On the Radar – December 2019

December should be a month full of surprises and gifts, but this year, at least at a first sight, Santa Claus seems to be a bit stingy!
Yes, we all know that, during the next month, it will be finally released Phoenix Point but, besides this long awaited title, there is still space for something else?
You would be surprised to know how many little indie games are going to be released during December.
Although I’ve never heard of most of them, this isn’t a good reason to ignore them, on the contrary!
So in December we will have the chance to travel through space and kill some aliens (like in BRIG 12 and Starship Helmet), to read a book and play cards (Little Dungeon Stories) or even to be a private military contractor with the purpose of hunting jihadist terrorists (Black Powder Red Earth®)!
Not bad, really not bad for a sleepy month….

Chrono Ark (E.A.) – December

I’ve never heard of Chrono Ark before (and I’m not even sure this is a turn-based game…), but, from what I’ve seen so far, the game seems rather interesting.
Crono Ark is a party-based deck-building roguelike single player RPG game (one of the longest definition of all time…) about rescuing the world from chaos.
Recruit, train, and build a team of unique investigators throughout the abandoned land and restore the Twisted World!
It will features:
– Party-styled, card-based battles
– RogueLite elements
– Interesting Storyline
You can find it on Steam

BRIG 12 – December

You are a clone of a very successful bounty hunter and your purpose is simple: take over your predecessor’s empire, make a bunch of money, and clone yourself so you can retire.
BRIG 12 is a strategic RPG with deep character progression and card collection mechanics. Inspired by classic turn-based RPG games, your crew will battle enemies to earn loot, defeat bosses, and capture bounties.
On Steam during December (at least we hope so…)!

Tactics: Age of Affliction (Magnolia) – 2nd December

OK, I’m a little bit confused about this game. If I’m not wrong I wrote something about it when it was released on E.A. as “Magnolia”.
Anyway, Tactics: Age of Affliction is a strategy RPG focused on rebuilding a capital city and planning tactical excursions into the wildland of the Old World.
You’ll be responsible for the fate of your people through difficult choices. Will you bring safety and comfort or will you die and be forgotten?

It will be released on Steam the 2nd of December!

Phoenix Point – 3rd December

This is one of those games that needs no introduction. For turn-based fans, Julian Gollop is almost a legend. After a successful funding campaign on Fig.co, the creator of the original X-com, try to bring us back in the good old days.
Phoenix Point puts players in the midst of a desperate fight to take back the Earth from a mutating, alien menace. Featuring turn-based tactical combat on procedurally generated maps, and resource management on a global scale, Phoenix Point offers endless replayability and a brutal challenge.
On Epic Games Store!

Little Dungeon Stories – 6th December

The game seems something between a gamebook and a card game.
The developers describe it as a challenging roguelike card-based RPG.
You have to enter a dungeon full of secrets, hostile monsters and deadly traps, and gain legendary loots!
The most interesting thing is that everything happens in the game is narrated by cards.

You can buy it on Steam!

Veil of Entropy: Norfolk Warriors (E.A.) – 6th December

Norfolk Warriors is the first module in the Veil of Entropy game world.
It is described by the developer as a single player strategic turn-based RPG/CRPG, with a strong “gamebook” feel.
Among the main features we find:
– Strategic Turn-based RPG reminiscent of play-by-mail games from a past era.
– A team to affect change to world’s political landscape.
– Relationships powerful allies, and deal with the fallout of their enemies.
– A huge game world, made up of 43,200 provinces, 63 Kingdoms, and over 100 unique Races.
You can still fund the project on Kickstarter here!

P.S. Thanks to the developer for the report!

Gordian Quest – 18th December

I begin to wonder if there is still space for a videogame without cards…
Anyway, one more time we have to fight perilous dungeons and fierce monsters for this roguelike that combines elements of deckbuilding, tactical combat and strategic decision-making.
Lead and manage heroes on gruelling missions. Forge bonds and discover new skills among them. Unravel curses laid upon the lands and defeat the ultimate evil at the heart of it all!
Obviously on Steam!

Starship Helmet – 28th December

Starship Helmet is a game about adventures in the mysterious space, where you can freely choose the role you want to play. Discover the unknown random universe, find treasures and defeat the enemy with your unparalleled wisdom and decisiveness!
From the screenshots it reminded me FTL but it’s hard to make a prediction about the gameplay.
The good thing is that finally we have a game without cards…. no…wait, oh man…

On Steam!

Black Powder Red Earth® – 31st December

Black Powder Red Earth® is a minute-to-minute turn-based tactics game set in a proxy war between the dictatorship of a failing petro-state and a brutal jihadist insurgency. Fighting in war-torn urban sprawls, players lead an enhanced capability advisory and enabler unit, conducting kinetic actions with full lethal surrogacy to accomplish their missions.

Developed with the support and advice of Special Operations combat veterans from the Commanders In-Extremis Force and by the designer of the Decentralized Battle Space Program, Black Powder Red Earth® has no tech trees, base building or R&D mini-games. It focuses entirely on meaningful tactical decisions that influence the outcome of raids in urban environments

The game will be release on Steam.