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.
Gatedelvers
A co-op roguelike dungeon crawler that lets you play your way.
NOTE: The Demo version does not feature co-op.
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High playstyle variety - whether you prefer stealth, swords, magic or crafting, there’s something for you.
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Upgrade items by fusing other items into them to add bonus effects. A homing pistol? A telescope sword? Maybe don’t make the telescope sword.
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Grab everything. Grab items. Grab enemies. Grab friends.
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Throw everything. Like the friend you just picked up! I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.
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There’s traps. You can fall in them, if you want.
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A weird sprinting mechanic that makes you run into walls by accident.
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A cursed sword that makes boulders fall on you sometimes.
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Other things, probably. We didn’t finish making the game yet.
Read More: Best Class-Based Combat Games.
Magi
This is an old and fun game that used to be sold by the standalone developer. It’s a shame strategies are not still posted, for it can really be challenging to win. Music soundtrack is pretty iconic… I don’t think the developer supports it anymore but if you’re into magic duels then you’ve probably spent worse money than this.
– Real player with 8.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Class-Based Strategy Games.
It’s “TUG-OF-WAR” with fireballs and techno-liches.
Other games come to mind, like
“Aeon Command” (space battles)
“Samurai vs Zombies Defense” (goofy samurai warfare)
and
“Puzzle Chronicles” (the illegitimate child of Tetris and Mortal Kombat)
These game elements are constant:
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try to hold the line
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manage your defences
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beef-up your attacks
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spam your enemies to death
In Magi, you start by opening magical “channels.” These channels enable your spells and strengthen them. Then, it’s a real-time battle as you queue-up spells for casting. It’s like the building queue in Starcraft or Civ… only it’s your shield spell, or a magic missile, or summoning an imp. As your mage is casting one spell, you have time to set up the next. And the next. You can plan a bit… or panic. Apparently, I’m still fond of panicking.
– Real player with 7.4 hrs in game
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.
WinterBringers
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1569360
About
WinterBringers is an epic ‘Hack&Slash ‘em up’ following your own custom created hero as they appear in a mysterious temporal village with only one way in and out - the Azure Portal. Create your hero from a multitude of race and class combinations such as - Sun Elf Rogue, Fomorian Voidwalker or Goblin Cultist! Then, embark on an adventure of hacking, slashing and looting as you upgrade your hero with powerful weapons and armor on your quest to stop the Pale Knight!
Key Features
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Create!
Build a hero from a variety of race and class choices and unlock more options as your progress through the game.
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Upgrade!
Slay your enemies and complete quests to level up your character and unlock powerful weapons and armor to equip.
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Explore!
Choose your own path as you embark on the ultimate quest to stop the WinterBringers! Plot your course in the campaign and save the Broken World!
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Unlock!
Unlock a multitude of armors, weapons, races and classes use in your war against the Pale Knight.
Seals of the Bygone
Thought It could be at least as good as Caveblazers, but It isn’t.
Everything looks so small that the action animation of the hero make little sense to player.
Unlocked a couple of different roles, only to find they are too weak to survive the first wave of respawned enemies.
Why does the hero have to be pulled back to a boss when it breaks loose from seal? that’s ridiculous. The boss fight is a mess, they spawn all the time with those annoying projectiles flying across the ledges and walls, together with all the other spawns chasing you, there isn’t much you can do but run, which is frustrating and not rewarding or enjoyable.
– Real player with 41.0 hrs in game
Just finished my first run of the game, and everything about this makes me nostalgic for those first few months that Risk of Rain 1 released. I played that game sicne launch and never found another experience quite like it…until today! This game is a love letter to RoR but feels less hairpulling at times. RoR had the tendency to really really murder the player if they weren’t properly managing time or stage searching, but SotB has a more forgiving in-level system (the Seals and their Void key counterparts) that will reward experienced players while not punishing players who got into the game for reasons other than playing a challenging rouge-like. Extremely promising early access in my opinion, can’t wait to try out all the Sealers and see what the developer has in store for this game in the future!! I hope it receives some more attention, this game is dying to be played by the likes of Northernlion, BaerTaffy, ShinyRawrquaza etc. Seriously if you enjoyed either Risk of Rain this is a must buy!
– Real player with 22.0 hrs in game
Black Legend
This game is a rare gem, even though there are others like it. It’s true that it has gone through some rough stages, but if you like turn based tactics, this is a challenging title. Especially on higher difficulty, but unlike in the other similar games, the Ironman rules are not about the save scumming. You will die if you turn up that dial. That is certain.
