The Strategy RPG Together in Battle will be released into Early Access on April 25:

Together in Battle has a release date!

Together in Battle will launch into early access on April 25th, 2023
Greetings, folks! I'm pleased to let you know that Together in Battle has an early access release date: April 25th, 2023! It's been a long road, and I simply cannot wait to get the game out and hear what you think of it. 

Sincerely yours,

Craig

Gamegrin checked out The Last Spell:

The Last Spell Review

The Last Spell is a roguelike isometric, turn-based, RPG tower defence developed by Ishtar Games and published by The Arcade Crew. My expectations of the storyline when I heard it was a dark fantasy was it would be generic. Like all dark fantasy stories, an endless war has ravaged the lands of a nameless world and it’s up to you to find peace. Only, The Last Spell’s writers have broken the generic tropes by absolutely rocking the kasbah with themes of total annihilation and the hope of destroying the things that led to said destruction in the game’s premise.

An unhinged archmage with the dumbest name I’ve heard — Heronymous Teller — decides the war has gone on for too long and learns how to cast a purple nuke blast. Picking a town that surprisingly had the entire royal family residing in, except for the king, it’s obliterated within seconds. The tragedy leads to The Cataclysm, a short period where mages from other regions — with orders from the king — learnt the spell to destroy literally every settlement in the land.

[...]

A roguelike tower defence game that doesn’t throw any punches in relation to its story, pixelated graphics and killer soundtrack. I’m sure you’ll have a blast on the pursuit to banish all magic with The Last Spell.

Score: 9.5/10

Couchpotato spotted the first person RPG CORPUS EDAX - here's the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign:

CORPUS EDAX

CORPUS EDAX is an immersive first-person-melee RPG that takes place in a city on a distant planet. Fight with your body, improvised weapons and ingenuity.

Features

• A Skills and A.G.N.I.S. (Allure, Grit, Nerd, Intuition, Strength) system. Place objects in the world to reach places or climb over fences, creating your own path. Locked door? Hack it. Or lockpick it. Destroy it. Or alternatively, seduce or convince a guard to open it for you
• Dialogue system that uses the stats of your character for special dialogue choices, as everything contributes to dialogue.
• Physically-based characters so you can throw pipes at the legs, arms or head and they will react as they should. Pick up a chair, throw it, swing it or kick it onto someone.
• Faction reputation system. Branching dialogues offer choice and consequence so players have different experiences
• Personal reputation in the form of 3 traits - Insight, Rapacity and Reciprocity. Almost every action you do will contribute to one of these 3 traits, unlocking new dialogue 
  choices and reactions.

About CORPUS EDAX

Almost a century ago, Humanity left Earth for a new planet due to catastrophic events rendering it unlivable to humans.

A previously unknown planet was found accidentally as it put itself in collision course with the Earth's ships. With nowhere to go, we settled here.

A new city was built, and with it, new rules and laws. Over the years its newly formed World Government struggled to rule a unified planet - one without borders, countries or nationalities - and an opposing faction called The Salvation was born out of anger and desperation for a better life.

After waking up from a medically-induced coma, you find yourself inside a newly built city called Corpus Edax. In one way or another, you'll get entangled in the fight for justice with The Salvation, as they see it, or in the fight for supremacy as you act as a double-spy for the Corpus Edax Security Forces.

Help shape the future of Corpus Edax, for a better tomorrow for your fellow Citizens (or not, your choice).

Superjump checked out the J-RPG Absinthia:

Absinthia Review

Fights, friendship, and queer coming-of-age angst in a bite-sized RPG

For years, indie RPGs have taken their inspiration from some of the greatest games to grace the SNES era: Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and Terranigma. These titles have been used ad-nauseam to sell the experience of yesteryear but with a modern twist. Plenty of indie JRPGs have taken the bespoke elements of these games and added major quality-of-life improvements granting us some of the best experiences in the modern era.

[...]

