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Poll Watch

Are you concerned about the use of generative AI by game developers?
Yes, it will decrease the quality of games
16.33%

Yes, it will impact people's jobs / shift the industry
18.37%

Yes, but it is too early to say whether the net result will be negative
30.61%

No, it will increase the quality of games
16.33%

No, it will improve people's jobs
6.12%

No, it won't substantially change anything
2.04%

I don't have any opinion for or against it / don't know enough about generative AI to say
10.2%

Vote

January

The Crazy Hyper-Dungeon Chronicles - Demo Update

by Hiddenx, Monday - January 15, 2024 16:24

A new demo with many new features is available for the roguelike The Crazy Hyper-Dungeon Chronicles:

Exciting New Update for Our Game Demo!

A Lot of Changes! Discover Enhanced Gameplay, New Levels, and More!

We have completed the modifications for the new DEMO, which now includes almost all the features we decided to add following the invaluable feedback (both positive and negative) received from you. The only features still left out concern the game's future levels.

Here's the complete list of new features:

Perks:
We have developed a perk system that affects several gameplay elements, adapting to different playstyles, whether they are action-oriented, objective-focused, aesthetic, or a combination of these. Here are the four available archetypes:

  • Destroyer: Prefers intense combat, favoring games with physical challenges and fast-paced action. As a result, they will face more enemies and must excel in intense combat scenarios. Less focused on narrative elements.
  • Solver: Enjoys story and narration in games, thus able to overcome some challenges and combats using oratory skills, preferring strategy over brute force. Loves immersive expeNuovo Sistema di Vantaggi nel Gioco!riences with emotional depth, so dialogues will be richer, and characters more detailed.
  • Explorer: Goal-oriented and driven by achieving them, will find more loot and can carry more items from the start, earning greater rewards for puzzles solved. This profile is more cautious and can move unnoticed more easily.
  • Adventurer: A hybrid player who appreciates a balanced combination of action, exploration, and story, adaptable to various game situations.

[...]

The Crazy Hyper-Dungeon Chronicles

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Roguelike
Platform: PC
Release: In development

Details

Glasshouse - Announced

by Hiddenx, Monday - January 15, 2024 10:30

The story rich RPG Glasshouse has been announced:

Glasshouse

Story

Lundonstoch, once a productive feud bursting with industrial technology, is on lockdown due to the imminent Nuclear Threat announced by the terrorist union CoFoPo. You're a citizen that has found himself trapped in a cramped Apartment Complex with those you would consider friends. As time goes on, tensions rise, resources dwindle, and trust begins to falter, leaving the hope of survival in your hands. Do not understimate the spectrum of causality; in Glasshouse's world, there are only consequences and responsibilities.
This is the end of the Post-Capitalist world, welcome to the Quiet Revolution.

Condo Thriller

You find yourself catapulted into a political mystery bigger than yourself, a crime scene from which you cannot escape.
Master your oratory skills in challenging relationships while exploring the building in which you're locked in. Sacrifice your belongings and craft whatever it takes to be prepared for the incoming Nuclear Winter.

Features

  • An original reinterpretation of the cRPG genre with novel Survival grafts.
  • Experience firsthand a thriller story full of twists and turns, memorable characters, and unexpected endings based on your choices.
  • Exploration: Manage Apartment 28, collaborate with your neighbors, and investigate the mysteries of the narrow corridors of a Proletariat Condominium!
  • Table of Knowledge: Learn DIY Projects, recycle your furniture, and build survival equipment through the workbenches you will find scattered around!
  • Cunning System: Each tool in your inventory can unlock new interactions with the environment.
  • Political Compass: There is no shame in having ideals. Choose the political path on which to invest points and watch how the Glasshouse world reacts!
  • Puzzles & Minigames: The dialogue tab hides much more than just text, be prepared for unexpected twists such as puzzles and riddles.

Thanks Couchpotato!

 

Glasshouse

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Modern
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

Details

Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade - Announced

by Hiddenx, Sunday - January 07, 2024 04:20

The action RPG Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade has been announced:

Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade

Taking place during the Edo period, Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade is an action RPG infused with fantasy elements and roguelite mechanics.
Immerse yourself in a realm brimming with authentic Japanese ambiance as you engage in seamless combo attacks against relentless demon adversaries.

