Play Nectaris Online

Nectaris is a turn-based strategy game released for MS-DOS in 1995. Developed and published by Sunflowers Interactive Entertainment Software GmbH, it is set in a futuristic sci-fi conflict where Earth's forces must reclaim three occupied worlds. The game presents its tactical maps from a top-down perspective.

Players command Earth's combined military forces, including ground, air, and naval units, across a series of individual battle maps. The primary objective on each map is to achieve victory by either capturing the enemy headquarters or eliminating all opposing units. Progression is structured across three distinct campaign worlds, featuring a total of 96 levels. Between battles, players can switch campaigns, with their latest completed mission on each world saved automatically. Gameplay revolves around moving and attacking with a finite set of units during a player's turn. Each unit possesses specific attributes for attack, defense, and movement range. Combat outcomes are determined by a combination of unit statistics, remaining troop strength, terrain advantages, and the presence of supporting allied units. Players cannot produce new units during a battle and must instead capture neutral unit depots scattered across the map to reinforce their army.

This edition of Nectaris is an expanded version that introduces new graphical styles, settings, and narrative elements compared to its predecessor. It incorporates all original maps and units while adding two new campaign sets and more than doubling the total number of available unit types. The new environments allow for the inclusion of naval warfare, featuring submarines and carrier-based aircraft, alongside other additions like helicopters and paratroopers. The game supports saving progress during a battle and uses a password system to revisit earlier maps. Alongside the single-player campaigns, Nectaris includes eight special maps designed for multiplayer sessions with up to four participants, where players can configure diplomatic states such as alliances between the competing factions.