Absinthia is filled with twists across its short run time. While the game is nothing dynamic or new to those with experience in the genre, its characters and pacing are refreshing, and its portrayal of queer characters is leagues ahead of contemporary AAA titles that only dabble in mock representation. What's further striking is that Absinthia is another game designed in part with RPG Maker, which continues to be an impressive engineering feat for these bite-sized JRPGs so many years on. With gorgeous sprite work, a beautiful soundtrack, and plenty to explore, Absinthia never stutters in its dozen or so hours of questing gameplay. It's the perfect RPG for anyone looking to take a breather from more bloated titles, while still featuring everything a genre fan could want.

A cozy indie RPG with likable characters that will resonate with a younger audience, Absinthia feels like the perfect genre title to recommend to both veterans and casual enjoyers. It's a little bit Golden Sun, a little bit Lufia, a little bit Lunar, and a whole lot of fun.

Lackblogger reviewed Caves of Lore.

Link to article

Wartales will be released on April 12:

Wartales | 1.0 Release Date Announcement | Trailer

Wizard Worm checked out Avernum: Escape From the Pit:

Explore the Underworld of Avernum: Escape From the Pit | Game Review (Party-Based RPG)

COG checked out the tactical RPG The Last Spell:

THE LAST SPELL REVIEW – A VERY METAL TRIUMPH

The Last Spell Review
It sort of snuck up on me around the 10 hour mark, but The Last Spell is a strong contender for strategy game of the year. On the surface, it seems pretty conventional. Maybe even derivative. But after you’ve made some progress and seen the larger shape of the game, you’ll find that nearly every system and mechanic is trying something different. Does that mean reinventing the wheel? Sometimes, sure it does. But what would we have if new games refused to take risks? The Last Spell is one of a kind, and I can’t stop playing it.

[...]

The Last Spell made me realize that a siege is the perfect video game scenario. It allows you to focus on a single area, and gives the player a chance to customize their base. It also lends itself to a small group of heroes standing bravely against a horde of faceless enemies. Combine that with other popular features such as roguelike development, and you have a pretty fun game. But spend some time with The Last Spell, and you will see how differently it plays.

Score: 90/100

The J-RPG Absinthia has been released:

Absinthia

Absinthia is a turn-based RPG featuring the story of scorned Knight Freya, her young apprentice Sera, and their individual struggles with loss, betrayal and acceptance as they fight to protect their home.

Story
When a mysterious enemy threatens the peaceful town of Katti, a traveling knight named Freya steps in to save the day. Young warrior Sera, alongside her friends Jake and Thomas, begin training under Freya's guidance to protect Katti Town and the Ambrose Isles. But when another assault ends in a tragic loss, Sera must grapple with the true nature of their enemy--as well as that of the knight protecting them.

Features

• Traditional turn-based jRPG battle system featuring a regenerating MP system for faster-paced combat, powerful team-based attacks and no random encounters
• Difficulty options for those who seek challenge--or only want to focus on the story
• Colorful handheld-style pixel art and illustrations
• Original soundtrack: Composed by Jazz Stewart, Absinthia's soundtrack is a modern take on some of the greatest tunes from the SNES era of jRPGs

MP1st reviewed the tactical RPG The Last Spell:

The Last Spell Review – The Last Tactical Stand

Welcoming players with hard-hitting main-menu metal music to make Eddie Munson proud, The Last Spell sets the grim mood and the head-banging rhythm even before you step into the battlefield. A tactical RPG with roguelite elements, this is a hard-as-nails tale about growing stronger, dying, and getting back into the fight knowing how to do better, along with some valuable perks that you earned during the battle. And it’s incredibly complex and addictive in all the right ways.

Dawn of the Undead
The tale says that the world is on the brink of destruction due to The Cataclysm, an enchantment summoned by mages in a final bid to end the rampaging war. It turned out for the worse, as fireballs lit the skies and wiped out nearly everything, spreading this poisoned purple mist that turns everyone into bloodthirsty undead creatures. Only a few Havens remain, but the hordes of the relentless tormented attack at night, trying to stop the mages from casting The Last Spell that will banish all magic from the land and hopefully restore peace. Who knows, maybe this time they won’t mess it up.

