Dungeon Tactics
A retro style party based RPG smashing together concepts from several of my favorite games!
Build a party of 6 characters combining active, passive, and reactive skills from 40 different classes.
Explore the dungeon to protect the people of Airi from the secret threat contained within.
Avoid many traps set in place to hinder your progress.
Read More: Best Class-Based 2D Games.
Externus: Path of the Solari
Overview
Externus: Path of the Solari is a character-driven tactical roleplaying game (RPG) adapted from an original tabletop game. We take inspiration from classic tactical RPGs along with modern game development to craft our own story and give you characters that matter. Our approach is designed to allow you to get to know the characters in your party along with strategic combat in full 3D environments. We encourage party interaction through our campfire scenes and storybook sequences that pay homage to the original tabletop game.
Features
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Strategic Turn-Based Tactical Combat
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Full 3D Battlefields
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Character-Driven Story
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Storybook Choose Your Own Adventure Sequences
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Death Matters, Each Ally You Lose Will Change Your Story
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Unique Full-Color Artstyle
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Based On An Original Tabletop RPG
We’re currently expecting to launch the game in the Summer of 2021.
Gameplay
Externus: Path of the Solari features classic turn-based gameplay. Our battles will take place in full 3D battlefields that allow you to rotate the camera a full 360 degrees. Our character-driven story will be told using those battlefields alongside interactive story sequences featuring custom artwork. You can traverse our world using a map that highlights the two distinct continents that make up the world of Externus. The world map features unique artwork inspired by early cartography.
Externus: Path of the Solari uses a turn-based battle system that takes advantage of our full 3D battlefields to make sure you can see all angles of the battlefield. This will help you weigh all your options from a tactical standpoint. The detailed battlefields feature elevation and other tactical landscapes to use to your advantage when facing your opponent. Sometimes it’s just easier to push someone off a cliff, right? Your choices make all the difference in combat.
Our goal for the battle system in Externus: Path of the Solari is to challenge the player so that they feel accomplished in defeating their foes. You should think about the risks and rewards of bringing certain characters and using their specialized abilities. Your actions and choices matter. Think about the world in terms of fate. Was it fate that a character died? Was it a punishment from the gods or just a mistake caused by an error in tactics? Death will be permanent in Externus, how will you react? Let the story play out and see how a character’s death affects those who knew them both in positive and negative ways. Maybe it’ll even send a ripple effect out into the world!
Externus: Path of the Solari is a storybook brought to life and your actions on and off the battlefield can change the pages as they’re presented. This goes back to our tabletop roots of wanting to tell a collective story that changes based on the players around the table.
#### Story
The world of Externus: Path of the Solari was crafted through years of playing the tabletop game and was a world created with friends. Fate plays a large role in our world as the balance between order and chaos is constantly shifting. We find ourselves in a time where two Gods have been slain by a powerful unknown enemy. Was fate in play here or did the Gods' time end before it was supposed to? Can even the Gods escape Fate or will the world be plunged into chaos?
The story of Externus: Path of the Solari follows Osmund Steele and his sons Alrik and Amante as they travel through the continents of Alcretia and Katrona. Osmund is part of an order known as the Soldat Solari, a tradition he intends to pass down to his sons, that is tasked with keeping balance and order throughout the world of Externus. Our story begins as we follow the Steele family and their companions on their way toward the town of Zyais when they run into unexpected trouble from a mysterious group known as The Monotheists. This group of zealots is led by a man named Gabriel who has a history with Osmund and the Soldat Solari. Was it fate that brought them together on this day? Was it the will of the gods? With Gabriel in the picture and rumors swirling of a larger threat, known only as The Abomination, the Steele family will have a lot of roadblocks in their way as they try to keep the balance of the world from shifting into chaos. Will your choices balance things or plunge them further into chaos? What does Fate have in store for you and your companions? Death matters in the world of Externus and losing an ally can change the story.
