Soulestination
surprisingly fun
hard mode is very difficult. It forces you to get good to advance. but it’s still very doable. A puzzle with a thousand possible moves. a good challenge.
It’s very much more of a puzzle game than an RPG, but it’s still like an RPG in that any advantage you earn you keep
Also the undo button is great. You can go back about 30 fights. Great for testing a course of action
First I played on hard mode. It was pretty great for a while, but midway through the second zone it started to get really slow, because I was struggling to find ways to proceed without dying. I thought “well, it was fun while it lasted. I definitely got my money’s worth out of it already.” and was about to just be done with it. But then I thought I’d try normal mode instead. Started over on normal, and it definitely went a lot faster. But it turned out to be too easy after having played hard. I had literally 10x as much health saved up by the time I got to where I stopped on hard mode. No risk at all. But! the second run gave me some ideas. So I started over again on hard, and this time did better. made better use of my resources, and was able to save up a little more. and it paid off. Was enough to let me keep going.
– Real player with 237.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Strategy RPG Singleplayer Games.
This game is brilliant! Alot of fun if you like strategic/puzzley RPG games.
This was my first ever “Magic tower” game and i enjoyed it thorougly, its amazingly well designed, great music too!
The price is super cheap for what you get if you ask me, i think this game would easily be worth 5$.
The dev was also kind enough to help me with my savefile personally when i made a mistake that couldnt be undone.
I rate it 8.5/10
– Real player with 124.9 hrs in game
Pathway
Build 1.1.6 review
This is an Indiana Jones (Temple of Doom/ Raiders of the Lost Ark) inspired role play tactics game that is suitable for players relatively new to tactical games. This is because each skirmish is generally resolved within 5 minutes. The adventure itself can last an hour or so depending on your choices and the number of sectors (maps) assigned to that adventure. Each adventure sector will always start and end at defined locations, but the possible routes are always procedurally generated. You can save after any encounter has been resolved.
– Real player with 104.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Strategy RPG Pixel Graphics Games.
🎤Introduction
Pathway is a turn-based rogue-like that takes its core mechanics inspired by the Xcom series and its art style and story inspired by Indiana Jones. Neither of these hinders the game because it’s not original, in fact these two combined work well together. Though the rogue-like elements don’t suit the strategic and cautious gameplay style very well and overall it makes the game more repetitive and frustrating than it needs to be.
✔️Pros
• 16 unique characters all with their unique abilities, skills, perks, and personalities
– Real player with 48.5 hrs in game
Collapse: A Political Simulator
The game is getting ridiculously hard with the new updates and the game balance is very poor (there are no proper tutorials on a game with such complex mechanism). Old bugs are unresolved and there are now lots of new bugs (such as the automatic override of your old save when you start a new one unless you exit the game and restart it from Steam, which would wipe out the save that you spent 10+ hours to play). Also, the game made no mentions about the conditions of the new crisis event ‘Mining Strike’ and my approval rating suddenly slides into the bottom after that event. Not to mention that the game was already very hard before these new updates, it is just unplayable after all these new updates that made the game mechanism even harder and more complicated. Bugs like ‘Russian requirement’ event freezing and Prime Ministerial maximum operability is only 75 made this game even worse. This game wasn’t ready to be released and need a total overhaul and rework
– Real player with 164.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Strategy RPG Choose Your Own Adventure Games.
The game is brutally hard I have spent over 90 hours trying to understand the game mechanics. even in sandbox mode the game is hard and since the last few updates the game in my opinion isn’t worth it at this moment. maybe in the next update i will reconsider. Also the game needs to have better english translation it is very hard to understand what you are doing in the game.
– Real player with 90.9 hrs in game
Espiocracy
Disclaimer: Trailer & screenshots are early work in progress
GRAND ESPIONAGE STRATEGY
Choose one of 102 countries and guide character-driven national intelligence agency through rough seas of the Cold War. From Soviet KGB and American CIA, up to Israeli Mossad and British MI6, expect different approaches to grand strategy gameplay.