Your role in this medieval zombie apocalypse tale is to protect the last bastion of humanity and earn the mages enough time to conjure the spell. It won’t be easy, with the enemy numbers in the hundreds and your humble bastion of defense with just a few determined but inexperienced heroes.

[...]

There is nothing inherently wrong with the mechanics and fun factor of The Last Spell. The nearly two years in Early Access really served to hone and polish the game, making it a turn-based RPG fan’s dream. The ruthless challenge is deliberate, the long hours in some runs are part of the deal, and you’ll get your money’s worth for sure. Embrace the undead coming from the mist and enjoy one of the best tactical roguelite games of recent years, even if you must die over and over again.

Score: 9/10

I Dream of Indie Games checked out The Last Spell:

The Last Spell Review | Spellbinding

The tactical RPG The Last Spell will leave Early Access today:

The Last Spell 

The Last Spell is a tactical RPG with roguelite elements. During the days, you’ll have to carefully choose how you will re-build your city and how you’ll position your defenses. Will you prioritize buying a brand new flaming sword, or build a Mana Well to regenerate some priceless Mana after battles?

During night, you’ll have to exterminate all the monsters coming at your walls with a large range of weapons and powers. Level up your heroes, and repeat until the end.

Turn-Based Tactical RPG:

• The whole RPG package: primary stats, secondary stats, skills, perks, traits… and more.
• Build your own classes: upgrade your heroes with stat bonuses and perks. Want to make a canon glass rogue/mage fighting with a gun? Do it!
• Tons of procedurally generated trinkets, armors and weapons, each with their own skillset and playstyle!
• Manage your squad of heroes: they’re strong, but they are few and they have access to limited resources. Healing is rare, so try to find the good balance.

Hordes of Evil:

• Waves of hundreds of enemies to slay, burn, shock and slice! Don’t get overwhelmed.
• Dozens of enemy types with different behaviors, which will get stronger and stronger as you progress.
• Think and adapt: you have to deal with A LOT of enemies, so you want to optimize your damage output with strong AOE attacks. Enemies have various strength and weaknesses that will challenge your wits.

Protect the City:

• Rebuild the city to help you between fights. Get healed, get items, get new heroes. Spend your resources wisely!
• Build up your defenses: walls, traps, towers, catapults… every bit of help is welcomed.
• Protect the circle of magic at all costs! If you lose it, it’s game over.

Roguelite Elements:

• The game is meant to be hard. You will fail… but everytime you do, you’ll grow stronger.
• Procedurally generated Enemy waves, characters, weapons and a ton of unlockables will keep you entertained.
• A full range of difficulty levels to entertain the craziest hardcore players.

The launch trailer for Phantom Brigade. The game released back on March 1st and is rated very positive on Steam.

Phantom Brigade is a hybrid turn-based & real-time tactical RPG with an innovative timeline-based command system. See the future, predict enemy actions, and plot your counterattack on the timeline! Outnumbered and out-gunned, lead the Brigade's campaign to retake their war-torn homeland. 

The dungeon crawler Hibernaculum is now on Kickstarter:

What is Hibernaculum?

Hibernaculum is a retro inspired dungeon crawler that sets out to recreate the engrossing labyrinthine experiences of the classics of days gone by, whilst also building a modern, deeply unique & explorable world of survival, mystery and macabre intrigue. 

The Basics

• Hibernaculum is a first person sci-fi/horror role playing game with survival horror roots.
• Create a unique character to explore the depths of Hibernaculum & have the experience you want to have. Choices only matter, if they matter to you.
• Non-linear gameplay allows for exploration at your own pace, and in your own fashion. Forge ahead and risk calamity or riches. Conversely, pace yourself and avoid harm.
• Navigate decayed industrial Realms through environmental storytelling and a unique, brooding atmosphere.
• Hibernaculum is being developed in C++ for PC (Windows) Mac & Linux with immediate plans for porting to Steam Deck, iOS & Nintendo Switch.
• Hibernaculum will initially be available in English, German, French & Spanish.
• Hibernaculum will be released DRM-free & available on Steam + GoG.

