Quite a few of you have asked for a list of actual and recent turn-based RPGs you can buy, install and get playing. Fair enough. Your wishlist has been getting quite the workout here, your download button is due for a turn.
I get a lot of feedback on Reddit regarding the articles I put up on TBL. A fairly common complaint is that my lists are full of games that are still in development, some of which have barely anything to try. That in turn can be taken as implying that the vast majority of those projects will never actually see the light of day.
Let me be absolutely clear. I started TurnBasedLovers to champion indie developers and bring their work to the attention of people. That was the very first thing I noticed when I came across something that interested me. A small team working through its first demo is just as deserving of that attention as any other. That’s always been the whole point of the website, to cover projects at all stages of development and that’s exactly what I’m going to continue to do. Anyone who’s been waiting for me to abandon that is going to need a very comfortable chair.
As far as the “they almost never get released” bit goes that doesn’t square with my experience of the games. I’ve never worked out an exact completion rate and I certainly won’t fiddle one out of a hat. I see time and time again the projects I’ve been covering in the early days getting to the stage where people can actually play them.
But today I’m dealing with the perfectly reasonable request for more games you can start playing right now. TBL is still very much me at the keyboard, getting excited about turn-based games and trying to get them out there. That enthusiasm is equally present in the developers who have made it through launch. These 15 are some of the best turn-based RPGs 2026 has to offer.
Vultures – Scavengers of Death
- Developer: Team Vultures
- Release Date: May 13, 2026 – Full release
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: Vultures – Scavengers of Death
I want to start with a game whose short description could pretty much be Resident Evil with tactical combat. It’s a very good RPG in my opinion and does the Resident Evil-inspired horror games to a T. A big part of that is the retro PlayStation look and feel.
In Vultures – Scavengers of Death you send an operator into an infected site, scavenge the supplies, investigate what’s happened and extract with the materials you’ve gathered to help in the hunt for a cure. The two protagonists have different methods of approach: Leopoldo can just use his strength to manipulate the obstacles, Amber has a grappling hook which allows her to get into positions and reposition enemies.
A headshot can actually cost more AP than a shot designed to disable a leg and healing takes up time you may need to get distance. The approaching zombie therefore presents you with a number of questions at once: can you kill it? Can you slow it? Where does that leave you when it’s your turn? Weapon upgrades give you more options, and of course switching guns costs you nothing, so you’re encouraged to use the right tool for the job as the situation demands.
Once the various bugs that impacted the game on launch had been ironed out, Team Vultures’ title has received a huge amount of acclaim for its great combat and its real ability to capture the spirit of the very first horror games in the medium. Definitely one to play.
Blightstone
- Developer: Unfinished Pixel
- Release Date: October 16, 2026 – Version 1.0
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: Blightstone
Protecting a delicate Earthglass Crystal gives Blightstone a useful tactical option in that victory hinges on keeping your traveling objective alive as well as your heroes.
Free movement, concealment, knockback and the ability to combine abilities (e.g. water plus electricity) all encourage a very inventive use of the battlefield. I played Blightstone when it first came out in Early Access, and what really sold me was the sheer variety and individuality of the characters you could play, and the way the game constantly incentivized you to create combinations of their abilities and use the environment to set up some truly nasty plays on your enemies.
The full release that came a few days ago also did a bit of a overhaul to the progression system I’m told. I haven’t had a chance to try out those changes yet and that’s actually one more reason I’d recommend giving Blightstone a go.
Effulgence RPG
- Developer: Andrei Fomin
- Release Date: September 10, 2026 – Version 1.0
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: Effulgence RPG
Effulgence RPG constructs its sci-fi world out of animated text characters, which gives this small 4-hero adventure a very distinctive look. Defeated enemies can be fed into a printer which will produce gear (including during combat).
An extremely deep combat system in which distance has an effect on accuracy; your party formation can be used to spread out incoming damage, and well-placed explosives can be used to punish groups of enemies that are grouped together.
I could recommend Effulgence RPG for a host of reasons actually, but the one that stands out most is simply that it looks exactly like this and yet has such depth to it. It’s hard to think of any other game that looks quite like this and has so much depth beneath the surface.
