Ash of Gods: Redemption

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


Read More: Best Tactical Moddable Games.


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

Ash of Gods: Redemption on Steam

Externus: Path of the Solari

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

  • Strategic Turn-Based Tactical Combat

  • Full 3D Battlefields

  • Character-Driven Story

  • Storybook Choose Your Own Adventure Sequences

  • Death Matters, Each Ally You Lose Will Change Your Story

  • Unique Full-Color Artstyle

  • 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 Tactical Combat Games.


Externus: Path of the Solari on Steam

BattleBit Remastered

BattleBit Remastered

BattleBit Remastered is a low poly FPS shooter that aims for a massively multiplayer experience.

Feel free to join our community.

https://www.discord.gg/battlebit


Read More: Best Tactical Combat Games.


BattleBit Remastered on Steam

Megalith

Megalith

Having played this game since the PSVR beta, I must say I enjoy the gameplay to this day! It is a polished experience with a great art style and ambient sound that is immersive. The lobby filling mechanics allow for unending play sessions (against bots or players) and very rarely have I experienced connection issues. Character designs are impressive with attention to little details that you would not otherwise know are there unless you take the time to look closely. Fights against players are intense as the sense of presence becomes more clear during battles. The variety of abilities keeps each character fresh and makes for great counter selections during pregame lobby character picks.

Real player with 62.7 hrs in game

Well polished game that feels like another VR essential title.

  • The game requires snap/smooth turning (if you turn with your body, the character’s body doesn’t turn with you)

  • Index Controller configuration isn’t the best for switching abilities. This can be changed easily. I recommend changing the ability swap control to left trigger.

  • No crouching. The game will snap you into a standing position if you crouch with your real body. This seems to be intended so that you can play seated.

  • No items to purchase mid-game for your hero (like most MOBA’s). Though you won’t be bothered by it nearly as much when you see how busy the game is even without items.

Real player with 9.1 hrs in game

Megalith on Steam

MonsterSoft

MonsterSoft

Nice looking, funny and challengeing game. Cool story and idea. I’m looking forward to complete new tasks.

Real player with 78.6 hrs in game

Give it a shot! Overall, I think this game is in a great state of development and a perfect candidate for Steam’s Early Access.

https://youtu.be/Lb5zmr_15Kc

https://youtu.be/JEl4P5K16JU

Pros:

  • The game is about 80% complete by my estimation

  • The player controlled characters are great game representations of monster stereotypes (LOVE IT!)

  • Many of the things that players have come to expect as base level standards are present in this game, which I think we often take for granted in blockbuster titles

Real player with 0.7 hrs in game

MonsterSoft on Steam

Irongrave Tactics

Irongrave Tactics

-This store page will continue to be updated as the game is developed-

The Emperor has decreed the Irongrave is ready - the tournament shall begin.

Recruit a team of gladiators and compete against friends and AI enemy teams in tournaments in the Irongrave, with tactical turn-based combat.

Tournaments

A tournament in Irongrave starts with you recruiting a team of 5 heroes - however you must pick from 10 randomly generated units - meaning you must be flexible and adaptable to win, rather than just being able to rely on a favorite strategy.

In-between tournament matches you have the chance to heal your heroes wounds, buy magic items, level up your heroes to improve specific stats and abilities and more.

Heroes

Over 18 different classes, ranging from melee Fighters, quick Monks, and powerful Wizards - to Necromancers able to detonate the fallen bodies of friends and foes.

Barbarian - Brash melee warriors able to charge enemy lines with high HP to tank hits, but low armor leaving them vulnerable to enemy status effects

Sorcerer - Ranged magic users that can deal damage in a wide area and set enemies on fire

Blood Mage - Magic users able to pull blood from enemies to heal themselves and shoot their own blood into allies - healing them at a cost of their own HP

Fighter - Melee heroes with high armor and consistent damage, able to keep enemies nearby

Necromancer - Magic users able to summon the dead, their Detonate Corpse ability makes them very powerful at the end of a round

Storm Mage - Ranged magic users focusing on AoE attacks with effects to slow and push enemies

Details on more classes to come…

Combat

Combat is quick paced and tactical - you will need to out-think and out-strategize your opponents, either AI teams or friends over Steam.

Many attacks inflict powerful status effects - from slowing enemies, preventing healing or stunning them. Each unit has a magic and physical armor value that protects them from these effects as long as that armor remains. Inflicting such status effects and keeping your own units safe is a major part of a winning strategy

Irongrave Tactics on Steam

Magi

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

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:

  • try to hold the line

  • manage your defences

  • beef-up your attacks

  • 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

Magi on Steam

Puzzle Tactics

Puzzle Tactics

Excellent RTS in the simplest form but still fun. For those commenting negatively, the graphics are not the point, its the gameplay. I wish there were more levels. It reminds me of Alpha versions of games I used to work on in the early 90s. Kudos to the developer, it was well worth the few bucks I paid for it.

Real player with 27.5 hrs in game

Nice little puzzle game. Turn-based, comparable to chess. Difficulty is easy for adults. Maybe challenging for children. What the game lacks is keyboard control (you can’t cancel menus with Escape) and a zoom feature. Would be nice to have. Hope to see some extra maps soon. Perfectly playable under Linux through Wine.

Thank you for programming this one!

Real player with 7.3 hrs in game

Puzzle Tactics on Steam

Black Legend

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

Black Legend on Steam

Satellite Reign

Satellite Reign

### Summary

Free roam squad based RTS/RPG with a cyberpunk setting running in the classical veins of Syndicate. Start from the ground up with a weak squad and limited supplies, and slowly work your way up the food chain to take on the big corporations. Acquire a mass of guns and upgrades to help you accomplish your goals. Decide whether you want to use stealth, sheer firepower or a mix of both to complete your objectives and rise to the top.

Plays a lot like Dawn of War II with a Blade Runner theme whilst being fresh and unique. Highly recommended!

Real player with 74.2 hrs in game

EDIT -

CO-OP MULTIPLAYER!!!! Game was ok-good before. now it is AWESOME!

===========================

Looking for a sequel to Syndicate Wars?

Unsure whether this is for you?

It’s a very tough call.

A bullet-point comparative breakdown.

Satellite Reign is the best revival yet seen of its predecessor. At about 30hrs in to the final release I am enjoying it, despite it leaving me wanting. Aside from this game’s amazing visuals - which are indeed damn near perfect, the biggest differences between this game and Syndicate are in its comprisal of main gameplay mechanics.

Real player with 72.8 hrs in game

Satellite Reign on Steam