Balrum was released 7 years ago today and in celebration there is a new patch and the game is 75% off on Steam.

Balrum is 7 years old! We are celebrating with a new patch and a 75% discount!

The new patch contains the following improvements:

The game now uses the latest libraries to ensure the best compatibility with modern systems.

• Added sound effects to various game elements. Like opening a cauldron or picking up certain items that had no sound effect previously.
• Added a new map marker to the Darkwood map. (needs new playthrough)
• Follow us on Twitter!

Have a nice day!

Balcony Team

Wizard Worm checked out Edge Of Eternity:

Edge Of Eternity Review - World of Heryon Needs You! (Turn-Based JRPG)

Henriquejr spotted the January/February update for Monomyth:

Monomyth - January / February Update

State of the Game: Video Devlog 2.0 | Roadmap

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

Another month, another update! This one is a little shorter because I am still in the middle of working on Beta Update 3. Just like last time, you can find the video's transcript attached to this post!

Best wishes,
Michael

The tactical RPG The Last Spell will leave Early Access on March 9:

The Last Spell 1.0 Launch Date

See you next month.

Hello Heroes!

After more than a year and a half in Early Access, the time has finally come for The Last Spell to have an official launch date:

On March 9, The Last Spell will release in 1.0!

Thank you so much for your support and feedback during the Early Access. We hope you are as excited as we are about the launch date, with just two weeks left to wait!

Henriquejr spotted a new community update for Wartales:

Community Update #5 Out Now!

Featuring community requests, new content, reworked features and more!

Attention mercenaries!

The fifth Community Update is here! As usual, the update is based primarily on some of the most prevelant and popular community requests we've been receiving over the last few months, massively changing multiple aspects of the game.

You can watch our Community Update spotlight video to find out what some of the major changes are if you don't have the time to read through the full patchnotes!

 [...]

The updated roadmap for The Iron Oath:

Updated Roadmap, 'Friends and Foes' Status Update

Hey everyone,

Firstly, we'd like to apologize for the lack of official communication during the last month. We were hoping to release Friends and Foes in January, but unfortunately this update has continued to take longer than planned. While it is content complete, there is a lot of testing, tweaking, and bug fixing still to be done to ensure that it lives up to our standard. The build will be available on the public test server 2~ weeks from now, but we expect that it's going to need to stay there for a few more weeks so we can gather your feedback on balance, and fix any bugs that you may find. Because of this, we're officially delaying the update until March.

We know many of you have been anticipating the update and will be frustrated by the news. We are sorry for the delays, but we do believe it will be worth the wait in the end. In hindsight, this update could have been broken up into 2 or 3 smaller ones, and we'll take this as a learning experience and apply it to future updates.

On that note, we've updated our Early Access Roadmap to reflect the changes to Friends and Foes, and the updates that will follow it.

Thanks for your support and understanding.

-Curious Panda Games
MORE ABOUT THIS GAME

Thanks Heriquejr!

Fabled Lands gets its first DLC called the Lords of the Rising Sun:

BIG NEWS! FABLED LANDS DLC COMING 16 FEB!

I'm incredibly excited to announce that Fabled Lands will have its first DLC on Feb 16th, 2023!

What an incredible journey it has been folks! A lot more months than I initially anticipated but I can proudly say that the time is nigh for the BIG content update, Lords of the Rising Sun!

The Lords of the Rising Sun DLC adds a new continent as well as variety of changes - new quests to find, new lands to explore, new layers of lore and world building to unravel! Defeat challenging enemies in exotic places and obtain new legendary loot that awaits you in places long forgotten by the living...

