person can take the commander seat while everyone else fights on the ground, coordinating over the map as the round unfolds. If nobody wants the job, a commander AI runs your side instead, so a group of grunts can still play a full strategic match. There is a solo mode too, against AI opponents, if you would rather learn the ropes before joining a lobby. One round can swing on a single skilled soldier, which gives every session stakes.
What should you know before playing?
Can you play it solo?
Yes. There is a solo mode against AI teams, and a commander AI can run your side's strategy if you only want to fight on the ground. Fair warning from long-time players: the AI can be relentless in singleplayer, and unit pathfinding needs a patient hand, so solo play rewards tinkering and tolerance more than polish would.
How do the FPS and RTS parts connect?
They share one battlefield. A commander builds the base, harvests resources and produces units from the top-down view, while anyone on the team can take direct control of a soldier or vehicle at any moment. A good soldier on the ground can turn a fight the map was losing, and a stuck harvester can be nudged back to work by hand.
What shape is the game in right now?
It is early access, and it shows. The core loop of commanding and fighting works and looks striking, but unit controls are bare compared to established RTS games, pathfinding hiccups happen often, and performance varies. Updates are frequent, so expect a rough but evolving game rather than a finished one.
