Sumerian Six was one of my favourite games of 2024 and also perhaps one of the most underrated titles I played that year. I had an absolute blast with its tactics gameplay and its cast of weird, wonderful warriors. Despite my love, it didn’t really make much of an impact post-launch and not nearly enough folks played it.
For a game all about punching Nazis, and occasionally punching Nazis as a werebear, it was a real shame. Sumerian Six is too good to fly so far under the radar.
With the game recently announced to launch on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 on 6 March, it’s the perfect time to share more about my love and why you should really, really make time for this game as it heads to console.
Why Sumerian Six has earned another chance – quick links
Sumerian Six spotlights a cool, diverse cast of characters
A game’s cast of heroes can make or break its story. In the case of Sumerian Six, you get a veritable army of cool, esoteric and awesome fighters, each with their own specialist skill. In turns, you’ll curate your team, then set out into top-down worlds to defeat enemies and reach your goal posts, typically across a vast and complex map.
As mentioned, one of the headlining fighters is a werebear named Wojtek, who can defeat enemies with heavy claw attacks and take extensive damage before being downed. When he’s not in bear mode, he can also transform back into his human form for a stealthier approach.
My personal favourite fighter is Rosa, the alchemist who can dissolve enemies using special biological weapons. She’s an excellent addition to your roster because in a world of powerful enemies, stealth and covering your tracks are valuable.
Sumerian Six is all about the tactical approach. Levels tend to be filled with higher-powered combatants, and if you break cover or leave clues for enemies to follow, death is inevitable. The game requires clever thinking before you break out, which adds layers of stress along with a satisfying challenge to each and every encounter.
In the case of Rosa, she’s an excellent and handy fighter to have on your team because she can dispatch and disappear enemies, almost like they were never there in the first place. She’s also got very handy electric stun abilities, with these earning you time as you move through each location.
Elsewhere, the rest of the cast has other ultra-powerful, unique abilities to master – such as ‘hitchiking’ in enemy bodies, turning invisible, unleashing lighting chains, luring enemies into open spaces, setting up a catapult to launch forward, and more. It’s in the mix of these abilities that Sumerian Six offers such compelling gameplay.
Layered strategy and satisfying exploration make Sumerian Six an absolute joy
Once you corral your crew of fighters together and have developed an understanding of how their abilities work, Sumerian Six opens up. You can work on synergies within your team, pairing combat abilities together to chain impact. If you stun enemies, you can sweep in with a higher-powered attack to finish them off, one at a time.
If you begin a skirmish where enemies may attempt to sound the alarm, you can pause, then send your heroes to work together, picking off enemies as they run, or hiding the evidence before patrols come around.
The further you travel in Sumerian Six, the more your flow and harmony grows. It’s a game that becomes better with time as you unlock new and more powerful abilities (and fighters) and as challenges become more complex.
Eventually, you’re dealing with puzzle box worlds, with multiple moving parts needing to be analysed and understood before you can take even a single step forward.
You will need to apply yourself, but Sumerian Six is consistently rewarding along the way.
All this to say, the game absolutely deserves fresh attention when it arrives on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. If you missed out on its initial PC release, it’s absolutely worthy of renewed attention.
