Dungeon Deathball

Dungeon Deathball

Fun tactics game. It plays like into-the-breach-lite.

What this game does better than into the breach:

  • Every turn is more connected. Enemies can only move a small amount and won’t jump across the map and target something else unlike ITB.

  • Enemies can be manipulated easily; A big part of mastering the game involves manipulating enemies which is really fun

  • The orange monsters and goalies chases the ball

  • Cyan monsters that chases players.

  • You can stand in an enemies attack range to make them attack you the next turn

Real player with 102.7 hrs in game


Read More: Best Tactical Tactical RPG Games.


Quick note: My actual playtime at the time of writing this is closer to 8-10 hours, as I’ve been playing it since the first public demo on itch, months before Early Access release.

Dungeon Deathball is a compact, turn-based strategy game, in part inspired by Into the Breach - it shows you exactly what enemies are going to do next turn and also allows you to turn them against each other by pushing them around. Unlike ItB, it’s a very easy game to pick up and play a quick round or two while on a short break.

Real player with 45.2 hrs in game

Dungeon Deathball 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


Read More: Best Tactical 2D Games.


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

Wanna Survive

Wanna Survive

simple but good strategy game, I’ve enjoyed it a lot in my first hours.

After a while sadly, the game started to show its flaws. The second part of the game ramps up the difficulty so much that the game ended up not being fun anymore. It becomes more about exploiting the enemy AI and retrying. You are surrounded by a ton of enemies and you have to proceed by trial and error (played the game in original mode, which is hard mode).

Sure the game gives you the possibility to go back by one turn by paying in-game currency, but redoing the same turn over and over because you don’t want to lose any characters is not fun.

Real player with 11.5 hrs in game


Read More: Best Tactical Pixel Graphics Games.


The game is a neat little hidden gem. With the gradual introduction as the stages go on of new characters with abilities, there is always something new to learn in order to make the dynamic of the group work better in fights. Wanna Survive has a very steep difficulty curve, in which things seem to go from 0 to 100 very fast. This isn’t neccesarily a bad thing upon reflection, but it definitely left me frustrated to begin with- however, one can’t say that the game is boring because it is too easy. I’ve played through to the end once, and though I won’t be replaying immediately to check off the last few achievements I can see myself picking it up once more for a second playthrough in the near future, which would take the amount of time I got out of this game to roughly 10-11 hours once all done.

Real player with 7.4 hrs in game

Wanna Survive on Steam

CountryBalls Heroes

CountryBalls Heroes

For this review I’m considering three things:

  1. this is a new game (so bugs are expected)

  2. the developers are indie so they might take longer to patch and update the game

  3. if this game is on your radar you probably enjoy polandball/countryball meme comics.

So, I want to start off with the negatives. Nothing I hate more than reading through a review, getting hyped for the good, just to see some stuff that’s a deal breaker for me. We’ll start off with bugs/design issues:

SAVE GAME BUG

Probably the worst bug in the lot. It basically makes saves a pointless feature. Basically, if you load a save game all/most of the settlements disappear. They disappear from the map, from the quick bar to the right. Essentially destroying your save.

Real player with 50.5 hrs in game

As an old Heroes 3 Fan, CountryBalls Heroes was a must buy for me.

Graphics are nicely drawn, animations are ok and the music is nice too. Nothing spectacular, but not bad either. I like the basic idea of HOMM 3 meets political incorrectness and the game has humor and charme. I got some chuckles here and there.

The gameplay is 100% HOMM 3, but a bit simpler and more shallow. You build your base, ride around the map with your hero, fighting for resources, producing more units until you’re strong enough to attack the opponent.

Real player with 11.6 hrs in game

CountryBalls Heroes on Steam

Gem Wizards Tactics

Gem Wizards Tactics

Ok, I don’t know how to write reviews so I’ll just tell you an experience I had with the game wich shows why I think it’s great.

My small team of Potato soldiers were about to be wiped out by an overwhelming force of soldiers from the Azure Order. I had already captured three of the four flags I needed to win the battle, but I was getting swarmed and pushed out towards the northwestern corner of the map. And my leader, Andromeda Robin, was already dead. My only chance to get the last flag was to kill an enemy squad leader. Unfortunately the squadleader was behind a ton of spearmen, knights, archers and catapults.