Once upon a time, a delicate equilibrium existed between humans and demons. Despite occasional discord, both factions labored to uphold their dearly attained peace.
This equilibrium shattered when the sovereign of all demons, the "Nine-tailed Fox" arose, rallying demonkind to sow chaos across the mortal realm.
Embark on a journey in a chaotic world, confronting a myriad of demons, and seeking a path to reclaim peace. Through a series of adventures, piece together the truth behind the mystery and forge a path to restoration.

Replayable Multiple Stories
An Immortal Ninja, A Demon Emissary, A Monstrous Samurai... Each boasting utterly distinct combat techniques and unique storylines. Explore a diverse selection of exclusive weapons and captivating narratives, all set within the expansive realm of these three central characters!

Splendid Actions
Master an array of Demon Blades to combat the evil forces causing chaos across distant lands. Combine the powers of these weapons, collect hundreds of "Soul Orbs" infused with mysterious talents, and garner blessings from the Neko Shrine... craft your distinct strategy for each expedition!

Unlock Dream Recipes
Throughout your journey, you'll have the opportunity to gather various types of upgrade items. Beyond weapon components, you'll also come across ingredients for gourmet recipes. For an extra boost in strength, indulge in a bowl of fantastical ramen!

Let's Meet at the Demon Festival
In this colorful world, kind-hearted demons flourish, hosting festivals within alternate dimensions. Meet these powerful allies during each unique adventure and gain valuable rewards!

Challenge Hidden Stages
During your adventure, numerous secret areas are waiting to be unlocked. Test your limits and embrace high levels of difficulty within these challenging stages!

Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

Details

Indie RPGs - Free Turn-Based RPGs

by Hiddenx, Saturday - January 06, 2024 09:19

The Turn Based Lovers present some free turn-based games of Itch.io:

BEST FREE TURN-BASED GAMES ON ITCH.IO – DECEMBER 2023

Despite Steam being a more popular platform choice for video games, Itch is a brilliant way to find and support lesser-known indie games. Thanks to the abundance of game jams hosted on the website, along with how easy Itch makes it to upload games, developers are releasing fresh new turn-based games all year round.

Better yet, at the time of writing, each game on this list can be played for free. However, some of these games are still in the form of jam entries, demos, and alpha builds.

METAL MODE
SLIPWAYS CLASSIC
FOLDER DUNGEON
TITAN TACTICS
UNDERGRAVE
PAPER SOLDIERS
POLYBOT-7
PORKLIKE
GEOPOLITICS
TANKS OF FREEDOM
SOLUS SECTOR: TACTICS
BUMPERS AND BROADSWORDS: TOURNAMENT

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

 

Indie RPGs

SP/MP: Unknown
Setting: Unknown
Genre: RPG
Platform: Unknown
Release: In development

Details

The Iron Oath - Interview

by Hiddenx, Saturday - January 06, 2024 09:00

The Turn Based Lovers interviewed Curious Panda Games about their game The Iron Oath:

10 TURN INTERVIEW WITH THE IRON OATH DEVELOPERS

THE IRON OATH IS A TURN-BASED TACTICAL RPG WHERE THE FATE OF YOUR MERCENARY COMPANY RESTS ON YOUR DECISIONS. CUSTOMIZE YOUR ROSTER, BUILD YOUR RENOWN, AND DISCOVER THE SECRETS THAT AWAIT IN THE MEDIEVAL FANTASY REALM OF CAELUM.

In the ever-evolving landscape of indie gaming, few titles have sparked as much intrigue and admiration as The Iron Oath, a turn-based tactical RPG that immerses players in the rich, medieval fantasy realm of Caelum. Today, we’re thrilled to sit down again with Curious Panda Games, the masterminds behind this dark fantasy world, where the fate of a mercenary company lies in the balance of player decisions. From the sprawling time scales to the intricate character backstories, The Iron Oath offers a unique blend of strategy, storytelling, and survival in a world teeming with danger and opportunity.

As we celebrate the game’s much-anticipated 1.0 launch, we delve into the creative process, challenges, and triumphs that have shaped The Iron Oath into one of 2023’s standout tactical RPGs. Join us as we explore the journey of its creation, the nuances of its gameplay, and the vision that drives its creators.

Howdy! I just want to say thanks for doing the interview and congrats on the big 1.0 launch!

Thank you! It’s been pretty hectic since our launch, but we’re happy to take some time to answer a few questions!