INNOVATIVE MECHANICS
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Espionage finally made as it should be
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Precise modelling of views & ideologies
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Direct links between causes and effects
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System of geopolitically active actors
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Emergent multipolar simulation
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Operation plans, campaigns, and opportunities
MEANINGFUL DECISIONS
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Prioritize grand scale and leave micro to your operatives
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Establish contacts, threaten, exploit, and trade
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Manipulate public opinion, support and establish political factions
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Launch coups and proxy wars, falsify casus belli
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Hunt spies and terrorists, protect internal stability
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Form alliances, prepare all-out attacks, break rules
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Advise country leader on critical decisions such as military interventions
DANGEROUS TIDES OF HISTORY
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Nuclear race: first atom bombs, thermonuclear revolution, mutually assured destruction
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Huge progress in technology, simulated in the game with Kuhn’s paradigm shifts
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After-war poverty, civil wars, controversial past
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Configurable balance between alternate history and determinism
Heist Simulator
Lights, Camera, HEIST! Grab your perfect team then hack, unlock, solve and disguise your way to stealing England’s finest tat and treasures. Once you’re a master thief, take our tools into your own hands and create your perfect heist!
Use Heist Simulator’s level editor and build the burglary, story or even home plan of your dreams! Draw up your ideal location, then fill it to the brim with thousands of props, decorations and interactables, then share your masterpiece with the world by uploading it to HeistCloud!
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Steal treasures, valuables and questionable knick-knacks from all over England
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Build your dream heist from a library of over 8,500 assets
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Make your own puzzles and fiendish traps to outwit your friends
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Breathe life into your world with NPCs and other interactive elements
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Play through a whole host of community built campaigns and levels
Browse the Heist Cloud for campaigns and levels uploaded by other players. Rate them, recommend them to friends or take inspiration for your own designs and make your heists the best in the world!
Plan your way around lasers, guards and hundreds of other obstacles, while using every tool at your disposal to steal away the valuables. Once your plan is in place, set your team going and watch your heist take place in real-time, showing you every exciting moment and close call!
NovaMundi: The Spear of Chaquén
I love the game. It is very refreshing to find a game in a new world and based on a new-old mythology and set up. This is not a medieval fantasy or your generic story. This is about real events, with some changes in order to improve gameplay and storytelling but in such a way that is interesting. Of course, because it is in early access it has a lot to improve and tweak but I recommend to give it a chance and help the developer to develop…
Now, gameplay wise you have a party and you need to explore the (huge) map to finish missions. There are towns with markets where buy supplies and hire party members. At least for now and for me, the game can be hard. But there is a lot to learn that scratch that final part.
– Real player with 8.6 hrs in game
I’ll update my review as needed, but so far…
The game has huge potential. There are a few bugs, but it just released in early access, so give it a minute. Other than the bugs, I really like some of the game concepts.
The map is pretty big. I’m in day 35 or so and have only explored maybe 1/3 of it. Combat can be optimized, but it’s still pretty rewarding to watch 40 dudes just melt to your warband.
Excited to see what the coming months bring.
– Real player with 4.5 hrs in game
Arbitology: Dei Gratia Rex
A Conquest Unfinished
Duke William of Normandy tasted victory at the Battle of Hastings, but not without paying a price in blood. While he afterwards took London and held a hasty coronation, he succumbed to his wounds shortly thereafter. His young son, William Rufus, succeeded him — an easily controlled puppet for the other Norman lords.
Meanwhile in the north Earls Morcar and Edwin, with the cooperation of Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, propped up their own puppet king in Edgar the Ætheling. These pretenders of the House of Godwin never relinquished their claim on the English throne, though the opportunity to press it has thus far eluded them.
A tense peace descended upon the land. Now, fifty years later, the status quo is nearing its end. Can you, the grandson of William the Bastard, finish that which he began?
Game Features
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Play the role of a young Norman king of a fractured England
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Text-based strategy gameplay
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Balance the interests of competing factions
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Live the best life you can; you will be judged by your legacy
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Meaningful choices with real consequences, not merely a choice of three colors
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Deep, simulation-driven event system
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Judicious use of procedural generation ensures replayability
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Hard historical fiction which rejects fantasy and popular tropes
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Artwork in the style of an illuminated manuscript
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Early music soundtrack based on real medieval compositions
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Words: many fine, hand-picked words
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Conquest and map painting, if such is your fancy
Strategic Mind: Fight for Freedom
I am very happy with the new “Fight for Freedom”. I am a big fan of “The Pacific”. The game plays well like the other Starni titles. The developers have always been attentive to the players concerns.
This title IMO seems to be a little more inline with historical information, more or less. That is my only negative for “The Pacific”
If I have any negative feedback so far is with the music. Tracks like the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” are USA civil war music. If developers are going to use music it should be era tracks. There are numerous WWII era music tracks that are much more fitting for the Allies and the Axis. For me the wrong music departs from immersion. So I do not let it play.
