Soldiers of Fortune

About

Soldiers of Fortune is a fast-paced run-and-gun shooter set in a twisted steampunk version of Victorian England. Players navigate 16 levels split into four acts, battling robotic enemies and prehistoric creatures across open maps filled with rivers, bridges, and industrial hazards. Choose from six mercenaries with distinct abilities and costs, balancing firepower and survival in top-down combat. The game blends arcade action with light strategy, requiring quick reflexes and smart resource management to tackle the Chaos Engine's destructive experiments. The game stands out for its co-op and competitive multiplayer modes, which let players team up or clash on the same screen. Its metallic-blue art style and quirky character designs give it a distinct retro charm, while the mix of action and exploration keeps the pace lively. Though released in 1993, its tight gameplay and chaotic premise earned it a lasting cult following. Community reviews often praise its replayability and the creative enemy encounters, making it a hidden gem for classic arcade fans.

Storyline

The setting is a steampunk Victorian era England. A time traveller on a reconnaissance mission from the distant future became stranded in the England of the late 1800s, and his technology came into the hands of the Royal Society, led by Baron Fortesque (based upon Charles Babbage), a grand inventor. Fortesque then retro engineered many of the futuristic contraptions, creating an entirely different, alternate timeline. Baron Fortesque then succeeded in his greatest creation yet: the Chaos Engine, which was able to experiment with matter and the very nature of space and time. Unfortunately for the rest of the proud kingdom, the Engine then proceeded to become sentient, captured and assimilated its creator, and began to change the countryside for the worse. Vile monsters and destructive automata appeared everywhere, and even prehistoric beasts were resurrected. Telegram wires connecting the British Isles to the European mainland are cut, and any ship attempting to enter a British port is attacked. The British Royal Family, members of Parliament and a large number of refugees manage to escape across the sea, bringing with them many tales of horror. The British Empire is left in tatters, and the world in economic and political chaos. That lures a number of mercenaries on a potentially-rewarding quest to infiltrate the quarantined Britain, find the root of the problem and swiftly bring a full stop to it.