First Turn
In most RPG’s, the time scales work in the span of days to traverse their worlds, but your game can take months to complete quests and dungeons, as well as the campaign can last hundreds of years. What drove you to work with such a large scale of time, and what difficulties did you run into?

We were initially inspired by the time scale of games like Crusader Kings, and we liked the idea of playing with multiple generations of characters and seeing the world evolve over time through wars and successions. In practice, this was very hard to pull off, and finding a balance where time moved fast enough but players still got to spend enough time with their characters before they retired proved too difficult to achieve.

In the end, we ended up scaling back on the time progression by quite a bit. When we launched into Early Access, we also realized that a lot of players were resistant to the idea of their characters aging and retiring, so it’s something that we’ve put less emphasis on and chose to focus our efforts elsewhere. They still age and retire eventually, but there’s enough of a buffer there where the main storyline can be completed before that happens. We think it was the right choice, as the initial time scale was also problematic from a storytelling point of view.

Second Turn
How do you balance when you find one class is overpowered? Is it a matter of debuffing them, buffing other classes, or altering the world in a way to make the class more viable?

A little of everything. There have been a few abilities that have needed to be buffed, nerfed, or reworked, but in general the classes each have their use and we feel they are quite balanced. Most enemy types have damage resistances and vulnerabilities, which allows each class a chance to shine depending on what you’re up against. So even if one class is perceived as slightly weaker than the rest, they will still be useful in dealing with certain enemies and situations. Overall, we’re not too concerned with achieving a perfect balance since it’s a single-player game (especially if it’s a nerf to something that many players are enjoying), but we’re always listening to feedback and will step in when tweaks are needed.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

The Iron Oath

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Tactical RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released

Details

Archquest - Devlog #3

by Hiddenx, Monday - January 01, 2024 17:21

Couchpotato spotted devlog #3 for the strategy RPG Archquest:

Devlog #3

Character Creation

This is going to be an update on the development of Archquest- specifically an in-depth look at character creation. News of the game has been rather silent lately, but it is still under development.

This is the character creation screen. Before, there was only your class to select, but now there is a more comprehensive system where you select your ancestry, heritage, background, class, and more.

The system itself is standard for RPG computer games- There are menu items on the left which brings you to different sections of character creation. You can go back and forth as much as you want- it doesn't have to be in order.

Ancestry
For ancestries, Human, Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling have been implemented. Gnome, Leshy, and Goblin are not yet available, but maybe in the future. Leshy in particular would be interesting to have as a playable ancestry. If you're not familiar, a Leshy is a plant-like person, that can take many different shapes like a cactus or pumpkin. Its something that would require a good amount of art support- not just for making all of the different models(each one would be unique), but also armors. Each armor piece has to be modified to fit the different ancestry bodies. What does a Leshy in full-plate even look like?

On the right panel, you can see what your ancestry gives you- as well as the available ancestry feats. It gives you a little tooltip so you can what it does. You don't have all of these right away- You pick one at level 1 and gain more ancestry feats as you level up.

Your Ancestry, Background, and Class give you Ability Boosts, and this is the way in which Ability Scores are distributed. There is also a section in which you get 4 free Ability Boosts. In this case humans get two free ability boosts.

You can also see your total Ability Scores at the top. The game is still using the traditional OGL numbers for ability scores. In the revised rules, it's just the modifier. So, instead of 18, it's just +4. The code has not yet been updated to support the new rules, and I need to look at the ORC license and evaluate if it would be a good fit for the game. But I do think Archquest will probably switch over.

[...]

Archquest

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

Details

Graywalkers - Announcement

by Hiddenx, Monday - January 01, 2024 17:00

After their Kickstarter Project in 2014, Graywalkers: Purgatory entered Early Access on Steam in 2020 and then went into a developer hiatus for more than a year. Now finally there has been an announcement about the reasons, and future plans with lots of changes:

HAPPY NEW YEAR, APOLOGIES AND NEW BEGINNINGS

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
First of all, let me take this opportunity to say Happy New Year to all! We hope that you all had a joyous Christmas and that you will have a prosperous 2024 ahead.

APOLOGIES
Next is we would like to apologize for being quiet the past year. Our primary reason was that the company was a heartbeat away from being dead for quite some time due to financial issues. We had no choice but to refocus our efforts to doing outsource work to resuscitate the company. This of course, did not happen overnight, and it took us more than a year to get back to a functional state.

