Deep character customization, tactical battles, and a rookie mercenary’s journey through warring kingdoms are at its center.
Clearly reminiscent of Stoneshard, this new project from Hong Kong-based two-person team GAMLIC Studio looks interesting enough to earn a spot on these prestigious pages of mine, yes, that’s sarcasm. It’s called Chronia: The Rotcore, an RPG with tactical combat and a game world packed with hazards that seem perfectly capable of ending your life much earlier than planned.
You’re a novice mercenary traveling across Tinotella, a fantasy land whose kingdoms are consumed by war, as you follow a gifted newcomer searching for their people’s origins. The journey takes them across mountains and valleys, where they discover stories and treasures and get caught up in conspiracies along the way.
Plenty of Ways to Prepare for Trouble
Character development includes more than 100 types of equipment and over 150 nodes covering skills and passive abilities. Equipment bonuses can be randomized, while smithing and rune-crafting are also part of the announced design. There’s plenty of potential for experimenting with how abilities and gear work together, though the numbers alone won’t tell us how distinct the resulting builds feel.
Combat is turn-based, with the developer highlighting usable items and friendly allies’ assistance as tools for handling difficult encounters.
Tinotella also seems unlikely to run out of things worth avoiding. Its threats include bandits, army deserters, wild animals, monsters, and potentially divine beings. The developers note that players can confront some dangers or leave them alone. Sensible. Seeing something with the power of a god and deciding it’s someone else’s problem is an underrated adventuring skill.
The setting’s darker side extends to the Rotcore itself, which the story description associates with dead souls and the pursuit of power.
A Small Team With a Longer Development Plan
Early Access version will contain the prologue and first chapter, with seven main story chapters planned overall. The studio estimates roughly 10–15 hours for the completed main story and tentatively anticipates around three years of Early Access development. The studio also plans more skills, equipment, areas, stories, and crafting features.
Chronia: The Rotcore is currently listed for a 2026 Early Access release on PC through Steam, without an exact date. A free Chronia: The Rotcore Prologue demo is already available.
