Heart of Enya
OH MY GAWWWD!!! This game is PHENOMENAL!!! Wow, I don’t even know where to start. First of all, the representation is just amazing–the party members are predominantly queer and trans people of color, which was so special to me. I loved that the characters came in not knowing one another well and progressed to become such a beautiful family. I genuinely teared up during a lot of their backstories and found them all so relatable and beautifully written. The party was small, which left a lot of space to really flesh everyone out in a wonderful way. So story and characters get a 193/10.
– Real player with 6.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Lore-Rich Story Rich Games.
I really enjoyed this game, I loved the art, especially Raina design. The characters were all likable and it was interesting to discover their story and what caused them to participate in this dangerous adventure.
Gameplay really hooked me, I kept on playing until the final boss, although it took me some time to figure out good strategy, but once I did, the game was much easier.
I had so much fun, I wouldn’t mind if it was longer. I’m definitely going to replay this, as I really want to defeat all of the Frost and I think it’s actually a great challenge.
– Real player with 6.0 hrs in game
Grey Heritage: Faded Vision
Join Leon Beaumont’s journey through the land of Astrea. Despite being of nobility, Leon believes in giving the common people power to make political decisions. Facing against the Estore Empire is a daunting task. He is clearly outnumbered and lacking in resources. Help Leon achieve his vision in freeing his people from oppression.
OBJECTIVES
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Rout (Kill All Enemies)
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Defend (Survive X amount of turns)
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Escape (Reach a destination with all of your soldiers.)
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And much more!
FEATURES
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If you find a Save Orb, you’re allowed to save mid-progress.
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Mount/Dismount based on being Indoor/Outdoor.
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Over 10 unique characters with a wide variety of classes, weapons, and skills
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Created as a passion project from a lover of the genre!
Read More: Best Lore-Rich Turn-Based Tactics Games.
Kingsblood
In a medieval world full of political intrigues and mysteries the player joins in on the dark fate of three siblings of extraordinary descent. After dramatic events, the player will start his journey to build up a force to fight the crown’s increasing oppression. In this strategic RPG you assemble many followers, build them a customizable home, send them on missions and individually improve their combat abilities. Skillfull composition of party members unlocks their true potential in the battles and dungeons ahead.
Explore a Medieval Fantasy World
Unlock a network of allied cities to enable trade, access new quests or just listen to the rumors in the local tavern.
Assemble your Fellowship
Encounter unique characters with unique special abilities and synergies. Strategically employ them in battles and pay attention to their morale.
Tactical Combat Preparation
Exploit the elemental weaknesses of enemies by skillful positioning your troops before the autosimulated combat starts.
Random Dungeons
Coming soon… we’re working on it.
Features
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Lots of unique characters
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Character progression
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Turn-based strategic management
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Autosimulated combat
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Group buffs for class, race and elemental synergies
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Pokémon-like elemental system
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Randomly generated dungeons, items
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Coherent dark fantasy world with its own lore
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Story-heavy campaign
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Adaptive difficulty and ranking system
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Research tree
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Base building
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Quests
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Motivation system
About the Developers
We’re a small indie team of three friends who decided to make their dream game become a reality.
Read More: Best Lore-Rich Turn-Based Tactics Games.
Zoria: Age of Shattering
STORY
Zoria. Home. Mother of all her inhabitants. She provides her children with food to grow, shelter to rest in and also, the harsh lessons of life, so her offspring may learn to fight and protect her gifts to them.
But men, men wanted more.
Zoria’s finest sons and daughters: intelligent, resourceful… violent. Men turned her ores into sword and daggers, and her roots into vile concoctions of poison.
Men wanted more. They craved more land and more food. So they built their homes of stone and wood, driving out the wildlife of its woods and caves. And in those caves they found their instrument of defiance: zerrium.
GAMEPLAY
Zoria’s Gameplay is a unique mix of action-adventure RPG and tactical management. Explore the beautiful lands of Zoria, from mountains to the ocean, towns and dungeons, follow the story or discover its secrets.
Your outpost is your base, by expanding it you get access to better facilities and the ability to influence more of the world around you while leveling your followers gives you the ability to explore deeper, further into the unknown.
ADVENTURES
All the adventures in the game are hand-crafted, with multiple paths and various options for exploration, depending on the setup of your party and their environment abilities. You can always revisit a dungeon with another party to see previously inaccessible places and finish all the side quests.
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Adventures need to be planned out carefully, and supplies stocked accordingly. Without supplies, the team cannot restore their vital resources, making any dungeon that much more dangerous. Bringing enough supplies for the journey or upgrading your cooking skills to make better use of all the land has to offer, that’s a choice for everyone to make.
TURN-BASED COMBAT
Zoria’s combat is a Tactical, Turn-based confrontation, designed around the special characteristics of each class, abilities, resistances, deadly ranged attacks or strong AOE defenses, healing and much more. But turn based doesn’t mean static, so choose your battlegrounds wisely, as any wandering creature or enemy that gets too close, might join in and ruin your best laid plans.