Forsworn
- Developer: Resummon Studios LLC
- Release Date: September 10, 2026 – Full release
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: Forsworn
Some games get attention by having a very rich world. Forsworn is pretty much making a very simple proposition really: get together a party, find some increasingly ridiculous ability combinations and take the resulting problem to the gods. You have six heroes each with three subclasses and a large amount of abilities and items that you can upgrade.
Online co-op uses simultaneous player turns, solo play lets you do the interactions yourself. The interesting question in either case is how one character’s setup will improve what the others can achieve.
In any case I think Forsworn’s real strength is in the sheer number of abilities and builds you can play with. If you’re into tactical combat then we’re already in very good ground.
Ex Sanguis
- Developer: Lightbulb Crew
- Release Date: September 10, 2026 – Early Access
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: Ex Sanguis
The only Early Access title on this list is the new stylish tactical RPG from Lightbulb Crew (yes, the same team behind Othercide). They’ve returned to a very stylish red/black/white world with Ex Sanguis and there’s clearly a connection to Othercide in the way it treats turn order.
Your Stillae fight the forces of Stasis via a series of tactical missions, picking up resources and developing various combinations of skills and traits. It’s in the combat system that this RPG really comes into its own.
Moving and using abilities draw from the same pool. Pushing the threshold triggers Burst which allows you to do more this turn at the expense of your next. Killing a nasty enemy can be a justifiable use of that Burst. Spending heavily without resolving the threat can leave you with a unit sitting there while the enemy catches up. Timeline abilities complicate that calculation considerably as they can speed up allies, slow down enemies or interrupt actions.
It’s already very much fun to be at this stage and of course the whole idea of supporting the developers is there. Taking it up now could well help in the way of a significantly improved final product.
Ledgerbound
- Developer: OmniMegaSuperCorp
- Release Date: August 13, 2026 – Full release
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: Ledgerbound
An insurance adjuster being the world’s last hope sounds like a rather drastic cost-cutting exercise. That’s pretty much what’s going on in Ledgerbound. Somewhere between saving the world and denying a claim you end up with a tactical RPG and a rather substantial relationship game.
Units move across grids, attack ranges vary by role, and fire, water, and earth affinities create favorable and unfavorable matchups. Elemental terrain adds another positioning consideration. Mission objectives include reaching destinations as well as clearing enemies, with optional challenges encouraging.
Between missions, the limited downtime has to be used for preparation and relationship building; Rayna’s burnout has to be addressed, and corporate swag and signed liabilities become equipment and abilities. The admin theme therefore has a direct bearing on what you can do and an injured colleague can in fact require the relevant forms before they can go back to normal social interaction.
I do quite like the effort to make fantasy adventuring sound like an HR incident waiting to happen; I just can’t praise the nuanced relationships (found family story), the memorable characters, the variety of battle objectives and the excellent voice acting enough. If you’re after a tactical campaign with a cast you can actually talk to after the fighting, then Ledgerbound is definitely worth a look.
Lootbound
- Developer: ArtDock
- Release Date: August 14, 2026 – Full release
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: Lootbound
Your backpack is doing absolutely ridiculous work in Lootbound. Every run starts off with one character and then the companions come in along the way each with their own separate inventory to equip.
Items have shapes that you can rotate and fit into the available space and some have auras that boost the power of compatible gear in the vicinity. Finding a great piece is only the first step really, the real issue is working out where to put it as that can have a massive impact on the effectiveness of a number of other pieces at the same time.
That’s the point really as you’re in complete control of the PC whilst the companions are purely reactive. A lot of your influence over the rest of the party comes down to preparation. Equipment dictates the attacks, defenses, and support effects that go into each encounter, so how you’ve arranged your equipment is part of your tactical plan.
The path gives you the opportunity to make decisions about treasure, tough fights, recovery and dice rolls. At the end of each biome you also pick a component for the final Guardian, slowly working out who your final opponent is going to be.
Wherever there’s pixel art you’ll almost certainly find me as well so how could I possibly have left Lootbound off the list? Throw in flexible build options and inventory management and in my book you’ve got everything you need for an RPG that can deliver a huge amount of fun.
