ZEPHON on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
Quick menu
From the developers of Warhammer 40,000: Gladius, ZEPHON is a post-apocalyptic 4X strategy game built on Proxy’s unique tactical combat system. Guide survivors through a turbulent future, navigating unexpected disasters, eldritch horror and cyberpunk monstrosities. What will you do to survive?
ZEPHON is a strategy, turn-based and tactical game
developed and published by Proxy Studios.
Released on November 08th 2024 is available on Windows and Linux
in 8 languages: English, French, German, Korean, Russian, Polish, Simplified Chinese and Spanish - Spain.
It has received 1,259 reviews of which 1,098 were positive and 161 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.3 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 39.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified ZEPHON into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at ZEPHON through various videos and screenshots.
Load More
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i3 / AMD Ryzen 3
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Vulkan support with 2 GB VRAM (Nvidia GeForce 10 series / AMD Radeon 400 series)
- Storage: 8 GB available space
Linux
- Processor: Intel Core i3 / AMD Ryzen 3
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Vulkan support with 2 GB VRAM (Nvidia GeForce 10 series / AMD Radeon 400 series)
- Storage: 8 GB available space
Prices
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
I've had this game for a bit and am just now getting around to playing it. I'm currently on my 2nd run after the tutorial and have about 29 hours in it. I like it much more than I expected or I would've played it sooner. I'm early in it with only 29 hours but I think that this could be the most challenging 4x that I've ever played. I play on the largest map against 9 AI rulers and the 3 that the game throws in so 13 of us total and it's brutal. Not only have I not seen any way to out think my opponents but I've had horrible luck with some random things as well. I do not foresee any set strategy to just steamroll over the enemy like in most 4x games. The AI doesn't just send spam attacks at you like in most games. It weighs what it does and if you make friends and allies they don't seem to betray you unless you do something to cause that. That's what I've seen so far anyway. More good stuff - The factions seem to be very different for the most part. They have different strengths that seem very well balanced. It is possible to play different factions all the same way but then you're not embracing whatever makes them special. There are a tremendous amount of different units to learn which ones you like and which ones aren't for you, they all seem well balanced for the most part too. Also many different "hero" units to build your armies around. I haven't come close to seeing all of them yet but really like what I've seen. There's a ton of research options and unlike most other games you won't be able to research every single thing in every run. Your choices matter. The negatives which I always try to be open about. - I only see 2 things that aren't great. 1st - Information, there's a lack of it on some things, or it's hard to locate at least. Many things you just have to try and see how it works out. How a unit will measures up, or how much benefit a building will actually be, etc. Especially on the few quest events that pop up I feel that there is a big lack of insight and so far I've chosen badly on almost every one of them that I've seen, there aren't a ton of them so it's not game breaking but it's not great if you're already losing. The 2nd negative is that I have some kind of a graphics issue where my game will shut my graphics card down every 2-4 hours. It requires a full computer restart and I'm not sure what the problem is. My card is a RTX 3090 so it's not some low end card and runs more demanding games with no issues. All of the fans start ripping along and then poof my screen goes off and I can still hear the game running. I have to restart but I can restart immediately and play for another couple of hours so it's not like the card is sizzling hot or anything. I'm not a techie and didn't see anything about it in the bug forums so no idea what that is but it's annoying. My drivers are the latest too but anyway, based on not seeing it in the forums chances are that anyone reading this will not have that issue. With only those 2 negatives I have to give this a thumbs up. Way up. The number of units, heroes, research, items, etc. combined with the well balanced enemies and very high difficulty make this one of my favorite 4x's ever. It might even end up being the best ever. I hope that there will be more dlc's adding more and more to it. On sale it's a steal and at it's full price I think it's still a great deal. Cheers.
