Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

CIMA: The Enemy merges role-playing and strategy in a way that feels fresh yet demands careful planning. Unlike typical RPGs, there’s no leveling system or in‐game currency; instead, success relies on your ability to manage a growing party of up to 16 unique civilians. Each character comes with a distinct trait—whether it’s the medic brewing health potions or the blacksmith forging stronger armor—that you must leverage to navigate the alien mazes and overcome hazards.

Movement and positioning are at the heart of the gameplay. Hitting a single button brings up a radial menu displaying individual portraits at the compass points and a multicolor marker at the center. You can select each portrait to move characters one by one or use the central marker to guide your whole group. To mitigate awkward pathfinding, the game allows you to set up to three waypoints—an almost essential tool when your civilians get snagged on corners or walls.

Trust management adds a dynamic layer to your strategy. Each civilian maintains a trust gauge that shifts based on your actions: if a character is injured, their trust drops (marked by a red down-arrow heart), but vanquishing monsters under their watch can raise trust (green up-arrow heart). High trust ensures your group follows orders promptly, while low trust can lead to hesitation and disarray in the maze’s deadliest moments.

The stakes are high when it comes to survival. Whenever a party member nears death, a jewel icon flashes next to the main Guardian’s health bar accompanied by a sharp alarm. Let any civilian die, and you’ll face an immediate game over—putting extra pressure on you to manage health, trust, and positioning simultaneously.

Graphics

Visually, CIMA: The Enemy leans into a moody, sci-fi aesthetic that underscores the oppressive nature of the alien mazes. The labyrinth walls are textured with strange glyphs, and shifting light patterns from the CIMA portals cast uneasy shadows that heighten tension in every corridor you explore. It’s not a super-high-fidelity title, but its art direction creates a distinct and immersive atmosphere.

Character models are functional and expressive, with clear silhouettes that make it easy to distinguish medics, blacksmiths, and other specialists at a glance. The UI elements—especially the radial menu and waypoint indicators—are crisp, colorful, and intuitive, fitting seamlessly into the game world rather than feeling like boilerplate overlays. During intense battles, the screen rarely feels cluttered, which helps you make split-second decisions without losing track of your party.

The animations are serviceable if a bit utilitarian: guardians swing weapons cleanly, civilians perform their unique actions with just enough flair, and monsters move with eerie, alien grace. Environmental details—like sparking conduit pipes or flickering control panels—add life to each maze, even if they don’t serve a mechanical purpose. Overall, the graphics strike a balance between clarity and immersion, ensuring the game remains both playable and visually engaging.

Story

The narrative premise of CIMA: The Enemy grips you from the outset. Humanity has fallen prey to the CIMA aliens, creatures that feed on our hopes and dreams by imprisoning us in complex mazes. In response, the Gate Guardians were formed as a protective force—but fate intervenes when three of these Guardians escort settlers on a train through a dimensional anomaly, only to be cast onto a strange moon-like realm.

As you guide the Guardians and their civilian charges through one labyrinth after another, the backstory unfolds through environmental storytelling and brief dialogue exchanges. While not every character receives extensive personal arcs, the consistent threat of the CIMA and the ever-present maze architecture reinforce the sense of being trapped in an alien nightmare. Occasional journal entries and logs fill in the broader lore, explaining the origin of the Gate Guardians and the nature of the CIMA themselves.

Though the plot is fairly straightforward—find a way home and rescue every passenger—the pacing keeps you engaged. Challenges escalate naturally, and plot revelations arrive at key junctures to renew your motivation. Emotional stakes rise when trust wavers or a civilian’s life is on the line, making the story feel personal even amidst the grand sci-fi backdrop.

Overall Experience

CIMA: The Enemy delivers a unique blend of strategic party management and atmospheric exploration. Its absence of traditional RPG systems may disappoint purists, but the focus on trust dynamics, character abilities, and maze navigation offers a deep and rewarding challenge. The learning curve can be steep—especially when juggling up to 16 party members—but each victory feels earned.

The game’s design encourages experimentation: swapping party compositions to tackle specific obstacles, optimizing waypoint routes to avoid ambushes, and carefully weighing each combat engagement. While the lack of shops or leveling might leave some players craving more traditional progression, the robust cast of civilians and their interactive abilities more than compensate for those missing features.

Overall, CIMA: The Enemy is a standout title for gamers who enjoy resource management under pressure and atmospheric world-building. It’s a compelling journey through ever-twisting mazes, where every decision matters and the bond between Guardians and civilians can mean the difference between escape and eternal entrapment. For those seeking a challenging strategy-meets-RPG hybrid with a strong sci-fi narrative hook, this game is well worth exploring.

Retro Replay Score

6.7/10