A desperate search for a cure leads straight into a region most sensible travelers have learned to avoid in The Tainted Lands, an upcoming party-based tactical RPG from Arete Games.
The first time I came across this promising RPG was back in June 2025, when I covered it in the 20th episode of Keep an Eye On. Since then, it’s been great to see development moving forward, and while technical details are still scarce, things seem to be progressing very well.
Set in a bleak eldritch fantasy world, the game follows a cursed wanderer assembling an expedition into a mountainous frontier inhabited by monsters, treasure hunters, and forces left buried since an ancient era.
The game is currently being developed for Windows PC and is expected to arrive through Steam Early Access. No release date has been announced.
An Expedition Into Forbidden Territory
The Tainted Lands takes place along the northeastern limits of the civilized world. Beyond the mountains lies a hostile region known as the Forbidden Lands, once controlled by enigmatic guardians called the Avatara.
Whatever protection they provided has long since disappeared, leaving the territory open to grave robbers, mercenaries, and adventurers prepared to gamble their lives on whatever remains hidden there.
The protagonist has a more personal reason for making the journey. Afflicted by an unknown curse, the wanderer enters the region in search of a possible cure.
Traveling alone would amount to suicide, however, so survival depends on recruiting companions capable of enduring both the physical dangers of the expedition and the supernatural influence surrounding it.
Ruined structures, sealed entities, and strange relics all point toward a much older conflict beneath the surface. Arete Games has framed the story around eldritch beings and Outer Gods, with the expedition gradually uncovering what happened to the Forbidden Lands and why the protagonist became tainted in the first place. Decisions made during the journey are also expected to influence the narrative.
Hex-Based Tactical Combat System
Combat unfolds on isometric maps divided into hexagonal spaces. The current interface places the complete round order across the top of the screen, allowing the player to see when party members and enemies are due to act.
Selecting an attack displays its hit chance and projected damage, while the active character panel tracks health, resources, and ongoing conditions.
Battlefield objectives may also extend beyond eliminating every hostile unit. One of the current screenshots shows a confrontation with bandit raiders in which the party must defeat the attackers while also preventing them from killing a hostage.
Scenarios like this could force the group to divide its attention, prioritize dangerous targets, and use movement more carefully than in a straightforward fight. The displayed interface remains a work in progress, so some rules and visual elements may change during development.
Building a Party That Can Survive
Companion recruitment sits at the center of the campaign. Arete Games describes the available adventurers as capable but imperfect individuals carrying their own scars and flaws.
The studio has not yet explained whether those weaknesses function primarily as combat traits, narrative complications, or a mixture of both, but they appear intended to make party selection more involved than simply choosing the strongest classes.
The game’s official materials also mention multiple character-development systems and limited permadeath.
Exact details have not been disclosed, including which circumstances make a death permanent, but the mechanic could give injuries and casualties lasting consequences without making every defeat immediately irreversible.
According to the current Early Access information, the opening build is planned to contain the prologue and first chapter, alongside 15 recruitable classes and more than 36 enemy types. That should provide room for different party compositions, especially if classes are designed around distinct battlefield roles and interactions.
A Hand-Drawn Eldritch World
The Tainted Lands uses 2D characters and creatures within detailed isometric environments. Its hand-drawn approach gives the game the appearance of a dark illustrated campaign book, with weathered settlements, overgrown wilderness, underground ruins, and distorted monsters filling its maps.
Characters look like hardened travelers instead of immaculate champions, while enemies include unnatural beasts and creatures shaped by whatever corruption has taken hold of the region. This subdued style fits a story centered on desperation, dangerous discoveries, and an expedition whose members may not all return.
The Early Access Plan
Arete Games intends to use Early Access to collect feedback while expanding the campaign. The studio currently estimates that this phase will last approximately 18 months, although the schedule may change as development continues.
While the initial version is centered on the prologue and Chapter 1, the completed game is planned to contain six chapters.
New material and mechanical improvements are expected to arrive gradually. Updates, patches, and development roadmaps will be shared through Steam and the game’s community channels.
The Tainted Lands remains some distance from release on PC via Steam, and several of its deeper systems still need a proper explanation. I’m waiting for at least a playable demo so I can get a deeper understanding of the combat system and what you can actually do outside of combat. You can find the trailer below.