The second reason was we were in all honesty burnt out with Graywalkers at that time. We worked on the project for 5 years and unfortunately It did not do well due to its unpolished state, the pandemic (we released 1.5 months before the start of it), lack of marketing and many other factors.

The final reason was we simply did not know what to tell you at that point in time. We had already announced at that time that we were having financial difficulties, and we couldn't give you an answer or solutions to our problems.

Despite all of these, these are not good excuses to disappear for that long. We handled the situation poorly and we should have continued to communicate the situation regardless of how we felt at the time. The only thing we can do now is to apologize to all of you and somehow make it up to you as best we can. Again, we sincerely apologize to all of you who have trusted us by supporting the game.

We hope you can forgive us and give us another chance to make it up to you all.

NEW BEGINNINGS

As 2024 rolls in, we look forward to a new beginning, and we mean this in many more ways than one. Below we will list our plans for the future of Graywalkers:

RE-RELEASE

We plan to Re-Release Graywalkers Purgatory under a new name and as a new product in 1st quarter 2025. We wanted a fresh start and an opportunity to try again with the project but with more upgrades, better content and a more polished state. We will also reduce the original scope of the game to a more reasonable state. Our original plan had been too ambitious so we will reduce its scope and do a final release and then just add free DLC content to bring it closer to our intended vision. The game will be repackaged as Graywalkers: Genesis. Consider this as Graywalkers Purgatory Version 1.5.

Everybody who purchased the game already will get a copy of Graywalkers Genesis FREE.

So its pretty much just a continuation, but with the perks of us being able to hopefully bring in new players and at least have an opportunity to recoup the cost of continuing development on the game. We won't be taking down Graywalkers Purgatory until the Re-Release is ready.

The game will also be released under different publishers depending on the platform. We have come to accept that publishing is not really our strength, and we are not built to do it properly. So we will be working with different groups to help us do better in this area.

[...]

Thanks Kordanor!

Graywalkers

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Post-Apoc
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

Details

December

The Bustling World - Announced for 2024

by Hiddenx, Saturday - December 30, 2023 08:24

The open-world RPG The Bustling World has been announced for Q4 2024 - a Kickstarter campaign has been started:

The Bustling World

The Bustling World is an open world RPG game set in ancient China. You can farm, breed, craft, build, fight, kill, establish a regime, run a country, conduct diplomacy, wage war, create a city… Openness, freedom and limitless are the game’s biggest features.

Thanks Couchpotato!

 

The Bustling World

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Historical
Genre: Survival-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

Details

Monomyth - November/December Update

by Hiddenx, Saturday - December 23, 2023 07:51

Henriquejr spotted the November/December update for Monomyth:

Monomyth - November / December Update

State of the Game: Video Devlog 9.0 | Playstyles

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

It's time for the last update of this year, and there is plenty to report! Numerous things have been worked on during the last few weeks and you can hear all about it in this month's video devlog. One highlight is the new magic system, which should be interesting for everyone who likes combining runes in Ultima Underworld. But, please, see for yourselves:

I just uploaded the latest patch to the Closed Beta branch and I am now completely focused on polishing everything for the Open Backer Beta. I hope to have it ready very soon.

As always, you will find the transcription of the video below. You will hear from me in the new year. Thank you for your continued support and

Best wishes,

Michael

------------------------------------------

Hi dungeon-crawling fans!

Another month has passed! Time just flies by as the year comes to an end. What is also slowly coming to an end is the closed beta of Monomyth. There has been plenty of progress over the last few weeks and we are getting closer and closer to the Open Backer Beta. So let’s take a look at it.

This month I continued polishing mechanics. Last time I mostly did things related to melee combat, so I thought I could as well arrange these polishing phases around differrent playstyles. Generally speaking there is a distinct playstyle for warriors, mages and thieves.

So I started this month by making some last changes to the warrior’s playstyle.

To keep it short and simple: I removed the shield-bash and added kicking.

I tried keeping it as balanced as possible and it strongly depends on your available stamina. Unlike other attacks its stamina costs are set to a certain percentage. So you will always require, let’s say, a third of your stamina when you kick. When the kick lands, your enemy either falls down or is pushed back, depending on your stamina. Of course, kicks are only really useful against humanoids.

Most of this month's work was focused on the mage’s playstyle. I reworked casting mechanics, spell acquisition, spell mechanics and I also gave some spells a visual workover.