– Real player with 117.2 hrs in game
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the graphics and especially the hexes are extremely shiny and weird looking, like everything is constantly soaking wet and neon lit
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the videos are interminable and filled with atrocious voice acting. it’s a blessing that you can skip them
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history is at best a very rough guide to the theme only and mission design takes no account of it ex: Germans and UK with hordes of tanks in Norway (along with ZERO French presence), giant Norwegian navy fighting the Germans off of Norway, absolutely massive British airforce showing up once the airfield is captured… it’s a clown show that makes Panzer Corps look like a serious historical take by contrast
– Real player with 53.0 hrs in game
Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism
This is an outstanding game, and the first of the Strategic Mind games I have played
I’ve played almost all the panzer corps and the other many WWII wargames that use similar, and often improved, mechanics. This game is very similar in its basic concept but much improved. It is much more immersive in the well voice-acted cut-scenes before and after scenarios, and some dialogue during a scenario. Your units are also quite chatty (reminiscent of Stronghold) and I’m particularly fond of the female bomber pilots.
– Real player with 357.5 hrs in game
IN A WORD: WORTHWHILE
IN A NUTSHELL:
WHAT TO EXPECT: WWII strategy wargame. Tactical turn-based battles. Narrative linked campaign of 20x historical battles. Cutscene briefings with voice-overs. Command a core force. RPG style army and unit customisation. A number of genuine stand-out combat mechanics. Detailed prestige reward model. HQ unit and command points Requires much more strategic planning than other games in the genre. Scenarios can feel heavily scripted and overbalanced. Some GUI ailments. Single-player only.
– Real player with 70.3 hrs in game
Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty
A story from the legends, but in real history
Winter War: over 500,000 Soviet soldiers attack Finland, a country with a population of 3,700,000, and the Finns drive them back, inflicting 5 times their own casualties. Continuation War: the Reds return with a total strength of 1,500,000 - almost half of the entire Finnish population - and the Finns stop them again. Finland’s survival in these two brutal wars against an enemy so vast was a true historical miracle. A miracle of heroism and valor. A miracle of the Finnish spirit of liberty.
Experience heroic struggle and make tough choices
You are the commander of the scarce Finnish troops. Your only goal - to save your homeland and your people from total annihilation. Would you risk losing your experienced troops to try and capture the enemy tanks? Would you try to save the stragglers during the retreat and risk losing everyone, or cut your losses and establish a new line of defense? Would you agree to negotiate with the Soviets that had treacherously attacked you twice before?
Play two campaigns: historical and “what if”
Historical campaign
Play through a number of missions throughout the 1939-1945 timeline, spanning three wars: Winter War, Continuation War, and Lapland War. The historical campaign will have smaller-scale but action-packed operations, covering all of the iconic historical battles.
Alternate history campaign
Play a shorter campaign with larger operations, centered around the “what if” events. Help the Germans take Leningrad, cut off the allied aid shipments to USSR by taking the port of Murmansk - that is only the beginning.
Immerse yourself into the (hi)story-driven gameplay
Primary and secondary objectives
Complete numerous objectives grounded in history and narrated by a number of historical characters.
Cinematics before and after each operation
Watch history unfold through the eyes of the key historical figures of the time - over 60 minutes of in-game cinematics with characters such as Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Risto Heikki Ryti, and others.
Create and grow the army of your own design
Variety is the spice of war
The Finns had only 12 Vickers British tanks in 1939 against up to 6000 Soviet tanks. Even the odds by getting units from various other countries, and shape your rag-tag forces into a well-oiled war machine.
Trophies for everyone!
Where Finnish production is struggling to catch up, make up for it by taking advanced equipment from the enemy. Turn the Soviet guns against their creators.
Faithfully recreated historical units
Command the Finnish ski troops and captured Soviet vehicles, including BT-7, T-34, and KV tanks. Purchase German Pz-IV tanks, StuG assault guns, and Ju-88 bombers. Make use of pre-war British Bristol Blenheim bombers, covered by Dutch Fokker and US Buffalo fighter planes.
Upgrade your units to newer models
Make sure your forces are always up to date and up to the task. New models become available at historically accurate points in time.
Train your troops and choose equipment
Gain combat experience
Choose various skills for your men as they gain combat experience.
Combine units from different classes
Compose your own force from ten classes available: Infantry, Artillery, Tanks, Reconnaissance units, Assault guns, Armored trains, Anti-tank guns, Anti-aircraft guns, Fighters, and Tactical bombers. Utilize their unique skills and equipment to maximum effect.
Acquire diverse equipment
Equip units with various special equipment, such as Machine guns, Mortars, Smoke grenades, Anti-tank rifles and Molotov cocktails, Winter equipment, and many more.