The game’s final release wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible help of Fabled Lands’ dedicated community. The current closed beta has proven the content is as exciting as I have hoped for, bringing a smooth experience and adding lots of depth to previous choices and strategies.

I am immensely thankful for the opportunity to continue flying on the wings of my indie game dev dreams! It’s both a privilege and honor to bring these fantastic series by fantastic authors Jamie Thomson and Dave Morris as a full-fledged PC game.

Cost and Discounts

The DLC will cost $3.99 USD and the Steam team has been so kind in providing a Daily Deal to celebrate the launch! The base game will have its deepest discount to date, and for the upcoming months, so make sure to wishlist the game, book this date and not miss on the news!

See you at the launch party!

Kordanor checked out the Early Access dungeon crawler Gloomgrave:

Gloomgrave - Roguelike Dungeoncrawler - Preview [EN] by Kordanor

Kordanor's conclusion (snippet from the video) is:

...It feels quite polished, and the balancing during a playthrough is also fine. It's just the different characters and the attributes themselves which could be rebalanced to make for more interesting choices. And that would also be necessary if the game should be expanded in some way. It would also need more intersting stuff, random events, boss fights, anything like that to keep the player engaged for a few hours...

The third person action RPG Earth's Shadow has been released:

Earth's Shadow

Earth's Shadow is a third person action Sci-Fi dungeon crawler set in the year 3081 on planet Sumbra; a remote alien planet where legends of valuable relics surround this black world, calling to the greedy and brave explorers seeking a bright future... but end up uncovering an even darker past.

Working a dead-end job... Alexi-Ru, a cyborg CSP (cargo ship pilot), tends to fill the void-ness of his boring flight job by day-dreaming of the mysterious stories surrounding planet Sumbra, aka Earth's Shadow.

In the year 3081, the original Earth and it's galaxy has been dead for centuries, and although a few humans still exist, colonized in far away sectors... Earth's legacy is not forgotten with some even referring to Sumbra, as the shadow of Earth.

Intrigued by Earth's history, Alexi-Ru often finds himself flying millions of light-clicks off his normal cargo route just to speed by the mysterious planet, hoping to catch a glimpse of something on the alien surface via radar that might force him to slow down or possibly even stop.

Eventually Alexi-Ru's curiosity is justified when his ship encounters a malfunction one night, while passing by the tiny planet, forcing him to crash-land on the surface he dreamed of so often on previous flights.

Alexi-Ru remembers his attention right before the impending crash, focused on an un-jostled book, thrown from a compartment during the violent atmosphere re-entry, titled... "When Day-Dreams Turn To Nightmares"

"That doesn't mean anything," mumbles Alexi-Ru, trying to re-assure himself as he arms himself with a Tec-9000 semi-automatic and sets forth to explore... Earth's Shadow.

Features

• Three different game modes: ROGUE, ADVENTURE or STORY mode (Never lose progress or equipment)
  Fully Voiced NPC Characters
• Role Playing Shooter (RPS) - Level up your character while building your stats to become a powerful cyborg
• Explore and uncover secrets from an ancient alien civilization
• Find and equip weapons and tech with dynamic stats and modifiers
• Crawl through procedural and custom locations
• Adjustable DIFFICULTY settings to allow for an easier or more challenging experience
• All loot is random, allowing each playthrough to be a completely different experience

Lackblogger spotted a big update for Black Geyser - among other things you can play the game in French now:

Ho there, adventurers!

We are thrilled to announce that Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness is now available in French! Our heartfelt thanks goes to Vincent "Goat Buster" Lagaillarde for the French translation of the game.

Since our last update, several fixes and improvements have been implemented as well. You can read their list below.