Originally the player could cast spells at any time. You would press the “C” key and start casting a previously memorized spell. This system has been changed. It is now necessary to equip a spellbook to your weapon slot. You can then cast any selected spell with a mouse click.

This is much more comfortable than the original system - especially while moving and aiming at the same time. Using the “C” key in such a situation always felt very awkward. You can still easily switch between a readied weapon and a spellbook mid-combat thanks to the secondary weapon slots.

One element I wanted to have for the mage’s playstyle was some form of explorative spell acquisition. As you may remember, in both Arx and Ultima Underworld you had to combine specific runes to cast a spell. Monomyth does something similar, but it moves into a slightly different direction with its execution.

[...]

Monomyth

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

Details

Stellar Tactics - Updates

by Hiddenx, Thursday - December 21, 2023 07:31

Stellar Tactics will get a few updates:

Faster load times, Dark Space, fixes and updates.

A few updates and fixes in this build as I work towards completing Chapter 3

I'm posting a few fixes and updates in todays patch before I lock everything down and start integrating the chapter 3 content. I've completed all assets for the new content update and it's time to put everything together.

This update adds pre-caching for all space content. You will notice that resources are being loaded when the game launches. This means a longer load to the main menu of the game, however, load times to space while in the game with be much faster. I also did a bit of work on load times for transitions between ground locations and will continue to work on this.

You will also find a new "Dark Space" option on the video options screen. This will set a single high resolution sky throughout the game. I felt this was a good option for players who would prefer a more realistic experience when flying through space. If you enable this at the main menu, loading a save will apply the new setting. If already in the game and in space, you will need to save and reload to see the changes.

[...]

Stellar Tactics

SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Sci-Fi
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

Details

Moonring - Review

by Hiddenx, Monday - December 18, 2023 15:06

Ye Old Entertainment reviewed the free RPG Moonring:

Ye Old Entertainment

Moonring

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Roguelike
Platform: PC
Release: Released

Details

Wartales - Pirates of Belerion - DLC Review

by Hiddenx, Friday - December 15, 2023 17:56

Mortismal Gaming reviewed the Wartales: Pirates of Belerion - DLC:

Wartales: Pirates of Belerion - DLC Review

Wartales

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released

Details

Wartales - Pirates of Belerion DLC Impressions

by Hiddenx, Thursday - December 14, 2023 19:07

04AM checked out the Wartales - Pirates of Belerion DLC:

Wartales Pirates of Belerion DLC is MASSIVE - Exploring Everything You Need To Know!

Wartales

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released

Details

Mystic Land: Search for Maphaldo - New Trailer

by Hiddenx, Wednesday - December 06, 2023 16:55

Couchpotato spotted a new trailer for the dungeon crawler Mystic Land: Search for Maphaldo:

Mystic Land: The Search for Maphaldo - Official trailer

Mystic Land: Search for Maphaldo

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Dungeon Crawler
Platform: PC
Release: In development

Details

LoA: The Forgotten Crown - Patch 1.28.1

by Hiddenx, Monday - December 04, 2023 18:20

Couchpotato spotted patch 1.28.1 for LoA: The Forgotten Crown:

Legends of Amberland version 1.28.1

Version 1.28.1 released

A small update targeted at improving gamepad support.

  • [interface] Gamepad support: Improved Virtual Keyboard (physical keyboard can be used identical to a physical keyboard when detected, more characters supported).
  • [interface] Enable/Disable Gamepad option (Options/Controls/Gamepad), useful for people who have a gamepad plugged in but who do not intend to use it. The option is ignored if SteamDeck is detected.

By the way, the sequel, Legends of Amberland II: The Song of Trees is out tomorrow!

LoA: The Forgotten Crown

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released

Details

Wartales - Pirates of Belerion Teaser

by Hiddenx, Saturday - December 02, 2023 16:51

Couchpotato spotted a teaser video for the upcoming DLC Wartales, Pirates of Belerion:

Wartales, Pirates of Belerion | TEASER

Wartales, Pirates of Belerion releases on December 14th!
Embark on over +25 hours of new adventures and explore Belerion, a new hostile region far larger than any other part of the continent. Discover a land unlike anything you’ve seen with the first expansion to the world of Wartales! Unravel the secrets of the region's storyline, discover new factions and master the new way to travel: navigation.

