Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Freedom: First Resistance offers a blend of action and puzzle elements that keep each mission fresh and engaging. Right from the outset, you’re given control of Angel Sanchez and her ragtag crew of five Resistance fighters, and the game challenges you to leverage each character’s unique abilities to overcome environmental hazards and enemy patrols. The pacing strikes a balance between high-intensity firefights and slower, more cerebral puzzle segments, ensuring you never spend too long in one mode.

One of the game’s standout features is the ability to swap characters on the fly, or split your squad into smaller teams to tackle multiple objectives simultaneously. This mechanic adds significant strategic depth: perhaps one operative uses a hacking tool to disable a security door while another distracts nearby Catteni drones. Inventory management underscores this, since only certain characters can wield specific items, forcing you to plan your team composition and toolkit before each mission.

The level design reinforces this strategy-oriented approach. Urban ruins, underground bunkers, and abandoned research labs are densely packed with hidden caches and puzzle triggers. Combat is satisfying, with a variety of enemy types—ranging from lightly armored human collaborators to heavily shielded Catteni automatons—each demanding a different approach. The controls feel tight, and while the camera occasionally struggles in narrow corridors, it rarely detracts from the overall experience.

Beyond the main campaign, you’ll find optional side objectives that reward exploration and clever puzzle-solving. These segments can grant upgrades or new weapons, incentivizing thorough exploration of each 3D environment. The combination of stealth sections, all-out firefights, and logic-based puzzles makes for a gameplay loop that feels varied and rewarding over the course of the game’s runtime.

Graphics

Visually, Freedom: First Resistance captures the sense of a world under occupation with impressive environmental detail. Crumbled cityscapes, scorched highways, and half-collapsed monuments set the stage for your guerrilla warfare, while dynamic lighting and particle effects breathe life into explosions and laser fire. The ruined backdrop is used to effective cinematic ends when you discover secret Resistance hideouts nestled amidst the wreckage.

Character models are somewhat dated by modern standards but still convey the personalities and hardships of your five protagonists. Facial animations in cutscenes occasionally feel stiff, but in-game performance is consistent, even when multiple enemies and effects are onscreen. The Catteni units, with their slick metallic surfaces and glowing energy sources, stand in stark contrast to the weathered human fighters, reinforcing the alien conquerors’ technological superiority.

Texture work varies from area to area: outdoor zones benefit from sweeping vistas and volumetric fog, while some indoor environments can appear bland or repetitive after extended play. However, cleverly placed set pieces—like a bombed-out subway station overrun by vines—help maintain visual interest. The game runs smoothly on mid-range hardware, and you can tweak shadow quality, particle density, and post-processing settings to find the right balance between performance and fidelity.

The user interface is clean and unobtrusive, allowing you to focus on the action. Inventory screens and character menus are logically organized, and tooltips make it easy to understand which operative can use each item. While the mini-map occasionally misfires in tight spaces, the overall graphical presentation succeeds in immersing you in a world on the brink of liberation.

Story

Freedom: First Resistance thrusts you into a grim alternate Earth, where the alien Catteni have crushed organized resistance and installed the oppressive Provisional Authority. The opening cinematic sets the tone with haunting imagery of ruined cities and emaciated survivors, establishing the stakes and conveying a sense of urgency. From there, you join Angel Sanchez, a charismatic yet battle-hardened leader determined to spark a global uprising.

The narrative unfolds through a combination of in-mission radio chatter, brief cutscenes, and collectible logs scattered through each level. Dialogue occasionally slips into clichéd lines of defiance or villainous boasting, but the core story—of ordinary people risking everything to reclaim their world—resonates. You’ll encounter memorable secondary characters, from a tech-savvy hacker who can rewire Catteni devices to a former soldier haunted by past failures, each adding emotional weight to the struggle.

Missions are tied together by a broader plot that sees the Resistance chipping away at the Provisional Authority’s strongholds, culminating in a daring assault on a Catteni command vessel. The pacing accelerates toward the finale, with twists that reveal hidden agendas and test your loyalty to allies. While the overarching story arc can feel predictable at times, solid voice acting and well-crafted set pieces elevate key moments into genuine highlights.

Subplots involving resource scarcity, moral dilemmas, and covert rescues flesh out the world beyond the main thrust of the campaign. You’ll find yourself debating whether to divert precious supplies to civilians or press on with a high-risk mission. These choices, while not branching the narrative dramatically, reinforce the feeling that your decisions matter in a war-torn world.

Overall Experience

Playing Freedom: First Resistance is akin to leading a small-scale rebellion in hostile territory. The combination of strategic character switching, varied mission objectives, and balanced combat-puzzle gameplay creates a compelling loop that keeps you invested from start to finish. It’s neither too easy nor excessively punishing, with adjustable difficulty settings that cater to both newcomers and seasoned veterans.

The emotional payoff of seeing your makeshift squad grow in capability—and in camaraderie—amidst the crushing odds is undeniable. Even when the graphics or AI stutter, the narrative drive and gameplay innovations pull you back into the fight. The game’s length is respectable, clocking in around 12–15 hours for a full playthrough, with optional challenges offering additional replay value.

If you’re looking for an action game that demands brains as well as trigger-finger reflexes, and a story that channels the spirit of underdog heroism, Freedom: First Resistance delivers. It isn’t without flaws—some texture repetition, occasional camera issues, and a few pacing bumps—but its strong mechanics and immersive world-building more than compensate.

For players eager to command a team of diverse operatives against an alien occupation, Anne McCaffrey’s Freedom: First Resistance stands out as a satisfying, thought-provoking experience. Whether you’re scouting hidden paths in ruined cities or orchestrating synchronized strikes on advanced Catteni defenses, you’ll find a game that challenges your strategy and rewards your ingenuity at every turn.

Retro Replay Score

5.5/10