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The “mercenary management game” is a game that allows players to lead a team of mercenaries across a deadly fantasy world. The player must manage their team, recruit new members, and battle enemies in order to survive.
Occasionally, a game may bring together all of the proper elements to create something that is evocative of numerous popular series while being an engaging game in its own right. Those are the games that aren’t stigmatized for drawing heavily from other sources because it’s clear that the developer looked at what they liked and thought, “wouldn’t it be cool if we could do something like that, but with our own twist on it?” rather than “well, these trends are popular, we should do them.”
Okay, maybe it’s not quite as pure or cynical as that, but you can tell when a creator knows what makes other games appeal to you. The Iron Oath, a tactical RPG from Curious Panda Games, accomplishes precisely that.
This turn-based fantasy game carves off slices from the most juicy steaks in the turn-based field and uses food glue to form its own prime steak of a game. Darkest Dungeon, XCOM 2, Into the Breach, and a smattering of cRPG parts sprang to mind as the most prominent examples. You play as a mercenary unit in the medieval land of Caelum, trying to rebuild a force that was decimated by treason. To do so, the mercs must travel between cities on monster-infested highways, hunting for jobs and getting into conflicts. Taking care of your group is the most important responsibility on the road and in town. Allow them to relax at the bar to relieve exhaustion, visit the clinic to repair injuries, trade with the store to upgrade their equipment, and even buy them a round to increase their like for you.
Going out into Caelum after you’ve found some work (and it’s never as easy as a fetch mission) is going to damage your crew, and it’s going to hurt them badly. The overworld map is used for general travel, and a piece with your own symbol glides over it like a large board game. When you decide on a location, you’ll be informed how many days it will take and cautioned that there’s plenty of risk on the way there. If you are halted, there is some flavor text and some interaction among your mercenaries before you are thrust into the turn-based combat action.
You assemble a fighting squad from any troops you have available. There are many archetypes. Archers, wizards, healers, and warriors, each having their own distinct flavor. The combat follows, and, similar to Into the Breach, you may place each unit in a specific spot before the action begins (unless the enemy got the jump on you). Combat is comparable to that kind of game in that you must consider which unit’s ability is the most effective and where to move them. The Iron Oath is severe enough that even the most peaceful battle may turn sour with a single ill-advised action.
Permadeath exists, which means you may lose four of your top players at the conclusion of a series of intense clashes and be left with novices. Or, much worse, they have a terrible disability or mental illness that renders them almost worthless without the proper equipment. The Iron Oath is a fascinating tactical RPG, but I don’t believe the balance is exactly right in terms of how severe it feels.
The Iron Oath will be released on Steam Early Access tomorrow, but there’s a demo accessible now if you want to test it out before committing to the terrible medieval regions of Caelum.
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The “archvale dlc” is a game that has been released in the past. It is an action-packed adventure that you can play with your friends or by yourself.
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