Sovereign Tower
- Developer: WILD WITS GAMES
- Release Date: August 6, 2026 – Full release
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: Sovereign Tower
In Sovereign Tower you don’t actually go in and fight battles. I should make that clear right at the outset, as it might put you off. I’m generally not a fan of RPGs that are just trying to get you to spend all your time in the middle of a conversation, but I was sufficiently curious to give this one a go and I ended up finding a proper treat.
Its decisions are all about running a kingdom through a series of cycles: hearing petitions, developing knights, deciding who is to deal with the next issue. The knights you have all have personalities and wants as well as their abilities and your tower has all the facilities to support them.
Assignments can tie up a knight for several cycles so sending your best knight has repercussions which go beyond the immediate quest. They may well be unavailable when a more pressing request comes along. The situation also has to be considered in terms of the knight’s temperament and the kind of problems they’re likely to be suited to. You need to know your knights in order to know what kind of job they can do.
In my earlier full version impressions, the link between the characters and the practical decisions you make was one of the things I liked most. There’s loads more I could tell you, but I’ll keep it simple really. Go and try out Sovereign Tower as soon as you can (there’s also a demo).
NITRO GEN OMEGA
- Developer: DESTINYbit
- Release Date: May 12, 2026 – Version 1.0
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
- Steam: NITRO GEN OMEGA
Four pilots sharing one massive mech is a perfect recipe for both tactical co-operation and in-fighting. NITRO GEN OMEGA assigns each member of the crew a section of the machine to be responsible for and then asks you to time-coord their actions.
You’re leading a squad of mercenaries taking on contracts in a world completely overrun by machines, upgrading the mech and operating out of an airship between jobs. The anime-style presentation gives the fights a real cinematic feel, while the actual decision-making takes place during the planning phase.
The crew also need to be looked after on the airship. What you do in the airship has a direct bearing on fatigue, on mood and on relationships. Personal ambitions can have a positive effect on individual development. Those relationships will in turn have an effect on how the pilots work together in combat, so it’s a direct link between your downtime and your battle plan. Keeping a machine going is obviously going to require that the people in it can get on with each other. A sensible maintenance requirement really.
The game might be a touch lacking in terms of world (it can at times feel a bit hollow), but in terms of the combat and the crew management it’s definitely one I’d recommend giving a go.
HellSlave II: Judgment of the Archon
- Developer: Ars Goetia
- Release Date: August 4, 2026 – Full release
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: HellSlave II: Judgment of the Archon
The Archon’s solution to an infinite war with demons is annihilation (which gives you a very strong incentive to find another way). HellSlave II: Judgment of the Archon sees you traversing a bleak, hand-drawn world, exploring areas and getting into first-person battles.
Character progression starts with either a Warrior or a Sorcerer and then opens out into six specializations with active abilities, passive talents and equipment to give you a great deal of scope to develop your own play style.
Combat is all about action durations and fatigue. A heavy strike may well be a good number, but the recovery time it gives the enemy is what allows them to act before you can go again. Faster weapons are the ones you’d go for in a strategy that wants to apply conditions over and over again. Defensive options are going to be important when you’re being attacked quite frequently.
One of my personal favorites on the list, in no small part due to its visual style but predominantly because of the sheer amount of freedom it gives you to create absolutely devastating builds via the myriad of items that can completely alter the way your character plays.
Quasimorph
- Developer: Magnum Scriptum
- Release Date: July 31, 2026 – Version 1.0
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: Quasimorph
If you remember Quasimorph as an Early Access game then its full release came in July. You’re in charge of a private military company taking on corporate contracts throughout a very unpleasant solar system.
The missions are all about the individual operator, your wider organization develops via the tech, equipment and ship improvements you recover. A successful extraction allows you to keep what you’ve brought back. If you die then you lose the gear you were carrying (though of course you can print another merc to carry on). HR has become utterly literal.
The longer-term layer gives those dangerous expeditions some purpose. Different mercenaries, classes, implants and gear enable different approaches, while salvaged materials go towards improving the flagship. The contracts you take and the way you work with the various corporations will determine what opportunities your company has.
In our review Two Clicks lauded the breadth of tactical options and the sense of achievement that came from seeing a well-thought-out plan actually work. Getting the equipment, classes and ship upgrades was also very satisfying. The only real complaints were around the sheer amount of inventory management and the systems which could do with a bit more explanation.
