Here’s my first November roundup: all the new turn-based RPGs and strategy games you can get your hands on. With Halloween now well and truly over, it seems everyone’s already looking forward to Christmas. And I don’t know about you, but despite how ridiculously early it feels, I’ve already started spotting fully decorated Christmas trees around my town. But that’s a story for another day.
Anyway, I’ve got loads of interesting stuff to talk about this week, and I think there’s something for just about everyone. I’m kicking off with my favorite, a first-person dungeon crawler that I absolutely adore, then we’ve got a significant new expansion for Age of Wonders 4. There’s a classic CRPG from the past making its way to Steam, a new management-focused RPG which takes us back to Ancient Rome, and a number of other things to look out for.
As ever, I’ve pulled together everything I thought was relevant over the past few days, and we’re left with 13 turn-based RPGs and strategy games to look at. Right then!
Underkeep
Just look at it! How can anyone resist that deliciously sexy pixel art? Four adventurers and a dungeon full of rather suspicious walls pretty much sets the scene for Underkeep, a first-person RPG that’s all about grid movement and turn-based combat. Rake in Grass has filled their hand crafted world with puzzles, hidden passages, optional bosses and encounters that require you to be very mindful of your stamina and mana.
Party composition is a big part of the prepping and there’s an automap with custom markers to help you keep track of locked doors and things you still need to do. Exploration is a slow process with a lot of hand-drawn environments and plenty of reasons to go off the beaten track. Underkeep launched on November 5th 2026 for PC (available via GOG and Steam). Oh, and I almost forgot: this RPG isn’t just sexy. It’s also incredibly well-made and a ton of fun, so I can’t recommend it enough.
Age of Wonders 4: The Silver Seas
The Oceans become the prime real estate in Age of Wonders 4: The Silver Seas, the latest expansion from Triumph Studios. The Mercantile culture can build cities both on land and at sea, with the Cartel and Barony subcultures providing two very different approaches to trade, influence and conflict.
Aqualon and Sharkkin are added to the faction creator and four new tomes bring with them powers relating to water, piracy, spirits and ice. There’s a host of new pirate captains, aquatic fauna and new map events for those maritime empires.
Released on 3rd November 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, the expansion is available on Steam and requires the base game. It also came with the free Manta Update, which improves the water gameplay and introduces a new trade system.
Dominus Gladiatus
Another one I’d definitely recommend is Dominus Gladiatus which I’ve already got going, only to get my arse handed to me almost immediately (perhaps I should keep my losses to myself!). It’s a management-oriented RPG from the same team that did the Dark Quests, and in my opinion it’s definitely one that should be in your collection.
You recruit your fighters, develop them, choose their gear and expand your school all the while keeping an eye on morale, fatigue and injuries. Once the combat starts the duels and team battles happen automatically so it’s all about the prep and the roster.
You can select from six Domini and the other candidates become the owners of the rival schools in the tournament. The crowd can have an effect on things too which adds another layer of complexity to a profession whose chances of actually retiring were already so poor. Dominus Gladiatus launched on 5th November 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch with a free demo available on the Steam page.
Astra Bestiary
Raising a creature in Astra Bestiary is all about thinking beyond its lifespan. Beasts will die eventually and their power will go into orbs which the next generation can then absorb. Bicho Feo released this 2D monster-raising RPG on 3rd November 2026 for PC.
There are over 150 beasts in the game that you can raise through feeding, training and care. You can ride your adult beasts as you go about exploring the ruins of Yselion, learning its history and taking on the Star Trials. There’s a tactical combat system and a very non-linear exploration element to go with the cycle of raising increasingly capable companions. The full game is available on Steam.
Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor
Originally developed by Stormfront Studios in 2001, Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor came back via publisher SNEG on 6th November 2026 for Windows PC via Steam. It’s a Forgotten Realms RPG in which you can create up to 4 heroes and take on 2 companions for dungeon crawling and tactical turn-based combat.
The re-release is enhanced with modern hardware support, widescreen and 4K support, interface improvements, controller support, bug fixes, and adjustable combat animation speeds. There’s an optional Legacy mode which will give you the original experience and a turn timer which makes selecting a spell feel more like you’re under a deadline. Learn more here.
Bibidi Bibidi!
Apparently it’s impossible to go a week without at least one deckbuilder and this week it’s Bibidi Bibidi! A bright and fun roguelite in which every card has three parts. The spellbook position of the card dictates which of the three parts is active. You can therefore change the spell simply by reordering the cards and your wizard will be quite happy to recite the resulting incantation (however ridiculous it may be).
Indiana-Jonas (awesome name, congrats!) and Daan released this roguelite deckbuilder on 4th November 2026 for PC via Steam. You run through a subterranean dungeon to the Wishing Well, with shops, events and sigils all providing ways to build up your deck. The currency you earn can be spent in the Skymap to unlock new cards and characters, which in turn will give you more options on future runs.
