Netflix's Narcos Is Becoming A Turn-Based Strategy Game

Licensed property games usually mark a hit-or-miss sector in the world of interactive entertainment. Some games based on popular movies and television shows turn out to be pretty good, while others fall flat. Soon, we'll find out if Netflix's Narcos will be a hit when it becomes a turn-based strategy game.

The game was announced via a 30-second teaser trailer. The trailer starts with a table with drugs on it and some photos of a location in Latin America. The Narcos: Rise of the Cartels trailer then flies through a couple of the locations before zooming out and saying that the game will be a brutal turn-based action-strategy game.

Now, while we have no idea what the actual gameplay is like because it was not showcased in the trailer, what we do know is that the description for the game fits in line with the typical turn-based action-strategy titles on the market right now. Those titles include Firaxis' XCOM series, which helped revive the tactical turn-based strategy genre on home consoles and PC, and recent games like the espionage cold war-thriller Phantom Doctrine.

The aforementioned games are isometric, tactical turn-based action titles, centering on players having to utilize stealth, wits, and skills to overcome the enemy.

Most tactical turn-based games these days don't rely on time units like the old-school tactical turn-based games of old, like Jagged Alliance. Most rely on the two-action system, where you move the character into position and then they can carry out a second action. Most newer tactical turn-based games are designed this way to keep the turns short, so that the pace of the match moves quickly and at a proper clip, which is also how other newer turn-based titles like Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden are designed.

According to the description on the YouTube page, the game will arrive on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 during the third-quarter of 2019. The only thing the description states is that it will follow the events for the first season of Narcos from Gaumont, and it will be narrated by El Patron. You'll also have the choice of either playing as a member of the Medellin Cartel or as the DEA attempting to stop the cartel.

Curve Digital will be publishing the game and Kuju Games will be developing the title. Kuju is known for having made a number of simulator ports, along with a bunch of third-person-style games, and a few other war simulators. The company has dabbled in a number of different franchises and genres, from Disney Sing-It, to the movie-based game Reign of Fire, to House of the Dead, to the reboot of Lotus Challenge. So in terms of what you can expect from the game's quality based on Kuju's record... well, it's kind of a toss-up.

Nevertheless, the Narcos game will follow the events of the show, about the DEA attempting to stop the cartel (or the cartel attempting to grow more powerful), and graphically the game looks fairly decent. While waiting for more info, you can check out a few screenshots over on the official Curve Digital website.