They are the topic of the moment, everybody talks about them, everybody pretends to love or hate them, everybody even dreams about them at night! And now, now that they are really arriving, everybody will have to deal with them.
What I’m talking about? Nah, don’t play ignorant on me, you know I’m talking about the next-gen consoles!
These are the facts. Two weeks ago, I decided to give back my PS4 to Gam****p because there was a promotion. They were ready to evaluate my PS4 very well, granting me a wonderful voucher to buy a brand-new PS5 in November. I should have been happy, but when I went back home I wasn’t happy at all.
The reason has something to do with my visceral love for turn-based games. During these years I’ve always had a console (since the PS2!) but for all this time I’ve never played on console any damned turn-based game, and this is not because there weren’t any of them, but because turn-based games and Personal Computer are a single thing.
For me, trying to play a turn-based game on a console is like attempting to play soccer with the slippers. You can try, you can even make a good shot or two, but – simply – it isn’t funny.
So what is the conclusion of all this chat? I don’t know about you, but I think I will continue to play with my personal computer and nothing else. And what about my brand new PS5, are you wondering? I don’t know, maybe I could use it to make a decent coffee…
Baldur’s Gate 3 (E.A.) – 6th October
In the previous number of “On the Radar” I said “This time is the good one and, after some delays, finally, the early version of the new chapter of Baldur’s Gate seems ready to be released“.
Ok it wasn’t my best prediction BUT this is the right one! I’m sure of it…more or less…
Anyway whatever does Larian Studios for me it’s ok, the only important thing is that Baldur’s Gate 3 is being developed with care and love.
On Steam!
Ikenfell – 8th October
Ikenfell talks about a school, but not a normal one, a “magic school”. Now if you are thinking about something like Harry Potter, than you’re far from the truth. Very far…
In this turn-based tactical RPG you will lead a group of troublesome students fighting dark forces in order to uncover even darker secrets! The art style is a kind of paradise for anyone who really loves the old-good JRPG, but overall the the game seems to have a strong personality. I’m already in love with it!
Features:
- A heartwarming and twist-filled story about friendship, trust, love and loss
- 3 students in battle, from a total of 6, each with unique powers and strengths
- 48 unique spells: blast your enemies, knock them back, poison them, or heal and buff your allies. There is no “MP”… spells are about skill and strategy! Each with its own timing to master
- 100+ enemies to battle: spirits, myths, monsters… even students and teachers! Learn their tricks and traps, and master the timing of their attacks to overcome them
- 22 challenging bosses who will push your strategy and timing to the limit
- Hundreds of items to discover: wands, hats, cloaks, rings, and magical artifacts. Secret treasure is hidden everywhere, and every item you find helps you fight against the powers threatening you.
- Explore a vast school of magic: the dorms, alchemy labs, astronomy tower, twilight yard, and a dozen more mysterious and magical locations
- Beautiful soundtrack from the composers behind Steven Universe
- Cats. Everywhere
Soon on Steam.
Epicinium – 12th October
Epicinium (whatever this title means) is particular strategy game with a minimalistic pixel art style, where “Nature” is the absolute protagonist and where every choice is influenced by the environment. So your goal – win the war – becomes only apparently obvious, because, as the developers said: “Is it worth winning a war when you end up conquering dirt and ash?“
Features:
- Well-balanced selection of buildings and units to produce, each with their carefully crafted part to play
- Global warming system, inducing a multitude of different weather effects adding to gameplay depth and variety
- A variety of maps, each with their own character, layout and intended playstyle
- Fast combat with simultaneous turn.
On Steam.
October Night Games – 15th October
What Lovecraft and a strange board game have in common? Yeah, right, the answer is October Night Games!
Honestly I don’t know anything about it, but from its description we can learn that it is a digital tabletop game where everyone is a cultist working for one of two different sides.
One side is attempting to summon the Great Old Ones, while the other is trying to stop them. Who will win?
Soon on Steam.
Ring of Pain – 15th October
Another very original turn-based game.
Ring of pain is a roguelike card crawler where encounters “come to you”. Each step around the ring represents a dire decision. Go for the loot or backstab a creeping horror? Meet strange friends bearing gifts and treasure. Choose your gear wisely to survive and discover the secrets of the Ring of Pain.
This is one of those game easier to play than to explain…
Try to guess? On Steam.
Crown Trick – 16th October
Few months ago I wrote an Hands-on on this game where, after my foolish speaking about “Matryoshka dreams”, I concluded: “I really liked Crown Trick: it’s one of the funniest roguelike I’ve ever played, and, for some reasons, that I cannot explain yet, I really love it even if it is so ruthless!“.
Finally, after a long (at least for me) wait, Crown Trick is going to be released. Trust me for once: if you like roguelike, go and buy this little gem, without reservation!
On Steam.
Solasta (E.A.) – 20th October
Solasta is a tactical RPG in the vein of those that have come before it. It makes use of the Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition SRD (ruleset) to create an experience that will feel familiar gameplay-wise to the grandpappy of RPGs while implemented some new concepts for giving a PC game something closer to the roleplaying immersion of the tabletop variety. Even better, it’s made by a team that’s passionate about pen & paper gaming, some of which are already veterans of some excellent projects that have graced our PCs in the past.
For a full cover of the game you can read our article here.
On Steam.
Tenderfoot Tactics – 21st October
Tenderfoot Tactics is tactical RPG with a strong personality and a unique art style. You’ll have to guide a party of goblins, around a dangerous archipelago, fighting back the terrible Fog.
At its core Tenderfoot Tactics is a tactical RPG with a heavy focus on fights. How to win a combat is up to you.
Raise a ridge of stone to block the enemy’s approach. Flick an ember into the brush where enemy archers hide, then push a swell of water to intercept the flames before they endanger your own side. Here each tactical choice has its own consequences.
Between a fight and another, you’ll also have to explore the reaches of the islands by boat or flying like a bird to survey the landscape and plan the best route forward.
On Steam.
Raiders! – 23rd October
Raiders! is a post-apocalyptic single-player strategy game by the makers of the Age of Gladiators.
It can be defined as a strategy/management game where you play as the leader of a merciless band of post-apocalyptic marauders. Build up your organization while extorting, kidnapping, and destroying the last remnants of civilization. The wasteland doesn’t need another hero…
Features:
- Hire, manage, equip level up (and sometimes eat) your raiders.
- Extort, attack and pillage greenhouses, rock quarries, and other industries of the wasteland in order to gain the resources required to build up your forces.
- Interact with, loot, or capture settlements and industries, spreading your reign of terror – captured settlements will need to be run with an iron-fist in order to ensure they remain under your control.
- Combat local mercenaries and regulators sent to stop your rampage.
- You are the fearsome commander of the your raiders; the boss. Engage in duels, terrorize both your men and your enemies, and build your physical and mental attributes toward the eventual goal of total domination of the wasteland.
- Establish laws for your raiders and new society to follow.
- Fight other raider organizations for territorial control
On Steam.
Dreadlands – 29th October
I tried an early version of the game, not too long ago, and I remember that it gave me really good vibes. Something in between Jagged Alliance and Borderlands! Now that the game is almost complete, I have very high expectations.
Yeah, but what is Dreadlands? In short, the game is a turn-based strategy game, where you control a gang of mercenaries in a post-apocalyptic world, but what makes the game quite original are its online features that can transform the game into a strange blend between a single player strategy game and an MMO.
Curious? Don’t worry, the wait is nearly over!
Soon on Steam.