CHARACTERS
You can choose your party from eight different classes, each with a unique skill set both in combat and exploring the world. Magic, ranged attacks, shear power, blocks and stuns, bleed and poisons, magic resistances - all there to explore, use and upgrade.
FEATURES:
• Explore a rich, immersive and diverse world: beautifully crafted environments, featuring dense forests, haunting dungeons, golden deserts and many more.
• An epic story driving your experience, with rich and expansive lore. Discover the hidden tales and stories that live on through the people of Zoria and your own companions;
• Plan your moves or just enjoy the ride - a game experience suited both for players eager to just explore and adventure, as well as for those who want a challenging combat with a strong emphasis on strategic thinking and planning.
• Easy to learn crafting system with dozens of unique potions, epic weapons and other curious recipes that can be found throughout the world.
• Elaborate character management: class and character upgrade system, unique skills both in combat, and during exploration. A wide array of character builds for each class will allow you to approach an encounter in your own way.
• Complex base management: build new facilities, upgrade buildings, manage resources and expand your base;
Grim Tranquility
EARTH IS DEAD. THE STARS AWAIT.
After centuries of environmental exploitation, the Earth is all but destroyed… its resources depleted… its climate uninhabitable. Humankind has used the last available resources to search for a home in a new world that may be harsher than even Earth was.
Grim Tranquility is a sci-fi-themed roguelite, tactics-based RPG where you explore alien worlds and battle vicious enemies in your quest to establish the first human settlement in space. Will humanity finally learn from their past mistakes or are they doomed to repeat the avoidable tragedies of their ancestors?
Key Features
Master The Alien Battlefield: Leap into battle utilizing proven tactical RPG mechanics to strategize movement, capture map objectives, and unleash special attacks on hostile alien enemies.
Fight The Power: Rebel against a corrupt empire and take out selfish leaders in high-stakes boss fights - or replace them.
Build Your Own Team: Every run choose a team from 3 original classes.
Gain Political Benefits: Secure valuable buff effects for your party by bribing alien officials - or just take them by force in the roguelite cycle.
Experience A Different Battle Every Time: Procedurally generated levels deliver a different tactical challenge in every playthrough.
Take on Side Quests: Even heroes need side gigs! Take on Moonlight Missions to earn money, weapons, and to learn more about the people who need your help.
Enjoy Heroic Voices: Feel the diverse characters come to life through renowned vocal talents including Steve Blum (Shazam!, Mortal Kombat series), Ray Chase (Final Fantasy XIV, Evangelion, Nier: Automata), Misty Lee (Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Just Cause 4), Darin De Paul (Mortal Kombat Legend: Scorpion’s Revenge, The Outer Worlds), and Alexandra Gray (Empire, Transparent).
REM Cycles
Fun game with awesome sound track
– Real player with 9.5 hrs in game
This game has so much character! The action feels quick and intuitive and the music is soo cool. I’m excited to try all the characters I haven’t gotten to yet, so far exploding cats is a personal favorite
– Real player with 5.9 hrs in game
Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game
This is an Early Access review. The game contains bugs and is only feature complete for Chapter 1. I will not mention bugs in the review, because there aren’t any game-breaking ones and the ones that do exist are minor. Also, please download the combat demo before purchasing.
Background
The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic post-Earth world revolving around a multi-century trip on a colony ship. You are just one person, who lives in an area of the ship, called the Pit. You are not a hero, nor are you anyone special – yet.
– Real player with 90.4 hrs in game
UPDATE:
I now have a good handle on the combat system. Here is what I was doing wrong:
- Character spec:
Decide how you intend to play and spec accordingly. For example: my tank maxed Con and Str this prevents his from being knocked down as I took the Juggernaut feat. It is critical that you also take the Armor Feat with this kind of build. My primary weapon is a shotgun, and he feels really strong. Go all in on your chosen spec, I cannot understate this!
- Easy Target
Pay close attention to what you are wearing. If you make yourself an iron brick you will get prioritized by the enemy AI and get more holes in you than a cheese grater.
– Real player with 60.7 hrs in game
Knights of Frontier Valley
Get ready for unlimited adventures in Frontier Valley, a mysterious and unforgiving place. Take on the role of an adventurer and guide him through his years from age 20 to 40 in a unique and dynamic world. Gain fame and fortune, while never losing sight of the most important goal: staying alive!
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Survive the dangers of both the wilderness and faction politics in a procedurally generated world full of secrets and lore.
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Choose your character from a number of different classes, customize his skills and appearance to your liking, and pursue a profession that fits your style of playing.
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Join a faction and gain titles and glory, or go at it alone in your search for long-lost wisdom and powerful artifacts.
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Fight in gridless, turn-based tactical combat, or choose to have the AI battle for you quickly.
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Adapt to a highly dynamic world with day/night-cycles, seasons, and ever changing places and characters.
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Craft items from a large number of materials, and interact with the environment in creative ways to gain the edge over your enemies.
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See your actions become part of the valley’s story, impacting friends and foes alike.
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A true Indie game: designed, funded and programmed from scratch by one person who has never done this before.
