Undoubtedly, this is one of the most intriguing titles out there, both in terms of its premise and its pure graphical style. It’s called Prelude Dark Pain, a tactical RPG developed by the Spanish studio QuickFire Games. Back in March 2024, I published an overview, and since then, we haven’t received much news about it—until just a few days ago.
Starting in January 2025, the team at QuickFire Games has been very active on the game’s Steam page, introducing various characters from their dark RPG and announcing a Kickstarter page that is expected to launch in the not-too-distant future. So, I’d say that’s good news!
Getting back to the game, in Prelude Dark Pain, players take on the role of Soren, a blacksmith who rises against the oppressive Order of the Ash Crusade to save the war-torn world of Estátera. Blending turn-based strategy, team management, and a branching narrative, the game promises a rich and immersive experience for fans of the genre.
Key gameplay features include the recruitment of over 20 unique characters (I don’t want to be wrong, but at first, they were 50), each with distinct abilities and skill branches. Missions range from resource gathering and espionage to diplomatic encounters and tactical skirmishes. The game emphasizes team customization, allowing players to adapt their approach to various challenges. Additionally, Prelude Dark Pain integrates settlement management and open-world exploration, delivering a multi-layered narrative where decisions shape the fate of the game’s universe.
While the Kickstarter campaign date is still pending, fans can visit the page now and click “Notify me on launch” to show support. QuickFire Games has teased 2025 as a pivotal year for the project, promising more updates and activity in the coming months. Below is an overview via Steam, screens, and the latest trailer available.
About This Game
PRELUDE DARK PAIN is a TACTICAL RPG set in a dark fantasy world where you will become one of a group of heroes, determined to save reality from the evil that has afflicted it for generations.
Take command of a group that will follow you to the end of the world
The local blacksmith Soren will confront the ghosts of his past to put an end to the dark ritual initiated by the inquisitive Order of the Crusade of Ashes. Pick up your weapons and lead a crew of soldiers from different backgrounds that you can recruit from all over Estátera.
Customize your team for any task
Choose from more than 20 unique characters, each with two branches of talents and 24 skills, to design the ideal group for each mission. Manage your resources and your squad of heroes to overcome challenges both in and out of battle.
Diverse strategy missions
Face dozens of missions with their own mechanics in which you will manage shipments of groups of 1 to 3 heroes. Overcome missions of escort, search for resources, diplomacy, espionage or defense work to expand your influence and improve your team.
Get ready for combat with a complex management system
Many of your heroes have unique abilities focused on raids, making them special and valuable inside and outside the battle lines. You will have to manage a settlement, grow it, and expand your control and resources of the different maps as another playable part of your adventure.
Discover a dark story about a primordial evil
Follow a complex non-linear open-world story that will lead you to unravel an incredible story. The different realities of a destroyed world will be involved in a plot that has been secretly unfolding for thousands of years.
Decide the fate of a world in danger
You will feel the real weight of your decisions that will change the story that is being told in front of you, accompanied by a countdown that will take you to complete the adventure unifying more than 20 nations and cultures, 8 different playable species among all the realities and more than 70 different enemies in this exciting adventure.