Real player with 381.3 hrs in game

Exceedingly good and long-lasting gameplay value for those with limited time–each match lasts anywhere from 20-30 minutes at most. The player factions are varied and fairly balanced from my limited exposure of each. Gameplay is simple at first glance, but the synergies among units adds deep, tactical and surprising complexity to the Advanced Wars-like formula.

About the only thing that would add value to an already enjoyable game would be at least two or three more player factions, but the developer has already hinted that this is a possibility. Could we get a robot faction please?

Real player with 38.9 hrs in game

Gem Wizards Tactics 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

Jagged Alliance 2 Gold

Jagged Alliance 2 Gold

The small country of Arulco has been taken over by a merciless dictator - and only you can loosen the iron grip! Jagged Alliance 2 Gold Pack immerses you into an elaborate role-playing universe where you will interact with more than 150 characters, recruit your own band of soldiers and create your own custom mercenary to win back Arulco - not once, but twice! The perfect blend of strategy, role playing and tactical combat!

Jagged Alliance 2 Gold on Steam

Jagged Alliance 3

Jagged Alliance 3

Grand Chien, a nation of rich natural resources and deep political divides, is thrown into chaos when the elected president goes missing and a paramilitary force known as “The Legion” seizes control of the countryside. Now, the President’s family has pulled together all their resources, including an arrangement with the powerful Adonis corporation, to hire a group of skilled mercenaries tasked with finding the President and bringing order back to the country.

In Jagged Alliance 3, select from a huge cast of mercenaries all with their own unique personalities, quirks, and backstories. Then go out and explore Grand Chien as you meet new people, earn money, grow your team, and ultimately make your own decisions that will decide the country’s fate.

FEATURES

  • Engage in rich, tactical turn-based combat

  • Recruit from a large cast of unique mercenaries, including many familiar fan favorites

  • Loot, salvage, and customize an arsenal of weaponry and equipment

  • Choose from a wide array of special perks to customize your mercs as they level up

  • Decide the fate of Grand Chien in an open RPG structure

  • Control territory, train the locals, command multiple parties, and defend against enemy forces in an alive, active world

  • Experience the campaign with friends in online co-op mode

Jagged Alliance 3 on Steam

Ash of Gods: The Way

Ash of Gods: The Way

Twenty years have passed since the Great War. Frisa and Berkana kingdoms have managed to forge an uneasy peace but old grievances are not forgotten and new war is inevitable.

The Frisians have groomed new and talented commanders. They did this using a secret game developed by their best strategists to teach young aristocrats tactics and the art of war. Only by proving their tactical prowess can Frisian nobles achieve respect and a high rank. This way, only the best of the best make their way into the command. And soon, Frisa will be ready to strike.

Finn, a young and talented foster-son of Eik, the Berkanan secret service master and a veteran of the old war, is sent on a dangerous mission to participate in Frisian tournaments against the best of nobility in order to stop the war before it starts by eliminating top generals on the tournament arenas.

Gather characters, items and spells, learn about factions and their skills and abilities, level them up to create strong complementary decks and to build unique strategies to surprise your opponents on the battlefield.

Ash of Gods: The Way on Steam

Hellenica

Hellenica

I had this game in my backlog for a while before playing it, and I would say I enjoyed the overall experience. The setting (Steampunk mythological Greece) is very charming, the characters are simple but likeable, the story can take unexpected turns and even in my 4th run through the “branching storyline” I was finding places I imagined only existed “in lore”, and the battle system could often lead to bombastic combos where using positioning properly could make the difference between taking out 5 enemies in a turn or losing turn 2.

Real player with 49.0 hrs in game

DISCLAIMER

I got my copy of the game free and early. I don’t know the devs though I have met one of them and one of his friends is one of my friends and they knew that I liked games in this genre, so I was asked to play through the game for compatibility/bugs.

CONS:

  • Scarce on animations and lots of re-used art in general.

  • Too few character abilities spread across to much game; not enough incentive to play levels and progress once you’ve unlocked the main abilities you’re interested in.

  • Branching story felt unnecessary; would’ve preferred linear story rather than hearing about the same things over and over.

Real player with 39.4 hrs in game

Hellenica on Steam