Knights of Frontier Valley is the RPG that can be played over and over again. No two games are the same in this challenging fantasy adventure with survival and strategy elements. Making it to the end with one character will just make you want to start over right away with a different one.
Monster Tribe
Monster Tribe fuses strategy combat with rpg systems, item collection and dungeons filled with puzzles to pull the player into its world. But ultimately, this is a game all about exploration. The island of Akama is vast and wild, reclaimed by nature over many years. There are mountains, beaches, forests and mines, along with some scenery much less familiar. Remnants of vast ruins can be seen all throughout the land. In order to explore these strange - and sometimes dangerous - lands, you will need the help of the Ateyan. By binding your spirit to these creatures, you will be able to uncover the many secrets Akama has to offer. You will use the Ateyan to battle your way through the wilderness, and along the way there will be many unique resources to collect. Your tools will help you scavenge for rare ores and logs, and forage for food in the trees and beneath the waves. Resources will be a huge aid to both you and the Ateyan that choose to follow you, allowing you to unlock special fusion forms and power up your party. Once you feel ready, the player can take their team of Ateyan to one of the many Towers present throughout the island, to try to tackle the strange and mysterious dungeons and puzzles that await them there. Beyond these epic challenges lie answers to the mysteries of the past, and possibly a way forward for the people of the present.
In a vast ocean landscape, a lone island sits. This island is called Akama by its people, and it is a very special place. It is the home of not only its native people, but also strange creatures called Ateyan. The Ateyan appeared on this island through a magical Rift, and continuously draw energy from it. Using this magical spirit energy, the Ateyan have manifested wonderful powers of all kinds.
The player will embark into the land of Akama and relearn the secrets of the past. Along the way, you will use the unique powers of the Ateyan to restore a balance that had been tipped a long time ago, and reveal truths about the island, the creatures, and the people who inhabited it long ago. There is much more to the history of this land than the stories that have been passed down. Will you journey to the heart of this world to see them for yourself?
Battling is a key aspect to Monster Tribe, and so we put the utmost care into making sure we got it right. Battles are fought with teams of Ateyan on a small grid battlefield, with each team occupying their own side of the field. There are many complex elements to the way these battles play out, but we have done everything we can to make sure that they are not only deep, but accessible and fun to play through. Below we will detail many of the nuances of the battle system for those hoping to dig their teeth into the meat of the game.
Akama contains many biomes filled with spaces for all kinds of different creatures to fill unique niches in its ecosystem. But, it seems that besides fish and a few birds, no animals live on the island. Instead, small balls of light roam around the wilderness, barely even visible to some - and not at all to others. They are called Ateyan, and according to history they are much more than they appear to be. In the ancient past the Ateyan appeared, through what is only referred to as The Rift, and they exploded in population and diversity all through the island. For many generations they lived alongside the people of the island, and there are descriptions of all kinds of magical, powerful creatures capable of incredible feats. But it seems somewhere along the line the Ateyan and the humans drifted. The Ateyan remained on the island, but only their spiritual essence could be seen; those same strange balls of light. The rest of their existence fell into a space between this world and the world of the Rift, and there the Ateyan could continue their lives without the disturbance of humanity. It is in this form that they stayed. Now, even their very existence as anything more alive than the rocks and rivers - has come into question. As the player will discover upon beginning their journey, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
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Monsters to find and train
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Puzzle filled Dungeons
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RPG levelling and resource management
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Quests
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Hand-crafted world
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2 player local vs. mode
Scarlet Republics
Scarlet Republics is what would happen if Fire Emblem had a love-child with Divinity and a Joe Abercrombie book. It’s a turn-based tactical RPG set in a fantasy world inspired by the Italian Renaissance and Leonardo da Vinci’s imagination
The game is set in the vibrant and treacherous City-states of Corsano, a fantasy world inspired by the Italian renaissance and Leonardo Da Vinci’s imagination. The game tells a mature fantasy story of vengeance and conquest, with plenty of choice, consequence and wit.
KEY FEATURES
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Turn-Based Tactics - In Scarlet Republics you guide a squad of mercenaries in turn-based combat. The game features 7 unique classes divided over 20 playable characters. It is up to you to pick and mold your squad to suit your playstyle and strategies.
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Get Creative with Squad-Building - We have built the RPG system to match customization with organic, pseudo-random growths with a focus on squad building and gut-wrenching choices for how to grow your characters. Experimenting with different builds and synergies is a key aspect of creating your perfect mercenary company.
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Choice and Consequence - How you progress depends entirely upon your decisions. Large parts of the game, including entire battle-maps and quests, are choice specific and it is impossible to see it all in one playthrough.
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A Living, Breathing World - Inspired by the Mediterranean, the Renaissance and the vineyards and olive groves of Italy and Greece, Corsano is a land of vibrant colors, heady spices, merchant lords, pirates, politics, intrigue and, of course, war.
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Da Vinci and Tango - The game’s art style is inspired by renaissance art and the sketches of the master Leonardo Da Vinci. The soundtrack mixes classical fantasy with inspirations from tango and flamenco for a dramatic sunset vibe.