Ex Sanguis is a stylish XCOM-style roguelite with tactical, turn-based battles. It releases September 10th on PC via Steam, when it enters Early Access.
Developed by Lightbulb Crew and published by Firesquid, the game follows Othercide, which should be immediately obvious to fans from its art style. This indie studio creates experiences that combine a distinctive red, black, and white color palette with a commitment to placing game mechanics at the forefront.
In this preview, I will provide a general overview of the game in its current state. Described as the spiritual successor to Othercide, this dark new chapter builds on that game’s timeline-based combat system.
The player must recreate life on a desolate planet by leading a team of Stillae to recover stolen memories and blood from the evil agents of Stasis. You complete successive battles and collect resources in order to gradually unlock powers as you fight in a seemingly endless conflict.
The dynamic turn-based combat takes place in a visually striking, hellish world where the timeline and positioning are the most important aspects.
You choose your path along the map as you progress, deciding whether to ramp up the difficulty and face high-risk, high-reward missions, head straight for a boss fight, or venture out to gather resources first so you increase your chance of success when you get there. During each playthrough, you can unlock powers, regain memories, and customize your Stillae for the next run.
IN THE MIDDLE OF A CHAIN REACTION
The contrasting black and white colors of the otherworldly surroundings make the bright red parts of the character models and their blood-infused powers really pop. The stylized Stillae and enemies look great with their long, sharp legs, large weapons, and flowing capes, although they can sometimes be difficult to differentiate in the heat of battle.
The dynamic combat requires you to plan each of your moves carefully. If you tap into your tactical mastery, you are able to strategically trigger epic chains of events across the battlefield.
Timeline Effects can be used to speed up, delay, or swap characters’ positions on the timeline, thus impacting the turn order positively for you and negatively for foes.
A range of time-based skills can also be utilized; some take effect instantly, while others are delayed and trigger after a certain number of timed units. There are also interruptions that come into effect during the enemy’s turn, allowing you to anticipate or prevent their actions altogether.
There are a number of hazards scattered throughout each level that you can interact with. By using the environment to your advantage, you can change the outcome of battle. You can block line of sight, explode objects, and ignite enemies for extra damage.
As in similar games, if you stand behind an enemy to attack them, more damage is dealt than if you are facing them head-on. There are also special effects such as knockbacks, forced facings, flanking bonuses, and damage over time that can boost your attacks.
When all of these factors are combined with random unlocks after each victory for new skills and traits, there are countless opportunities to develop unique synergies that will help you turn the tide of battle.
MAP AND MISSIONS
Your team of Stillae’s starting location is the Blood Pit in the center of the map. Around twenty circular nodes surround it, offering many options for where to go next, although their similarities can become a little repetitive.
Each node has a mission objective – the only ones I saw during my playthrough were to kill target enemies or destroy something on the battlefield, so I’m hoping there are more variations in the full release. Some locations have certain effects associated with them; for example, ‘Slippery’ increases knockback distance by two spaces, ‘Focused’ reduces AP consumption by 30%, and ‘Regretful’ increases all characters’ damage by 25%.
Once you select a node, you enter the level and begin a turn-based battle. Each Stillae has a set amount of AP, which you can spend on moving and using skills. This resets each turn. I really liked the freedom to use as much AP as I wanted to move, instead of being limited to a set number of spaces.
If AP drops below the indicated threshold, the Stillae enter Burst mode, and their next turn will be delayed. This is useful for launching an extra attack to quickly finish off a foe that has almost been defeated. This time-based initiative system, which was also used in Othercide to great effect, forces the player to consider whether to end their turn without draining the majority of their action points so they can react sooner to whatever the enemy has planned for their next turn, or launch multiple attacks to try and finish them off quickly before they have a chance to act. You need to survey the whole battlefield to determine which tactic works best in certain situations.
Resources called Scintillae and Corrupted Blood are earned by completing missions and can be spent on unlocking upgrades and accessing the boss location. Ex Sanguis is truly a game that rewards careful planning every step of the way.
CLASS ACTION
The elite warriors at your disposal, the Stillae, are on a quest to restore the flow of life and save a dying world. By fighting against the forces of Stasis and emerging victorious, they unlock new talents.
You are offered three randomly selected options to choose from (with rarities such as common, rare, epic, and legendary), offering a mix of new skills and powerful attributes. You also get three useful rerolls if none of the options take your fancy.
Each class pulls from a pool of talents that can create powerful synergies with each other, resulting in deep build customization. The new skills and stat boosts are temporary, however, lasting only for the current run before resetting.
To start a new run (known as a memory), you create a team of three, assigning each a class to define their abilities and roles;
- The Sungladis has increased health and often uses skills that feature Bleed and Parry. You’ll want to move her to where the fighting is thickest, as she is able to take more hits from the enemy.
- The Tempestar is fast and agile, attacking from further afield or dipping in and out of the fray. She can Mark foes to help deal even more damage.
- The Veritor specializes in time manipulation. She can delay the enemy turn order so they don’t get as many chances to attack.
Ex Sanguis has a compelling roguelite loop that can hook the player into starting just one more mission for the umpteenth time.
Defeating challenging enemies to gain Corrupted Blood, which you can use to gain access to bosses or spend on upgrades for customizing your squad, is a successful formula. There are ten difficulty levels in the game, with new modifiers increasing both the challenge and the rewards.
Even if you fail a mission, some progress is carried over, opening up new opportunities in subsequent runs and offering a sense of achievement, no matter how small.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ex Sanguis is a slick and strategic turn-based game with striking visuals that are now recognizable as the developer’s signature style.
With its lack of variety in certain areas, it would benefit from more diverse missions, maps, and enemy encounters, but these are minor niggles. Some of the missions can also be a challenge even when they are set on the lowest difficulty, so tweaks to the balance, which the developer reportedly has in the pipeline, would be welcome.
Blending tactical combat with a distinctive gothic horror aesthetic, the haunting atmosphere, satisfying gameplay loop, and story steeped in mystery all work together to grab the player’s attention.
For fans of its predecessor, Othercide, this intriguing evolution retains the dark, stylish elements that made that game stand out. It definitely has a lot to admire in terms of its strong concept, consistent art style, and enjoyable mechanics. The bite-sized battle chunks make it an easy game to pick up and play in short bursts.
Eye-catching, memorable, and satisfying, I am looking forward to diving back in to fight more agents of Stasis and uncover the grim world’s dark secrets. It’s not for everyone, and it takes patience and persistence when you hit setbacks or frustrations. However, I would definitely recommend taking a look if you like the sound of tense combat encounters, punishing difficulty, and a wide range of unlocks all wrapped up in a drop-dead gorgeous package.
Ex Sanguis releases in Early Access on September 10, 2026, on PC via Steam, and a demo is also available now. Lightbulb Crew has stated they will take player feedback on board and refine the game’s performance and quality. They aim to expand the game with additional content, improved balance, new features, and overall polish.