Just finished another campaign. The game continues to demonstrate why it has the best lore of any 4X. It also has some of the best combat with a really decent tactical AI. Which is good, because it is one of the most combat-heavy 4X games. I had an amazing endgame battle as I was meeting the full brunt of Zephon's and the Scion's remaining forces. I'd fought my way to the edge of a large forest and if it wasn't for the cover it provided I may have lost the offensive. The enemy wisely stopped throwing its forces against my now defensive line and pulled back just enough to lick its wounds and necessitate my forces to venture out into the open plain to continue my advance. You're not going to see that level of tactical awareness in too many other games. Unfortunately for the enemy, it gave time for my ally to reinforce and I was able to reinitiate my advance. That's right, my ally actually reinforced my position. I hadn't even taken advantage of Zephon's targeting system that can help focus your ally where you'd like it to engage. The map itself had helped do that as both our forces were funneled by the geography into this rather broad front, divided by a medium sized lake. That illustrates another example of how this games' settings can dictate the play of the game, I've lowered the settings for water as I've found the normal level can be too restrictive to maneuvering your armies' landforces through narrow gaps. However, I've left most other features at normal to provide cover and chokepoints yet still leave you with the opportunity to set up a killing field as described above. I also made no mention of titans in my endgame battle, because there's also settings to slow the progression of the game and allow you to win without taking out the games three NPCs. And, with the AI's advantages at higher difficulties, I was fighting advanced forces with my now levelled-up basic forces (reinforced by heroes and a smattering of mid-tier units). In Zephon, with some tech upgrades and experience, your starting units are still effective, if not exactly devastating against more advanced units. It might take several militants armed with anti-armor grenades and a hero to take out one of Zephon's wardens, but that's why they're cheaper and ready to march into this nightmare apocalypse.
Criminally underrated and deserves more praise. It's one of the best in the 4x turn-based genre. These devs are putting the competitors like Age of Wonders 4 to shame by pumping out content like this. For me, that respects my money and time for a product that actually works. This is one of the few games where I can start a co-op session at 6pm, with an insanely smooth online experience (NO DESYNCS!!!), only to FINALLY peel myself off the monitor at 4:30am for bed... ZEPHON has some very good mechanics and systems that mesh well together to make it incredibly addictive, similar to Warhammer: Gladius (e.g. diplomacy and actual competent AI). I returned after some time and binged it for about 44 hours within a week, and I'm about 8 hours into a new huge co-op session vs 10 AI... aaaand I'm still struggling to pull myself away by 4am... I think that says a lot about the quality of the overall experience ZEPHON has given the poor state of most releases now. That's in part because of how in-depth you can customise match setups. HOWEVER, the best customisation is locked behind a couple of mutators unlocked at the end of matches. One in particular is called 'What Are You?'; this forces you to only use neutral or affinity-locked tech research. My issue is that the vanilla experience will just allow access to all affinities' units and research (voice, human and cyber) regardless of who you play (apart from leader abilities/playstyle, the only difference is it'll allow your affinity's units/research slightly earlier than if you were a different affinity). This completely removes any distinctive 'feel' for the unit style of your affinity as everyone has access to every unit. I do understand why, and I actually enjoy the design philosophy behind this (since unit affinities generally rely on specific resources, and that depends on where your city is built). But, I think that this starting vanilla experience can create a bit of a confusing and odd first impression, and this is actually mentioned in other negative reviews. Probably just my preference, but starting out with being locked into my own research affinity helped me to learn the game. I feel that the mutator for this should be removed entirely and just added as a tick box option in the advanced settings, to streamline the customisation for new players. Only other nit-pick I have is for some quality of life things. E.g. Phenaris Hunters' Nightmare clone dying in the kill feed doesn't specify if it was the original unit or its clone (which is killed in 1 hit), it just lists it as 'Phenaris Hunter' in both occasions. Criticisms aside, ZEPHON is addictive af and is definitely worth your time. Also, the DLC content ABSOLUTELY puts other titles to shame for its price-to-content value: I'm looking at you, Sins of a Solar Empire 2 & [insert any Paradox game here]. Also, barely any bugs. Totally worth the asking price.
