Welcome to the eighth episode of Keep An Eye on It. For newcomers, this is an article that I publish every Wednesday with a simple formula. I show you 5 upcoming turn-based games, with a short description, and links to the store to wishlist them with the help of my poor English. Let’s start.
RavenWeald
Developer: Turbowizard Studios
Platforms: PC
Let’s start with a game available in early access from today. RavenWeald by Turbowizard STudios. A Tactical roguelike RPG with a lot of skills and abilities to unlock, procedurally generated dungeons, and chapters that work as checkpoints, if you die you go back there. On each run, you will unlock lore that explains the forest’s past.
Key features
- Strategic Turn-Based Combat: Discover and utilize a diverse set of abilities that each bring a unique twist to combat. Experiment with ability synergies to defeat even the toughest opponent.
- Roguelike Progression and Levels: Progress through procedurally generated levels filled with enemies. Defeat them to collect crystals and exchange those crystals for permanent character upgrades. Conquer enough levels to complete a chapter. Each chapter acts as a checkpoint that you’ll return to if you die. Level difficulty increases after each chapter.
- Unlockable Lore: Strange totems lay scattered throughout the forest. Destroy them to receive crystals, and unearth the forest’s past.
Here the RavenWeald Steam page.
磨难之间 / SUFFERING
噬零工作室
Platforms: PC, Android & iOS
Ok, despite the developer’s name, SUFFERING is an interesting 2d turn-based RPG set in a dark world. The world of suffering. And we must defeat the 9 pillars of Sins (9 powerful bosses) in order to go back home. I was very impressed by the concept and the graphic style that can give life to something original. The SUFFERING Steam page says the interface, audio and subtitles are in English, don’t blame me if they don’t.
Gods of Sand
Developers: Achenar, Odd Giant
Platforms: PC
Ok, I admit this is my favorite this week. Gods of Sand by Achenar & Odd Giant. Inspired by the Swords and Sandals series, in this attractive turn-based game we must train gladiators and manage the Ludus in a wonderful pixelated world.
Key Features
- Highly Customizable Builds: Any skill, armor or weapon is usable by any well-trained gladiator, generating lots of possibilities when it comes to creating new builds.
- Strategic Combat: Multiple items and weapons are allowed inside combat, but knowing the best time to use your gear is key if you want to be the champion of the arenas.
- Manage your Ludus: To run a ludus (a gladiator school) you must always pay attention to the economics of your business. Fight to get money and prizes, train your gladiators enough to maintain a solid income and restore the old and abandoned ludus your family left you.
Gods of Sand is expected for 2021 on Steam.
Cairn: Mathair’s Curse
Developer: Ross McRitchie
Platforms: PC
Ok, what game does it remind you of…?? Cairn: Mathair’s Curse by Ross McRitchie is an RPG full of possibilities inspired by the 90s titles and the Scottish culture. It presents classic first person combat with elemental weaknesses and a break shield system.
Key features
- A world filled with wild and wonderful locations: Explore a large variety of hand-crafted locations, from quaint seaside villages to ancient underground caverns and secret high-tech lairs. Don’t feel like the trip back? Catch a lift in the family campervan and return to previously explored locations. (In a campervan, did I mention campervan!?)
A deep-rooted conspiracy to unravel: Why is the land in turmoil, who is behind it, and why? Find the answers to not only the chaos in the land, but in your own heart.
Character-rich story with a focus on humour: The world of Cairn is filled with a cast of odd and colourful characters. Find out what part they have to play and all with 2 1/4 cups full of finely ground humour seasoning.
A turn-based battle system utilising elemental weaknesses and a break-shield system: Fight a host of unusual and wacky enemies (or allies, who knows), including wild roaming haggis’, bewildered stop signs and an odd group of cultists bent on
destroying the world. Time your attacks with boosts to unleash devastation on your foes. Combine the skills of your friends to tactically defeat your enemies.
An original soundtrack: A soundtrack hand-crafted for the world of Cairn.
Cairn: Mathair’s Curse will come early this year on Steam.
Amber Island
Developer: Dynamic Cell Games
Platforms: PC
Amber Island by Dynamic Cell Games is a creature-collecting adventure with a unique graphic and an intriguing combat system. The game is set on Amber Island and we are a tamer who must hunt and tame new monsters.
- COMBAT: Punchy turn-based combat featuring: Synergies for each of the elements; Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Life, Death. Defence move system for dodge, parry, reflect and more. Wide variety of moves balanced through consequences. High stakes battles where creatures can die permanently. Flexible team sizes possible (2 vs 2, 1 vs 5, etc).
- BREEDING: Each species in Amber Island can display a dazzling array of colours and patterns as well as variations that change the full design and colour pallet of the species. Collect rare gene variants. Breed creatures to get any combination of design, pattern and colours. Improve your creatures stats through selective breeding.
- HUNTING: To find creatures you will need to leave the safety of town and travel to the wild lands. There you will see a wide variety of creatures that are all competing to survive, as they search for food and water, as well as try to raise young. Creatures will form herds and nests to protect their group members from the other predatory creatures (and you) that seek to eat them. All the creatures are being simulated across the map, there is no spawning of creatures just out of view. Use your knowledge of species preferred biomes and the food types they consume to more easily locate them. But be careful as you can just as easily become the hunted.
- RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: Creatures in your collection consume different types of food that you have to provide. Without food creatures become ill, take damage, and eventually die. Don’t worry, however, if you run into any money problems you can sell some creatures which both make you money and reduces your costs. When taming a creature you have to work out the puzzle of balancing the creature’s taming requirements and do so efficiently in order to avoid wasting hard-earned items.
No release date yet for Amber Island. Here the Steam Page.
This episode ends here, let me know what you think about these 5 indie turn-based RPGs in the comments below, remember to check out the video version of the article on the youtube channel, and if you want you can directly get in touch with me on Twitter or on our Discord Server. Wish you the best.
CIAO