Wartales

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released

Details

November

Noctuary - Released

by Hiddenx, Wednesday - November 29, 2023 17:14

The Adventure-RPG Noctuary has been released:

Noctuary | Gameplay Trailer

Noctuary is a dual-protagonist Visual Novel. Players can play the role of the duo, Fancia Dream and Alina Nightsong who have dreams of "becoming Arborangers who protect and serve everyone." Travel through the fairy-tale-like world as the duo, experience their lively daily adventures, and gradually encounter the life story of a mysterious girl who came down from the sky.

Meanwhile, don't forget to fight against the everpresent monsters - "Darkritters!" These dangerous enemies threaten the life of Illuminators constantly. Sharpen your fighting skills, defeat ferocious monsters and ensure peace in your community!

Thanks Couchpotato!

Noctuary

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Adventure-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released

Details

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - Lessons Learned

by Hiddenx, Monday - November 27, 2023 19:14

Creative director Matt Cox and senior producer Kayla Belmore share their lessons learned in developing and shipping Tiny Tina's Wonderland:

Making Chaotic Great, 'Tiny Tina's Wonderlands': Finding Precedent in Unprecedented Times @ GDC

Thanks Couchpotato!

 

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

SP/MP: Single + MP
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released

Details

Arisen Force: Vonimir - Announced

by Hiddenx, Monday - November 27, 2023 19:03

The action RPG Arisen Force: Vonimir has been announced for 2024:

Arisen Force: Vonimir

Arisen Force: Vonimir is an A-RPG game featuring exquisite high-definition pixels, it combines the engaging RPG adventure storyline with the Stylish Actional combat experience. We create a magnificent Middle-Earth world, for players exploration and adventure, recruit teammates, collect and develop business, challenge enemies, reveal the secrets of the world, guide the future, forge your own legends:

Features

  • A magnificent fantasy world for players to explore, develop and other interesting experiences.
  • Exquisite HD pixel style and ingenuity hand-painted, experience picturesque play art style.
  • From remote villages to magnificent castles, from desolate deserts to silver ice sheets, enjoy the vast and distinctive landscapes.
  • In a chaotic world, interact with all forces and write your own epic chapter.
  • Smooth action strategy combat with rich skill modules,and it can instantly switch teammate anytime,
    challenging the World BOSS , the ultimate path will always be left to the Warriors.
  • More than eight kinds of unique weapon modules,it will continue to be enriched with the follow-up development.
  • A free kit system of weapons and skills,it's Ok to be a mage wielding a giant sword, or a hunter who tanks the enemy, interesting and powerful.
  • Rescue and recruit teammates, build them with unique equipment and skills for your exclusive forces.
  • In addition to adventure, there are taverns, forging, trade and other activities as travel seasoning.
  • On the basis of the world outlook, we add some linked characters makes the game journey more interesting and full of surprises.

Thanks Couchpotato!

Arisen Force: Vonimir

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

Details

Demiurges - Announced

by Hiddenx, Monday - November 27, 2023 18:47

Couchpotato spotted the strategy RPG Demiurges:

Demiurges Trailer

Demiurges is a strategic roguelike game. Your task will be to keep the world from extinction. To achieve this, you will have to create a deck of cards that will define your strategy, and then direct the actions of your heroes to defeat your enemies.

Map
The player can move around the map with all of his heroes. While exploring, they can find new items, resources, objects with unique abilities, and enemies who will be valuable sources of experience. As you defeat the guard, a new area of ​​the map unlocks with new challenges. After the player captures the game, the entire map changes to the next level.

Cards
One of the most important things to success is creating the right deck. You can create it before each skirmish from previously unlocked cards. Cards are dropped from packs you can buy with gems earned during the game. To use a card, you need resources that you can produce or obtain on the map. Be careful, some cards require sacrifices to be used.

Fight
When you meet an opponent on your way, you can attack him. The battles take place in a turn-based system on a board divided into hexes. Units move depending on the initiative they have. Units have different passive and active abilities, so you must think about each move to make the best use of their skills.

Town
Each faction has its own town. With cards, you can expand them to support your plans. You can build new buildings, recruit units, create special constructions and produce resources.

Demiurge
You start each game with one Demiurge, but you can recruit more by map events or using cards. Demiurges are powerful units that can cast spells and use powerful artifacts. By defeating new enemies and gaining experience, the demiurge is able to learn new abilities and become even more powerful. In addition, he gathers an army that supports him in the fight against opponents.