Project Afterfall Leaves Early Access
Project Afterfall moved out of Early Access on 3rd November 2026, with the strategy and survival RPG from MuHa Games and Eerie Forest Studio officially hitting 1.0 on PC. Set a thousand years after the Thea games, it’s a fusion of Slavic folklore with urban ruins and retro-futuristic tech.
You create your own hero, recruit your companions, gather your resources and build a colony as you go through a series of branching stories and council politics. Your deck construction has an effect in both combat and non-combat situations, with crafting and 2-player co-op providing further avenues for dealing with the wasteland. The full release is on Steam.
Hex Seculum
Food, water, torchlight, and exhaustion determine how ambitious an expedition can become in Hex Seculum, an RPG from Crit42 Studio inspired by classic tabletop adventuring. Travel across its hex map uses limited daily actions, with settlements providing rumors and supplies before the next dungeon trip.
Underground, searching rooms takes time, torches burn down, and lingering can attract additional threats. Combat shifts to a side view with several distance lanes, making movement and the protection of vulnerable party members part of each turn.
Doors can be barricaded, traps investigated, and hidden routes uncovered, provided the group still has the resources to continue. The base game launched free-to-play on November 3, 2026, for Windows PC through Steam, with optional paid DLC available.
Survive The Apocalypse
Survive The Apocalypse is all about escaping a city that’s been utterly destroyed by global warming. It covers 11 districts with randomly generated encounters and loot. It was released by developer Mehmet Emin Uyar on 2nd November 2026 for PC via Steam.
You can choose to attack, wait or flee in the turn-based combat and you’ll need to be mindful of your hunger, fatigue, health and stamina between fights. Scavenging and trading with the wandering merchants will see you resupply, and you have a range of branching skills to choose from in the areas of combat, survival and cartography. There’s permanent death so you really do need to manage your resources carefully as you go.
Southern Lights: Broken Frequency
I’ve spoken about Southern Lights: Broken Frequency quite a few times now and it’s finally launched this week. It’s definitely one that’s worth looking at. An Antarctic research station is a pretty tough place to be working in to begin with and things only get worse from there. You’re in charge of the stranded crew, managing the repairs, the life support, the limited supplies, and the research into a growing cosmic threat.
The specialists have different skills, different weaknesses and you can tailor their perks. Both their health and their sanity need to be watched over. Every turn is a decision as to whether you’re going to protect the personnel who are utterly drained, whether you’re going to push the research forward or whether you’re going to just sacrifice some of the station itself to get through. Developed by Glynos Interactive and released on November 2nd, 2026 for PC via Steam.
Deadzoned Leaves Early Access
Deadzoned allows you to take everything you find which is an extremely generous policy for a game that’s otherwise so focused on killing you. You’re going to be constantly at the mercy of weapons wearing out and ammo being pretty much non-existent as you explore the procedurally generated underground zones of the plague-ridden planet Celestious.
I’d completely forgotten about this one, even though I tried it back when it first launched in Early Access and actually enjoyed it quite a bit.
It’s a traditional roguelike RPG with scavenged gear, character talents, and classes (bounty hunter, wizard, robot, etc.). The various modes will give you different run lengths, different difficulties and different enemy selections. caiys published it through caiysware and it left Early Access on 2nd November 2026. The full PC version is available on Steam.
Virtualord, The Virtual Conqueror
Another project I’ve been following for a while, and one you should definitely keep an eye on too, is Virtualord which this week debuted with a new demo. The demo consists of five missions. Three of those are tutorials; the other two are on the first planet. It was released by developer Voxelay on 6th November 2026 for PC via Steam. What intrigues me is its mix of base-building, tower defense, and RPG elements.
You need to capture your resource generators and link them into your base via a network of cells. Production chains, walls, towers and research all go into enabling expansion. Your armies are a mix of units that you can command yourself and units that are autonomous (mini-units). You get to make decisions about how you defend your territory and how you go about attacking. The full game is due in Q1 2027. Here is my Virtualord overview.
WendyQuest: Legend of the Four Corner Stones
And let’s close with WendyQuest: Legend of the Four Corner Stones, a free-to-play 2D RPG from 81monkeys and a fast-food rivalry in the form of a fantasy campaign. You play as the Wendy’s mascot, and you explore 5 food-themed regions, solve puzzles, and collect the 4 Corner Stones in order to save Savoria from Dr. Mechborg and his mechanical minions.
Turn-based combat sees you rewarded for well-timed attacks, and you can recruit companions who specialize in different types of damage. It launched in the U.S. on November 4th 2026 for PC on Steam. You can also defeat bosses to get Wendy’s app offers, which require a purchase, so the quest rewards come with the T&Cs as well.
That’s it for my early November roundup. I think we’re off to a very good start! As ever though, you’re the ones who will have the final say, so I’d urge you to head over to the Reddit community where we can all chat about the games we’ve played, swap recommendations, and of course find out loads more about other turn-based RPGs that are out there worth playing. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next time. Ciao