About Winterborn
Winterborn was formed by Kent Gambill in November of 2018 to make a tactical role-playing game set in a world he created over 15 years ago as a tabletop game. The studio was founded alongside Moudy Hamo, Jack Steele, Stephen Boilegh, and Trevor Osz to make a game using their unique skills.
As a studio, Winterborn was formed to adapt the original tabletop game that the team played for many years into a video game. We all have fond memories and a lot of stories to tell about our time playing the game. Now is our chance to tell those stories and make the kind of games that we grew up playing.
Read More: Best Class-Based Strategy Games.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Recommended only if you are willing to accept that it is not complete and is still yet a while away from being done. Very similar to Larian’s previous two games but with just enough tweaks to make it feel fresh and closer to DnD ruleset. Some say it may as well have been called DOS3. While true, it’s also not a bad thing. Those games IMO are responsible for the resurgence of the old-school CRPG genre. Personally, this is my dream game. Huge fan of the originals and huge fans of the DOS games. Actually had the out-loud thought back in 2014…“what if Baldur’s Gate made a comeback and these Larian dudes were the ones to do it?” Wish granted. People will nitpick and complain, but I’m beyond impressed with what I’ve seen so far. The RTWP argument has been done to death and if you want to cry about it, go play Pillars of Eternity. It’s so close a copy to the old Infinity engine games that it honestly got stale and lost its nostalgia shine real fast. I would have been disappointed if a new game bearing the BG name turned out to be the same stuff I played to death 20 something years ago. The scope of what Larian is going for here is extremely ambitious and I’m 110% rooting for them to pull it off. With all of the possible dialogue options and minor little attentions to detail, its like a real tabletop in that everyone who plays will be working through the same “module” but everyone is going to experience that story differently depending on the player or groups decisions. Obviously, proper tabletop DnD cant be played solo, but just like the original Baldurs Gate games, this is/will be the best possible way for a solo player without and IRL group to play with to experience its universe.
– Real player with 198.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Class-Based Co-op Campaign Games.
This is a pretty amazing game the best DnD based game I have ever played it is very good. There is still a lot of development needed would not recommend this game if you do not have a high performance PC with an SSD they definitely still need to do some work on the performance. When the game leaves early access it will be well worth it I can assure you. For right now once you get bored of the waiting for new content check out what the modding community has done there has been some really great player content.
– Real player with 114.3 hrs in game
Ash of Gods: Redemption
Do you like story-driven turn-based tactical RPGs? Even those who have nothing to do with Japan and with fantasy in general?
Well, I was just searching for other turn-based games, and this one popped out as one of the recommended titles on Steam.
And I was not disappointed at all, as a long-time RPG player and turn-based lover.
The gameplay isn’t really innovative, but I wanted exactly the contrary - here you’ll face a classical turn-based system in which everyone will stay put until you choose which action to do (each turn is timed anyways).
– Real player with 191.4 hrs in game
Choices. Much like the choice you’re making on whether to buy this game or not, making difficult choices is one of the key aspects of this game. It will affect how the characters react, whether they’ll live or die, how the story develops, and ultimately how it will end. A lot of that takes time and setup, and in many ways this is the kind of game that takes patience to love. It has its share of faults, but if you can get past them I think there’s an excellent strategy game just waiting to be played.
– Real player with 64.9 hrs in game
Mango Mischief
The four protagonists: Sprig, Marion, Merrow, and Arach
Mango Mischief is a throwback to a simpler time - the 16-bit era of video gaming - when JRPGs used (and abused) cliché storylines as vehicles for showing off interesting battle mechanics, difficult dungeons and monsters, complex puzzles, character leveling systems, and customizability through skills, upgrades, and gear.
_Is it time to go on a magic quest to save the world - a quest that only YOU can complete (with the help of three other party members who have different skill sets, of course)?
Do you need to collect several inanimate objects that serve no purpose other than to accidentally help the antagonist at the end of the game?