Demiurges

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

Details

Exoplanet: First Contact - Still in Development

by Hiddenx, Sunday - November 26, 2023 10:36

The open-world RPG Exoplanet: First Contact is still in Early Access - learn more about the planet K'tharsis

PLANET K’THARSIS

The story about how K’Tharsis was discovered and who inhabits the planet now.

Hello folks!

We continue to tell you more about the world of the game and now we’d like to pay more attention to the planet K’Tharsis. In the previous post dedicated to the setting we deepened a bit into the history of the planet, and this time we want to share how exactly it was discovered and why it has such a motley population.

A bit of history

K’Tharsis would remain a wild planet forever but for captain Brennigan who had to make an emergency landing on an unfriendly looking planet. A precious mineral called antigravium brought fabulous riches to the captain, but he hardly managed to use them. Very soon the poor guy was found tortured to death in his new villa. And the news about antigravium Klondike spread across the galaxy with the speed of light.

K’Tharsis became the most desired aim of adventurers of all kinds including criminals and outcasts. Right after them the planet was invaded by corporations, and the biggest of them was called Terraform. To get antigravium these people never hesitated to resort to violence, having no mercy both for people and for kvargo — native population of the planet.

Kvargo was a great race that once degraded after the cataclysm. They were quite controversial about people who came to their planet. Some part of them believed that if they possessed human technologies, they could restore the greatness of the past. Others suspected that people from the stars would bring only suffering, so they had to go back home.

Nobody knows how far this confrontation could go. But suddenly the war in the galaxy makes most of the corporations go home — the planet becomes cut off from civilized worlds. Besides, the antigravium has almost come to an end, so most corporations leave the planet without any remorse.

[...]

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Exoplanet: First Contact

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Technofantasy
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

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Monomyth - About Balancing and more

by Hiddenx, Saturday - November 25, 2023 07:22

Rat Tower dev talks about the latest updates for the dungeon crawler Monomyth:

Monomyth DEVLOG / 8.0 - Balancing

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Monomyth

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Action-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

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Mage's Initiation - Retrospective Review

by Hiddenx, Friday - November 24, 2023 16:59

Wizard Worm checked out the Adventure RPG Mage's Initiation: Reign Of The Elements:

Mage's Initiation: Reign Of The Elements Review (The Last Quest For Glory Heir)

Mage's Initiation

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released

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Low Magic Age - Patch v0.91.66

by Hiddenx, Tuesday - November 21, 2023 18:43

Patch v0.91.66 for Low Magic Age introduces a new player race: The Lizard Scion

v0.91.66 Patch Notes - Lizard Scion, Feats, New Adventure Preview #3

New Player Race: Lizard Scion

Every few generations, a lizard scion is born to a lizardfolk tribe. With twice the life span of a typical lizardfolk and a large and muscular stature, a scion typically rises to become the leader of her tribe.

Lizardfolk show great—often unquestioning—devotion to scions, believing they are blessings from the spirits and divine in nature. In many ways, tribes see them as living monuments to the lost greatness of their people, singing songs of an era when every lizardfolk was as large and impressive as the scion.

Some lizard scions become great protectors and voices of wisdom among their people, leading a tribe to previously unknown accomplishments and stability within its hidden enclave. Others attempt to build alliances with other lizardfolk tribes or even unite two tribes into one.

[...]

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Low Magic Age

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Strategy-RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

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Zodiac Legion - Great Beasts

by Hiddenx, Sunday - November 19, 2023 10:24

Learn more about the great beasts of Zodiac Legion:

Great Beasts and Turn-Based Carnival

Greetings, Commanders!

Since Turn-Based Carnival has started on Steam, and Zodiac Legion is featured as part of it, we figured it would make for a good occasion to reveal the latest upcoming addition to our bestiary – great, hulking, intimidating, monstrous beasts!

The first one you may already be familiar with, since it’s been lurking in our screenshots and other materials for a while, but we’ve never introduced it properly. The scorpion beast is a living weapons platform employed by the fleshcrafters of the Aegidian League. Heavily armoured and with fearsome pincers to match, it projects a terrifying presence on any battlefield, but its most devastating weapon is its stinger, which is capable of launching magical projectiles over great distances, making the scorpion a natural artillery unit. Zodiac Champions will need to carefully consider how to tackle these abominations – whether to seek shelter from their barrage or approach and be torn to shreds in close combat.