This is a cool game, but do not expect a Civ-like 4X. It's more like a wargame and you will feel like you're slowly pushing fronts and taking territory, piece by bloody piece. The worldbuilding and story beats are insane. You will probably be quite confused by the factions and lore. There's a lot to take in. Slowly, little by little, it will start making sense and it's quite well-written as well. It really feels like you're exploring this weird world together with your people. You will mainly be cranking out military units. My empires tend to focus hard on one or two unit types for different phases of the game. You will also have some random finds mixed in that function as specialists. Eventually you will unlock whatever high-end units fit into your economy and tack those on, especially if they help you counter something your chief enemy has. There is a lot of room for flexibility because the units are mostly generic throughout the tech tree - some people don't like this, but I find that factions tend to be distinctive due to leaning hard in one direction or another based on the player's strategy. The heroes can be quite zany and unique - truly special units - and indeed every unit has its own weapon type and active abilities that add a lot of nuance and depth to the game. However, I am sure there are people out there who will feel - even with the DLC - that there's "not enough" in the game. This is probably not a gamer's game that you play again and again for hundreds of hours. It does not have layers on layers of 4X systems to weigh and balance against RNG each run. It's more like you just look at your resources and crank out units, then manipulate those units across the world as you fight a prolonged tactical war. This is basically the whole game, and it's quite fun. Finally, the enemy AI is a lot better than most games out there. The devs need to be applauded for this because it's so easy for devs to ship with terrible tactical AI. It's actually pretty smart and the various mechanics will combine to catch you off-guard a fair amount. However, the UI guy probably didn't play too many video games before he made the UI because it's quite easy to misclick and the controls can be quite unintuitive compared to genre standards. You will find yourself pressing esc to cancel and it won't work for whatever reason, so you have to come up with a new solution (I click the "next unit in queue button" to get around it...). Recommended if you wanna try an artistic wargame set in a really cool world, but not if you're trying to get the most hours possible out of your gaming dollar.
ZEPHON is a polished, combat-heavy 4X that excels in tactical depth, atmosphere, and pace. It’s a solid, flavorful evolution of Gladius, though diplomacy and city expansion take a back seat. For around $40 USD, or during sales, it delivers strong value—Solidly recommended for 4X fans leaning toward battle-driven strategy. Focused unit‑per‑tile battling, terrain tactics, and smart AI—combat feels meaningful and satisfying. The game blends sci‑fi, cyber-horror, and eldritch tones into its narrative and visuals. Story flavor and leader character moments stand out. Compared to heavier 4X titles, ZEPHON favors brisk pace—unit production is slower, but research and combat-focused design keeps things moving. Unlockable rules modifiers and eight distinct leaders help avoid monotony, motivating varied playthroughs. Some find diplomacy and economy underdeveloped. Combat is vital to succeed, and passive approaches often fail. Loyalty woes and hex‑slot building limits can frustrate expansion strategies. City‑building feels more rigid than in other 4X games. ZEPHON - The Twisted & The Hollow If you want fresh tactical layers and enjoy the Dark Sci‑Fi/Eldritch vibe of ZEPHON , this DLC is a solid expansion—especially for early-game power and storytelling. Priced at ~€13, it delivers significant new mechanics, though current balance may favor Twisted Mother and Hollow Warlord heavily. Perfect for those looking to shake up early stages and deepen narrative engagement. 8/10 DISASTER | BAD | MEDIOCRE | OKAY | GOOD | GREAT |AMAZING| MASTERPIECE Reviewed on: Win11 Home 64-bit, Intel i5-11600K, GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB TUF, 32GB DDR4-3600 RAM, 2 x Kingston NV1 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD, Internet Broadband 1000/1000 Mbit If you like this review, then please consider giving it a thumbs up. I've also reviewed other games that you might find interesting. If so please follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/27418263/] Top of the Chart.
Similar games
View all
Space Empires V
Space Empires V is the latest edition in the Space Empires series. This new chapter completely updates the UI and takes the player into a real-time rendered 3D universe. Watch space battles played out in glorious detail and realistic effects. Expand, Explore, Exploit, and Exterminate in a huge living breathing galaxy.