Is the antagonist merely a puppet of the true final boss (who has multiple forms)?_
Eh, maybe. Or maybe not.
The map at the beginning of Mango Mischief, showing off the early areas of the game
Mango Mischief attempts to straddle the line between paying homage to the tried-and-true tropes of JRPGs, while also parodying the memes of role-playing games with plot twists and comedy.
Self-referential humor and fourth wall breaks augment the narrative and interactions in this game, without detracting from the core gameplay:
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Open exploration of a huge, diverse world, full of quests and monsters and loot
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Flexibility in leveling up desired classes and gaining new abilities along the way
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The freedom to optimize character builds and complete dungeons in any order
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Tons of weapons, armor, accessories, and items that allow for a variety of playstyles
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A turn-based battle system involving elemental strengths and weaknesses, an assortment of buffs, debuffs, and status ailments, and monsters that scale with your progress, to keep battles fresh, interesting, and challenging
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Just enough random encounters to annoy players who prefer visible encounters, and just enough visible encounters to annoy players who prefer random encounters
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At least a few interesting NPCs who aren’t merely mindless drones created for the sole purpose of furthering the plot of your special story
Please enjoy Mango Mischief, the passion project of a solo indie game developer!
Troubled Passage
Troubled Passage is a Roguelike ARPG with a very peculiar combat system based on mouse swipes. This system allows for some interesting combat encounters that feel more engaging and rewarding. The mouse is an extension of your sword.
You are set to travel across five regions and reach an old port. There you will take a ship that will take you far away. That’s all you know for now. But beware, these lands are filled with undead creatures, traps and other nasty travelers. You should always be careful, even if you decide to share the road with a companion.
Character Creation
Choose your character appearance and select a trade. Trades are like character classes that defines with which types of weapons and types of damage your character is proficient with, gaining a buff when using that type of weapon.
Combat
Attacks are performed by swiping your mouse in a certain direction (up, down left or right). These swipes will trigger the combat skill that you have assigned to that direction.
There are multiple skills to learn throughout the game for each type of combat:
Unarmed
Onehanded
Twohanded (skills are missing at this point of development)
Bow (skills are missing at this point of development)
Loot
Troubled Passage loot system is built on the idea that “if they have it, you can have it”. No longer will you get disappointed if a heavy-armored-cool-looking enemy only dropped a knife and an apple. You want that armor! Well, good news! In Troubled Passage, enemies will drop exactly what they are wearing (stats included). You can strip your enemies of everything and claim it for yourself. This means strong enemies equals strong loot.
Companions
From time to time, you will encounter recruitable companions that can help you in your quest. They may be expensive, but they are a great help in dealing with enemies. All companions are randomly generated, and so are their motives.
Rivalries
Companions react to your attitude towards them. If they get mad at you, they can become your rivals and appear later on to seek revenge as a mini-boss battle.
Traders
Visit traders to buy and sell items. Blacksmiths will even allow you to forge your own weapon from a list of components and manage the weapon stats.
Random Levels
To ensure that each playthrough feels different, levels are randomly generated. So there are new areas to explore each time you play, and loot is distributed at random. There are still some “static” levels in terms of layout due to workload, but later they will all be fully random.
Battle Force 2249
BATTLE FORCE 2249 is a PvE shooter where you can make choices, pick your choice of weaponry and approach to the missions that will present you.
STORY
The galaxy has suffered from endless, senseless and ruthless wars for as long as anyone alive today can remember. The truth is that mankind has fallen prey to a terrible conspiracy, one meant to keep us divided, fighting, and dying while a select caste of politicians, billionaires and warlords reap the profits of a subjugated galaxy. Each of the characters has to find this harsh truth out in their own way, and fight to end this noxious oligarchy.
CHARACTERS
Choose from four characters - pirate, diplomat, disgraced and trader.
FEATURES
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PvE: It’s you versus the world. Even with the hostile environments, there might be someone around the corner to help.