Latest Changes

• Added French localization
• Enabled unique spellcasting chants for companions
• Corrected Interrupt Strength and Interrupt Evasion calculations
• High Interrupt Evasion characters can now tolerate a lot more hits
• When casting identical spells on a target, now all instances take effect instead of just one
• Sling weapon models are now always positioned correctly
• Duration scaling based on class and level is now calculated correctly
• Heal over time effects now work correctly
• Duration scaling introduced for Healing Mist and Verdant Growth
• Healing Mist and Verdant Growth now restore less Health per turn compared to single target heals
• Adjusted the damage and scaling of damage over time effects
• Item comparison tooltips now appear correctly both in the Inventory and the Shop UI
• Available Special Ability points are now correctly displayed during level-up
• Dorb won't spawn multiple times anymore
• Hamlin no longer disappears after becoming hostile in his first quest
• Arvex's final quest cannot get stuck after sparing Siracca anymore
• Volendir no longer appears later in the game if he was killed before
• The mound of sand in Freynagar now also contains Moist Sand
• Jury Rigged Golems no longer engage instantly upon entering the area
• Corrected marker positions for all areas on the world map
• Each animal in Scofarth now only drops a single instance of Animal Pelt
• Isla's staff is now identified by default
• Trapped Jade's dialogue now starts correctly when approached by companions

If you like our work, you can support the project by posting a review on Steam.

The Black Geyser Team

Unfortunately the dungeon crawler Caves of Lore is ignored by most gaming sites right now - so here are some Steam reviews:

Oldmanwithers:

Caves of Lore is a wonderful mix of idea's and systems that blend together into an incredibly engaging, if somewhat still roughly hewn, love letter to classic CRPG's while still feeling very much like it's own game.

Highly customizable character development, quick and engaging tactical turn-based combat and a world exploration mechanic that utilizes unique skills and abilities to navigate the environment and discover treasure provides a fun framework to really dig into it's many systems.
That said, the game still feels VERY much like an early access title with frequent rough-edges and technical issues to it's overall presentation (though none that have been completely game-breaking in my experience), but the developer is highly engaged in the community, listening to feedback and updating and patching the game at a pace that could only be call "fevered".
As it stands, it is a fascinating hidden gem of an RPG that will no doubt only become better and more refined as time goes on under the developer's constant refinement. If you're willing to put up with a few growing pains, I have no doubt any old school RPG enthusiast would find a lot to love about this game.

Stubbieoz:

Wow, what a gem of a game. This is indie game development at its best.
The graphics are lacking for sure but they work really well within the context of the game. There is an absolute ton of content to this game. Lots of secrets to discover and a real feeling of accomplishment when you work things out. The tactical combat is a real joy to play. You can save anytime out of combat and battles are quick.
The devs are really passionate and active in the forum. They are currently churning out patches almost every day. Which brings me to the one caveat I currently have. While the game appears to be complete, it is lacking in some tooltips and clarification on some game mechanics. But these are being addressed in the forum as they are being reported on and some early game breaking bugs have since been smashed.
Totally worth the current asking price. If you like old school rpg's with modern game mechanics you will love this.

I give this game a 4 out of 5 schooners.... along with a middy.

Eremycore:

Easily one of the best games I have played in a long time. Learning skills and abilities feels good. Each party member fills out specific roles and can be tweaked with equipment and skills. Their little bits of dialog here and there give them personality and make you care about them.
Combat is fair and pushes you to get creative with abilities while not feeling like you are forced to stick to any meta or handcuff you into playing a certain way. There may be minor UI bugs every so often but the dev is rolling out multiple updates a day at this point. They clearly care about this game and so should you.

Kordanor checked out the demo of the tactical RPG Wantless:

Wantless - Nightmare Tactics RPG - Preview [EN] by Kordanor

Ever encountered a nightmare in person? In Wantless we jump into our patients brains to erase unwelcome memories. A turnbased tactics-RPG of a different kind, with a very interesing spin on tactical combat where for every action you take, your enemies get more action points. Efficiency is key! The game also comes with a nice artstyle and an interesting spell-crafting-system.

Check out my Preview-Video for more details or give the freely available demo a spin. The game does not have a scheduled release date yet.