Use transport vehicles
In the harsh Finnish winter, speed may be the difference between life and death. Provide your units with vehicles to improve their mobility, or have your Infantry use skis to outmaneuver the enemy in winter operations.
Assign historical heroes to your units
Unique heroes system
Every unit in your army could meet certain high requirements to generate a historical personality - a hero with a unique set of powerful skills.
The deadliest sniper in WW2 history - Simo Häyhä - will join your troops
With 542 confirmed kills, and an unconfirmed total number of 705, not only was Simo Häyhä the deadliest sniper of World War II, but perhaps the deadliest sniper of all time. His nickname “the White Death” was well-earned.
Manage your Headquarters between the operations
Learn Headquarters skills
Choose in which direction your HQ staff will improve as the campaign progresses. Your decisions will result in new passive and active abilities for various units: your artillery could fire twice per turn, or you could call in the air reconnaissance to get better intel on the enemy positions.
Get promotions and awards
Every operation is an opportunity to get new ranks and awards, increasing your Command points, which are used to activate your Headquarters skills and deploy more units.
Confer with your staff
Consult other high-ranking officers for their opinion on the upcoming battle, and get useful advice.
Use elaborate combat mechanics to overcome any foe
Manage Lethal vs Nonlethal damage
There are two types of damage: lethal and nonlethal. Dealing nonlethal damage to your enemies will make them surrender. Different units are prone to deal either lethal or nonlethal.
Use terrain differences to your advantage
Tanks are vulnerable in difficult terrain and cities, while Infantry can occupy buildings or hide in the forests to gain large defensive bonuses. All units suffer large penalties in swamps or while crossing a river, etc. Be aware of your surroundings, and use them to your advantage.
Take the “line of sight” and the “zone of control” into consideration
Some terrain and building obstruct firing unless you are using artillery or mortars. Approaching an enemy unit up close will finish your movement, unless you are using a Recon unit.
Activate various skills and equipment
Use incendiary or subcaliber shells to maximize your damage to the enemy. Order forced march in the most desperate situations. Employ aerobatics to increase your air force efficiency. Use your HQ skills to affect the entire battlefield.
Use a complex spotting system that represents the importance of reconnaissance
Call upon the air and ground reconnaissance to gather intel about the enemy before ordering your troops forward. No one likes to be ambushed.
Adapt to various battlefield conditions
There is a day-night cycle in the game as well as weather types such as frost or rain. All of these conditions impose penalties that must be countered with special equipment and skills. The finest of your troops may even use such conditions to their advantage. Use the cover of the night to sneak up on the enemy, or strike when the foe is freezing and immobilized.
Utilize the most advanced supply and infrastructure system in the genre
Ammunition and fuel
All units have limited ammo and fuel. Without ammo, your units cannot fight, and without fuel, your vehicles cannot move - and any aircraft will simply crash.
Supply hubs
Generate supplies and transfer them to your troops throughout an entire system, like a heart pumping blood through veins.
Supply points
Connect different infrastructure facilities and redistribute supplies. Supply points also allow your troops to change special equipment and renew its charges.
Airfield
Allows aircraft units to land for refuelling, repairs, and refit of equipment. Damage to the airfield would also damage all landed aircraft.
Seaport
Allows resupply and change of equipment for naval units. It also generates supplies, if there is a maritime hub nearby and the Seaport is not under enemy blockade.
Damage the infrastructure
All infrastructure facilities can be disabled if their HP drops to 50% or lower. It will then gradually regain its HP and its functionality. Strike at the enemy facilities to prevent them from resupplying.
Cut off the enemy supply lines
All infrastructure facilities are considered connected if a simple truck vehicle could move between them in one go. If you put your unit between the enemy facilities, it would create a zone of control, and prevent the enemy from transferring supplies. Leave the enemy units without much needed ammunition and fuel, then hunt them down.
Make sure your own units are supplied
There is a limit to how far your supply vehicles can deliver supplies - make sure you take that into account when planning your next offensive.
Welcome the successor
Strategic Mind: Spirit of Liberty is the fifth installment in the Strategic Mind line of games, featuring Finland in its 3 wars during WW2. It has two campaigns: historical and alternate history one.
Previous titles in the series:
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Strategic Mind: The Pacific - the first game, featuring both the United States and the Empire of Japan waging war in the Pacific.
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Strategic Mind: Blitzkrieg - the second game, featuring Germany in WW2.
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Strategic Mind: Spectre of Communism - the third game, featuring the USSR in WW2.
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Strategic Mind: Fight for Freedom is the fourth game, featuring both the United Kingdom and the United States in WW2 European and Africa theaters.