Quasimorph gets its value out of the preparation/survival relationship and it takes patience. Anyone who likes to go through their ammo and med kits before they open a door will appreciate it.
Whispers of the Eyeless
- Developer: Venris and Evil Gingerbread Studio
- Release Date: March 17, 2026 – Version 1.0
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: Whispers of the Eyeless
Another game which in my view has got a bit less than it deserves in the way of attention is Whispers of the Eyeless.
As the First Prophet you build a following in Aranthor and go about the business of the Dead Gods (Wrath, Desire and Madness). You recruit disciples, you build your sanctuary, you set your missions, you work on your loyalties. All of this gives your expeditions a real purpose. Getting back the resources you need means you can go on to make the city a whole lot less pleasant.
It’s a turn-based auto-battler so the flow will be a little different with the Prophet’s abilities and the cost of using divine power as important as health and sanity.
The real strength is outside of battle as you have the demands of training and directing your followers as well as the demands of running rituals and developing sanctuary. The draw is the link between personal power and the institution that grows around it; the gains of an expedition can bolster the cult and thus create more opportunities for future expeditions.
STARDUST: Wish of Witch
- Developer: Kniv Studio Co., Ltd.
- Release Date: May 28, 2026 – Full release
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: STARDUST: Wish of Witch
On the subject of pixel art, the next game I’d recommend looking at is STARDUST: Wish of Witch. The expressive pixel animation and the very detailed combat effects are more than enough to stop you scrolling. The tactical battle that follows is all about what happens once you’ve committed to an attack.
Enjoy the tension of counters and combos, the reward of landing a big ultimate. The central pair were a real strength in terms of their interactions and voice acting. I’d definitely recommend taking a close look at the presentation, the central characters and the overall concept, though you will be looking at an interface and pacing that will require a bit of patience. There’s a demo available if you want to get a feel for how the systems work prior to buying.
Echo Generation 2
- Developer: Cococucumber
- Release Date: May 27, 2026 – Full release
- Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S
- Steam: Echo Generation 2
Echo Generation 2 offers Cococucumber the opportunity to move fluidly between the realms of family adventure, monochrome horror and neon science fiction. Six different protagonists each bring their own abilities and decks to the mix within a single, interwoven story.
The studio’s voxel approach provides some genuinely odd-looking creatures and environments. Despite the ‘2’ in the title it’s actually a prequel and so a very reasonable starting point for anyone new to the series.
Combat is now all about small decks. You have a deck of up to twelve cards and turns are what limit your actions rather than a traditional mana pool. Characters have a preference for certain interactions (Jack for example is all about applying and using Marks) so a coherent selection is more valuable than a bunch of individually nice cards.
Praise for the cast, the writing, the range of dimensions and the rather elaborate animated card art (especially the changing perspectives, the creepy creatures and Pusher’s synth score). That makes Echo Generation 2 such a good candidate as an accessible narrative RPG with actual deck building, the sheer variety of the visuals and the tone more than making up for the lack of anything particularly dramatic in between the fights.
Wardrum
- Developer: Mopeful Games
- Release Date: May 7, 2026 – Full release
- Platforms: PC
- Steam: Wardrum
I’ve tried to give space to games that either offer a genuinely enjoyable experience or bring some fairly original ideas to the table, so with the final game on this list I’m being pretty safe in terms of originality.
Wardrum asks you to care about both where the attack lands and how well you do it. Your warband will be moving through the tactical encounters, dealing with positioning, traps, environmental hazards and enemies that you can push and pull into useful positions. You pick an ability and a rhythm sequence appears. The battlefield provides the plan, your timing determines how effectively that plan is executed. A perfectly sensible system until your fingers have decided to lodge a formal objection.
The nice bit is that status conditions can affect performance in various ways (confusion changes the inputs you need, blind hides the timing cursor). The drummer’s supportive aura is another formation consideration in that you can help keep your allies within its influence which in turn can help you get through some of the tougher exchanges.
There’s also character progression and gear selection. Ability upgrades and trinkets will alter what each warrior can bring to the table and Rhythm Stones can be forged into custom skills. Progression between runs leads to further unlocks. On top of all that the experience is by no means going to be easy, particularly later on when the combinations get increasingly complex and you’re going to have to get used to some very demanding rhythms. So don’t say I didn’t warn you.