You will only have one save and one goal, to survive. Luckily they don’t throw you in the deep end straight from the beginning, but you won’t be able to feel the bottom under your feet either. The encounters will start to come in fast, but if you’re into speedrunning, there is a sprint and you can find a way around the encounters. So anything is possible, but towards the end of the game, you will have to do some clashes.
– Real player with 89.7 hrs in game
I think when judging this game, it is best to keep expectations in check. This is from an indie developer and not a AAA one so there is a limited amount of time and money that can be put in a project. This naturally means some areas of the game will suffer and I am a bit more lenient regarding it.
My thoughts:
My first impressions of this game were actually very good. This is because I love the 17th Century period in general and was drawn to the turn based approach of this game. I have also wanted to play some of the classes present here in a game. The atmosphere of this game has been good along with how you can freely run around the city. The animations and designs, although not perfect and could do with some work, are still pretty impressive. I paid full price for the game and do not regret it as I do not find it disappointing or sloppy.
– Real player with 32.5 hrs in game
Dome Romantik
Dome Romantik is a roguelike mining game, where you go on a run to strip multiple planets of their minerals, while the native creatures furiously try to stop you. They come in waves, so you have to carefully consider your mining activities to return just in time to defend you dome. Greed can be deadly, information a viable tool for survival. Powerful upgrades will help you stay alive and be productive until you can move on to the next world.
Your Dome
Choose a unique dome that will shape your run. Each dome has different weapons, abilities and upgrade paths, each bringing their own challenges along.
Your Task
Extract minerals and use them to improve your dome and yourself. Install shields, new weapons, or facilities to generate powerful fuel for your jetpack or even ammunition. Improve your mining abilities with stronger drills or innovative ways to retrieve minerals.
The Worlds
You’ll meet many strange lifeforms as you progress through the worlds. They are as different as the worlds they live in, so you need to learn their tricks and focus to stay alive.
Slash or Die
I gotta say, I really like this game. You control one of three characters (warrior, berserker and mage, although you have to complete the first boss to unlock the berserker and the second and third to unlock the mage), each with different mechanics,
stats and upgrades. Using just the mouse you can maneuver your hero and perform an attack, which costs mana, to kill enemies that keep spawning. The enemy diversity is good, each one with different attack types and harder enemies appear as you progress through the story.
– Real player with 19.9 hrs in game
This is a very disappointing game, can’t say it’s THAT bad, you decide:
+The one and only plus - battle mechanics - 1st time I’ve seen it in indiegala minigame made by the same person I guess, and what can I say - there it was WAY better - to move around you click left MB, to dash and kill you click right MB - now about the problems of the game
-You can’t dash while moving - you have to release LMB if you want to click RMB - like, what’s the problem? When a lot of enemies around you even the slight stop can kill you.
– Real player with 17.6 hrs in game
Beat the Clock
Humanity has ended. An abyssal monster has awakened, determined to enslave to world.
But hope exists : if today that monstrous threat cannot be vanquished anymore, there were once a time when this creature was still vulnerable. Friedrich F, a genius chronomancer, plans to send the greatest heroes of all times in our past, at the moment when the invasion could still be stopped.
Fonctionnalités
• Form a team of 4 heroes amongst about 20 availables
• Explore a map composed of random events
• Face your foes in a unique turn-by-turn fight system
• Enhance your heroes’ capacities using capsules found on the way
Sent the greatest heroes back in time to save Humanity
At each new game, form a team of 4 legendary heroes amongst the 20 availables. Each hero has his own set of 3 skills and 2 passives to fullfil their role. Also, they all have an ultimate attack that can be unlocked during fights!
Run, no time to waste
As soon as arrived in the past, you’ll have to choose a path and explore a succession of random events : treasures, merchants, multiple choice dialogs,… and obviously difficult fights.
Unique turn by turn fights
In Beat the Clock, the turn order defines the position of the heroes. The rightest hero will be the first to play, and will automatically be replaced behind after his action. Enemies are doing the same rotation, adding an interesting anticipation aspect to the strategy of the game.
Beat the Clock is currently in Alpha and provides :
8/20 Heroes - With a set of 3 active skills, 2 passives skills and a gradual ultimate skill.
9/30 Capsules - Essential components to upgrade your heroes during a game.
1/4 Biomes - Environments with their own identity, monsters and events.
5/20 Monsters - You like tentacles? So do we!
1/8 Mini-bosses - Created to harm you.
0/4 Bosses - They will be there soon enough.
4/40 Dialog events - Each providing 4 choices according to your team composition.