| Impossible Creatures | |
|---|---|
 Cover art featuring a tiger-headed scorpion. | |
| Developer(s) | Relic Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft Game Studios |
| Director(s) | Alex Garden |
| Producer(s) | John Johnson |
| Designer(s) | Jay Wilson (lead) Quinn Duffy Andrew Chambers Damon Gauthier |
| Programmer(s) | Shane Alfreds |
| Writer(s) | Duane Pye Jay Wilson |
| Composer(s) | Crispin Hands |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Impossible Creatures is a 2003 steampunk real-time strategy game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Its unique feature is that the armies used in gameplay are all created by the player, and involve combining two animals to make a new super creature with various abilities. The concept was inspired by H. G. Wells' novel The Island of Doctor Moreau. The player-created armies are capped at 9 creatures; each one is a combination of any two animals from a list of 76 (51 with no downloads). Many animals possess inherent abilities and players can multiple such abilities or compensate for weaknesses as they plan units and armies. There is an extensive single-player campaign as well as online multiplayer functionality with different game modes, add-ons, custom maps, mods, and scenarios.
Impossible Creatures was followed up later by a free downloadable expansion entitled Insect Invasion, which added new creatures and abilities to the game. The last official add-on for Impossible Creatures was released in 2004.
On November 12, 2015, Impossible Creatures was released on Steam as Impossible Creatures: Steam Edition, by THQ Nordic. Relic Entertainment and Sega relinquished the rights of Impossible Creatures to THQ Nordic after it was revealed that neither THQ nor Microsoft Studios owned the rights to the video game.[2]
The Steam version includes all patches and expansion packs released in the past, the IC Online servers re-implemented through Steam's cloud service and the game's modding software development kit included in the package alongside the Mission Editor originally available within the game's files. Steam Workshop support came out in Patch 3.[3] The Steam Edition is also optimized for modern computer systems and software. The game was also released on GOG.com shortly after it appeared on Steam.
- ^ "Impossible Creatures [2003] - PC". IGN. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- ^ Hillier, Brenna (23 November 2015). "The improbable journey of Impossible Creatures". VG247. Videogaming247. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ "Impossible Creatures Steam Edition - PATCH 3 - Fixes & WORKSHOP support - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2020-12-03.