On The Radar – August 2019

Written by Hardcase

News
Upcoming turn-based games

Even in a month like August, usually very boring for turn-based lovers, this year we can find some very interesting releases.

And, as you can see, there is enough space for indies, big releases and some long awaited DLC. So let’s see what is waiting us just around the corner.

FORGED OF BLOOD – 1st August

After a long wait (the game had an unsuccessful campaign on Kikstarter in 2017), finally Critical Forge will bring us its new tactical RPG on August 1st.

Expect deep RPG mechanics in a standard fantasy setting. If I had to make a comparison I would describe the game as a some sort of electronic Risk with tactical fights.

There is a kingdom at war and your mission is reclaim the empire your father lost, making decisions that really matter.

Expect a full review quite soon!

JUPITER HELL (EA) – 1st August (Again!)

This is simply one of my favourite.

Jupiter Hell is a turn-based shooter/roguelike with RPG progression and an awesome 3d graphic.

Fight against zombies, demons, and all sort of monstrosities with fantastic weapons like shotguns, chainguns and chainsaws. And if you’re thinking that this description reminds you a bit Doom, it’s just because Jupiter Hell is the spiritual successor of Doom RL (one of my favorite roguelike of the past!).

Unfortunately it is just an early access, but it can still be considered a big step towards the final release!

LEGENDS OF AMBERLAND – 1st August (Oh my!)

Do you still remember (and regret) games like Might and Magic, Eye of the Beholder and other classics from the 90s?

Well then Legends of Amberland is just for you! Obviously you have to love the fantasy (and humourus) setting, the lovely pixel art and the old fashioned grid movement.

The game promises an open world to explore with no need to grind. Essentially a dream that comes true!

AGE OF WONDERS: PLANETFALL – 6th August

After 5 years of waiting, one of the oldest strategy series strikes back!

Developed by Triumph Studios, AgoW: Planetfall will bring all the exciting strategic turn-based combat and in-depth empire building of its predecessors to an all-new sci-fi setting.

The expectations are really high and what we saw until now seems really promising.

TACTICS V: OBSIDIAN BRIGADE – 10th August

Described as a retro-style tactical turn-based video game in homage to console tactical RPGs from the 1990s, Tactics V seems to be a good (and cheaper) alternative to Disagea/Final Fantasy Tactics fans.

Its content include: a robust combat system (with many mechanics like facing, targeting styles, actions, delayed actions, reactions), a World map navigation, more than 50 hand crafted levels and a total of 12-18 hours of story.

EMBERLIGHT – 13th August

I have to be honest, I don’t know very much about this game.

On Steam it is described as a fast dungeon crawler with a roguelike soul, in fact every run will last between 30-60 minutes.

The combat system reminds me some old JRPG and I’m not sure this is a silver lining.

We will see.

AGE OF GRIT – 13th August

I really love when developers try to find something different from the usual and standard fantasy setting for their games.

Age of Grit is exactly this: a cowboy themed RPG adventure aboard a steam-powered airship!

Essentially you are the captain of a lone airship in a Wild West / Steampunk inspired world looking for whatever work you can find.

It was successfully founded on Kickstarter back in 2017.

STAY SAFE: LABYRINTH OF THE MAD – 14th August

There is not very much to say about this one.

This a pure roguelike with a unique generation system (Use files on your PC, key presses on your keyboard or buttons on the controller to create your random dungeon, items and gems!).

Your goal? Simple you have to reach the 35th floor, but ” Just stay safe, okay?

GODS OF HAVOC: FALL TO EARTH – 22nd August

Gods of Havoc is a strategy game that tries to bring back the old-fashioned God-Games.

Guide the destiny of yours worshippers, manipulate the world for their advantage, kill their enemies and watch them as they spread across the planet.

BARD’S TALE IV – DIRECTOR’S CUT – 27th August

The new release of Bard’s Tale IV brings more character customization options, new items, new enemies, revised UI, and – above all – a free expansion dungeon.

In my opinion the original version of the game, even if not perfect, had very interesting puzzles and a challenging combat system and now I’m quite eager to try the extended version.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: ADVENTURE CARD GAME – 28th August

I’m not a fan of tactical card game (except Slay the Spire, of course) so I cannot say very much about this game.

Released in EA about one year ago, at the moment the game has some quite positive reviews.

It offers the possibility to form a fellowship of heroes (it a “The Lord of the Rings” game, after all!) to pursue your quest and also the chance to play with a friend in an interesting cooperative mode.

PIRATES OUTLAWS – 28th August

Directly from Google Play comes this new rougelike card game.

In Pirates Outlaws you pick your deck and start exploring and managing your expedition to gain reputation among battles, events, market and tavern.

The gameplay basically reminds Slay the Spire.

Some of its features are: 50 outlaws and defeat 20 unique bosses, more than 250 Cards to collect and 80 Relics to discover from 3 varied chapters.

That’s all for now. See you next month!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Hardcase

True Italian with certified mustache made of pasta. Lawyer for a living, writer for passion. Turn-Based Lovers collaborator and many other unnecessary things.

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