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QUESTING: ones specifically for your protagonist, ones for the story. Side quests. Rewards for completing the quests with varying stats and abilities. Some improve your current weapon, some give you a new weapon.
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INVENTORY: Customise your ship. Choose a range of weapons for a particular enemy using profiles. Collect sets of equipment for ultimate weaponry!
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BOSSES
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LOOT
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RAIDING AREAS: Areas to explore and grind for that legendary reward.
Quinterra
It is merely an okay game. The tactics portion of it isn’t very in depth, often times feeling very Rock-Paper-Scissors like, and the forces fit into at most two of those. The graphics are fine. The UI is usable though not helpful in any way and the text for the mission requirements is super tiny. Yet the missions end up feeling very much the same one after another, which would be fine if not for the Rock-Paper-Scissors element mentioned before. You can find yourself deep into a game and then because you are playing a force that has to group up (Lycans) vs. an enemy who poisons everything there is honestly nothing to do but quit the battle and find a port to get your morale back up.
– Real player with 20.1 hrs in game
Summary & Positives
Quinterra has a really strong underlying mechanic set, loosely reminiscent of a faster-paced Faeria. Whilst highly comparable to a card based roguelite (like Slay the Spire or Monster Train), it’s not really fair to lump it into that genre.
The combat map is composed of tiles, each of which produce different ‘colours’. Each turn, you pick a tile up which lets you produce a new type of unit (a bit like setting up a building to produce a unit for you in a strategy game) for that battle, with some limits. Over time, you can sequence your tile collection in a way that lets you pick up more ‘colours’ to use, both to get a wider variety of units to play with but also to give yourself a variety of options to augment and enhance those units more with added effects.
– Real player with 18.8 hrs in game
Dark Edges
Get ready to roll in this dice-packed rogue-lite single-player strategy game! Collect a unique set of dice and discover powerful artifacts to protect your village from ghastly monsters!
Another Way to Die:
You’ll come across hundreds of faces that can be inserted into your dice. Select the faces that go well together to gain an edge against your foes!
Against the Odds:
Every wave will feature different kinds of enemies, dice faces, companions, and even bosses! You’ll also come across a slab of artifacts, traps, and spells - everything you’ll need to weaken your enemies before the battle arises.
Take Me Down to a Pair Of Dice City:
All sorts of travelers will visit the village throughout the game and settle in, later helping in your tireless defense.
In Dark Edges you’ll find:
Various characters with unique abilities and die faces to choose from;
200+ dice faces
100+ artifacts
50+ unique enemies
50+ secret events
20+ companions
30+ magic spells
40+ kinds of traps
The game will also feature an endless wave mode, in which monsters will attack your village without taking a breather.
Dungeoneers
Very very fun. Counting the web version, I’ve put hundreds if not thousands of hours in to this game. Strategy is very important. Like backgammon, it’s still skill even with RNG. My review is mostly using the version from about a week ago. I’ll update it when I’ve spent some more time with the new version.
Pros:
Strategy is easy to learn but hard to master
Art is pretty cool
Very few bugs
It manages good variety without excessive complexity
I can’t say exactly what it is, but I really like the gameplay
– Real player with 175.5 hrs in game
A great casual hex based strategic beat em up rpg, like a classic D and D one shot campaign. Weigh the options of attacking vs. sneaking and grabbing swords, bows and shields vs. counting your potions and scrolls for the dragons. No story lines to remember, just dragons to beat up, and mummies, and trolls, and those pesky firebugs.
Run in the daily hunt against all other players, how many skeleton elbows can you collect in one run? 100? Inconceivable!
A lot of strategy in each room, should I sneak by the orcs and just grab the loot, hoping to not be spotted? Can I take out the casters and snipers before I get clobbered? Can I handle the rain of fireballs? (p.s. if you get stuck in a rain of fireballs, you are doing it wrong).
– Real player with 116.1 hrs in game