Sword of the Stars: Complete Collection
Sword of the Stars: Complete Collection is the original Sword of the Stars games and the three expansions Born of Blood, A Murder of Crows and Argos Naval Yard. It is the year 2405, and human scientists have discovered a new technology that allows travel from star to star at speeds faster than light.
Master of Orion 2
Forge an empire in a universe where population growth is stripping away planetary resources. Colonize unknown planets and trade with other races for their knowledge.
Deity Empires
Deity Empires is a 4X, turn-based strategy game with a powerful “just one more turn” feel! Enter an intricate fantasy world as one of many deities posed to become ruler of the world.
ENDLESS Legend™
ENDLESS Legend™ is a 4X turn-based fantasy strategy game by the creators of ENDLESS Space™ and Dungeon of the ENDLESS™. Control every aspect of your civilization as you struggle to save your homeworld Auriga. Create your own Legend!
Master of Orion
The ascendant spacefaring 4X strategy game returns! A new chapter in the epic Master of Orion saga is poised to once again capture the imaginations of millions of gamers.
Master of Orion 1
Forge an empire in a universe where population growth is stripping away planetary resources. Colonize unknown planets and trade with other races for their knowledge.
Age of Wonders III
Age of Wonders III is the long anticipated sequel to the award-winning strategy series. Delivering a unique mix of Empire Building, Role Playing and Warfare, Age of Wonders III offers the ultimate in turn-based fantasy strategy for veterans of the series and new players alike!
Frozen Synapse
Brings the simultaneous turn-based strategy genre up-to-date and lets you give detailed, accurate orders to your squad.
Civilization IV®: Warlords
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Warlords is the first expansion pack for the award-winning game that has become an instant world-wide hit. Paying homage to some of history's greatest military leaders, the expansion delivers six unique and interesting scenarios, giving players the chance to change the course of history with the help of their...
X-COM: Apocalypse
There's something evil in the city tonight... Earth has been ravaged by human excess, petty conflict and alien invasion. The world's population has been herded into huge cities, the first of which was Mega Primus. 2084: A Utopia shattered, social collapse and civil unrest reigns in Mega Primus. Fiendish aliens terrorize the city.
Mordheim: City of the Damned
Mordheim: City of the Damned is the first video game adaptation of Games Workshop's cult classic tabletop game Mordheim. Set in the Warhammer World's decimated Empire city, Mordheim: City of the Damned is a turn-based tactical game where you lead warbands into bloody and lethal skirmishes.
Frequently Asked Questions
ZEPHON is currently priced at 39.99€ on Steam.
No, ZEPHON is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 39.99€ on Steam.
Yes, ZEPHON received 1,098 positive votes out of a total of 1,259 achieving a rating of 8.29.
😎
ZEPHON was developed and published by Proxy Studios.
Yes, ZEPHON is playable and fully supported on Windows.
No, ZEPHON is not playable on MacOS.
Yes, ZEPHON is playable and fully supported on Linux.
ZEPHON offers both single-player and multi-player modes.
ZEPHON offers both Co-op and PvP modes.
Yes, there are 6 DLCs available for ZEPHON. Explore additional content available for ZEPHON on Steam.
Yes, ZEPHON is fully integrated with Steam Workshop. Visit Steam Workshop.
Yes, ZEPHON supports Remote Play Together. Discover more about Steam Remote Play.
Yes, ZEPHON is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for ZEPHON.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 13 June 2026 11:03 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 13 June 2026 05:20 |
| Steam price | 14 June 2026 12:51 |
| Steam reviews | 12 June 2026 21:59 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about ZEPHON, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about ZEPHON
- SteamCharts - Analysis of ZEPHON concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck ZEPHON compatibility
Game modes
Multiplayer
Features
Online players
219
Developer
Proxy Studios
Publisher
Proxy Studios
Release
08 Nov 2024
Platforms
Remote Play