Next there are two very special newcomers. The French region of Provence is known for its chivalric traditions, and so we sought its support in financing the game, and the grant we’ve received has allowed us to make room for two monstrosities from Provençal folklore. The Coulobre and the Tarasque are the first dragons to slither their way into Zodiac Legion. The former is a great winged serpent – slaying it may prove a challenge given its lethal breath and razor-sharp claws. The latter is a lumbering behemoth with a carapace tougher than any steel, and with a strength and ferocity that let it crush its foes even when greatly outnumbered, literally stomping them into the dirt.

It will take all your might and cunning to bring down these dreadful creatures! Standard infantry formations may not save your men from bombardment, deadly sprays and trampling. Only with faith in the stars will your knights emerge victorious.

Until we meet again!

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Zodiac Legion

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: Tactical RPG
Platform: PC
Release: In development

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Small Saga - Review

by Hiddenx, Saturday - November 18, 2023 13:19

Rock Paper Shotgun checked out the indie RPG Small Saga:

Small Saga review: a short, story-heavy RPG that's light on challenge

Well, I think this is probably the first and only time I've ever heard British documentarian Adam Curtis appear as an ominous backing sample in an RPG boss battle theme, but in many ways, I hope it's not the last. Forget the operatic choral chants of Final Fantasy bosses. The new rallying cry against peak villainy is now some no-nonsense British commentary about the state of human extinction. It works surprisingly, well, and Small Saga is a game shot through with these kinds of Britishisms, set in the parks, streets and underbelly of modern-day London.

[...]

Hopefully, with a bit of rebalancing, Small Saga might yet reach the upper echelons of pint-sized RPGs, joining the likes of Jack Move as another lively reimagining of their Final Fantasy inspirations in miniature. As things currently stand, though, Small Saga gets a much more tepid recommendation - though I'd be half-tempted to say the Adam Curtis battle music (and its excellent score more generally) is almost worth the very reasonable price of entry alone. It's certainly a one-off, I'll give it that, so if you can stomach its lack of challenge, you'll probably still have quite a good time with it.

Small Saga review

A short and sweet turn-based RPG that has a lot of bite to its story and whose music will have you harking back to the Final Fantasy glory days, but its battles are too much of a cakewalk to leave much an impression.

Small Saga

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Modern
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released

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Underrail - New Armor Mechanics

by Hiddenx, Friday - November 17, 2023 17:08

Styg explains the new armor mechanics of Underrail: Infusion:

Dev Log #7: New Armor Mechanics

Hi guys,

It's that time of the year again. All the stars and planets are in the right position and it's time for an Infusion dev log.

We already showed you the extent to which we upgraded the visual aspects of the engine, but the mechanical changes that I've done so far and am yet to do are just as extensive, and perhaps more radical. I'm going to talk about them one by one, in separate dev logs, as I continue to test, tweak, and refine them.

Our immediate goal with the engine and the game is to (re-)implement a number of items and mechanics, get a few areas together, and get the game in a state where it can be played for real, so to speak. Mainly so I can better asses how all these changes work in practice, but also so we can produce a short demo video and show you the game in action for the first time.

* * * * * * * * * *

So, anyway, let's get to the changes to the armor mechanics and damage resistance in general.

In Underrail, the damage resistance was divided into percentual resistance and flat threshold. Incoming damage would be reduced either percentually or by flat amount, whichever would reduce more damage in any given case. This caused a lot of balancing problems. Threshold was generally either useless or overpowered (especially when stacked in early game), while resistance was hard to progress with armor quality, as its percentual nature made it already scale innately.

All these problems really came to forefront when I was implementing different types of shotgun shells in Expedition. Balancing usefulness of different shells in this system was just impossible and it took a lot of tweaking to make it even remotely decent with liberal use of seemingly arbitrary threshold and resistance ignore factors. At one point I was tempted to just implement a completely different interaction for the shells specifically, but decided against it for the sake of consistency.

Another problem with the old model was that all resistances stacked globally. Meaning: resistances from boots and helmets were equally effective as body armor and they all aggregated when it came to interacting with incoming damage. This made me really hesitant to put a lot of resistances on helmets and boots because, on one hand, I didn't want them to make the high resistance armors completely broken by just maxing (or near maxing) out all the resistances and, on the other hand, I didn't want these items, because of their high resistances, becoming mandatory for characters that use ligher armor in the body slot.

There are other problems too, but these are the main issues, I think.

So how does the Infusion's new system differ from the old one?

[...]

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Underrail

SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Sci-Fi
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released

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