24 games to get excited about in 2024 (Part 2)
Part 2 of 3 - so many games!
This is part 2 of 3—keep an eye out for the remainder of the list in the coming days!
Hello Scientist Gamers!
This post needs no preamble as it is a continuation of the long list of games I’m looking forward to in 2024. The only things I’m worried about is the time I have to actually play all of these games and money to pay for all of it, both of which are in short supply these days.
The Foretold: Westmark Legacy
Release date: sometime in 2024; prologue available for play
Developer: Nodbrim Interactive
Publisher: Crytivo
Available on: Steam (PC)
Sometimes, a completely unknown world lures you in, sinks its claws and teeth, and wraps its Lovecraftian tongue around you. All while singing you a lullaby with a deep, somewhat sarcastic voice.
Meet Herbert and his floating head friend(?) Ambrose, as they embark on an adventure across Europe, searching for answers to the Westmark legacy. You’ll make your way through branching paths reacting to events and battling anything that stands in your way.
The turn-based battles play as puzzles: your job is to move, add, subtract, and divide the cards that are dealt to increase your chances for a successful attack. Along the way, you’ll unlock and collect artifacts and additional cards that will help you increase damage or add health and armour during battles.
The atmosphere and low barrier to entry is what I like about this game. You can start the game and get right into it without slogging through a long tutorial that explains dozens of intricately connected systems. Beauty in simplicity is an overlooked aspect of the turn-based genre but I think The Foretold: Westmark Legacy pulls it off stunningly well.
I’ve played the demo for this game as well as the free prologue and I can’t wait to explore more of the game and be lulled into a false sense of security listening to Ambrose’s voice.
Average play session length: medium; you can stop mid-path, but I spent about 30 minutes from the start of one battle to the next
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 8/10; you’ll definitely not want to stop before the battle is over and depending on how deep you want to get into the story, you might not want to stop before you finish it all
Replayability score: 5/10; branching paths aside, there probably isn’t a ton more new experiences waiting for you on a second run
Capes
Release date: sometime in 2024; demo available
Developer: Spitfire Interactive
Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
Available on: Steam, Epic, Nintendo Switch, Playstation, Xbox
The superhero genre is dominated by Marvel and DC (in the West; there are other IPs particularly in Japan)—I was never really invested in either universe, so I always appreciate non-Marvel, non-DC entries into the superhero genre. Capes is the latest superhero entry that lets you control a bunch of heroes in a world where they aren’t exactly welcome.
The turn-based tactics battles in Capes plays like many others: you spend action points to move your characters around and attack enemy units. Some elements of the environment are destructible too, and you can take advantage of explosive barrels to damage and stun your enemies. It’s a double-edged sword though and I’ve had my fair share of moments where my heroes didn’t end up being super after a well-timed explosion.
What I enjoyed the most though, is that right away, your superheroes come with some combo powers that activate when two heroes are near each other. No unlocking, no grinding required. What’s more, these combos change depending on the combination of heroes. It makes the squad feel more like a cohesive superhero team rather than overpowered individuals who happened to be together on the battlefield.
I assume that more powerful combinations will unlock as the characters level up, so there is definitely some character growth that you can look forward to. I don’t remember seeing a superhero creator, which would be awesome in a game like this, but maybe that is something for a future update? Or mods?
Average play session length: medium; the battles in the demo version took between 30 and 45 minutes to complete
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 8/10; the tactical options change on the fly depending on the characters that are close to each other, so decision-making fatigue will take longer to set in
Replayability score: 7/10; this will depend a lot on customization options and the freedom to choose how you progress through the story
Breachway
Release date: sometime in 2024
Developer: Edgeflow Studio
Publisher: Hooded Horse
Available on: Steam, Epic
I love spaceships and in particular spaceship design. Unshackling design constraints makes for some wild designs. Given what I’m seeing being shared on Twitter/X and the trailer, there are some cool ships that I can’t wait to pilot in Breachway.
Like some of the other entries on this list, Breachway is a turn-based card battler that takes you through a branching path. And what a path it is! The system map looks like a spider’s web of possibilities in terms of how you get from one side to the other.
Your personal vessel of choice can be modified in a modular manner, and each piece of that puzzle comes with its associated cards that can be used in battle. I can see so many possibilities for synergies between these systems and the potential to add even more options through mods and DLCs. You can target enemy subsystems with your attacks opening up strategic and tactical options for how you build out your ship and how you play your cards during battle.
With things like faction relationships that affects available upgrade options and story progression, there’s a lot to look forward to with Breachway.
Average play session length: medium; this is a guess since I have yet to get my hands on a demo
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 9/10; with such a branching path through the map, I find it hard to believe that you’ll be able to say no to just one more turn
Replayability score: 9/10; with so many ways to get through the story and different combinations of ship components to try, I think this will be a game you can come back to again and again
Star⭐Vaders
Release date: sometime in 2024; demo available
Developer: StarVaders Studio
Publisher: StarVaders Studio
Available on: Steam
Yes, the star is supposed to be in the name.
Star Vaders is a rogue-like deck-building game where you use your deck to move your mech around an elongated chess board, destroying enemies that get in your way. You can perform a limited number of actions by using cards before your mech overheats: you can still play action cards when your mech overheats but any cards you use in this state will become unusable for the remainder of the battle. It’s a neat risk-reward system that adds a ton of depth to the tactical battles.
You’ll be rewarded with additional cards and upgrades to existing cards that will help you in future battles, culminating in a boss battle. Given what I experienced and what I can see in screenshots, some of these bosses take up more than half of the playable board, making these battles feel like the grand battle they were meant to be. If you successfully defeat the boss, you’re on your way to another map with your rewards intact. Otherwise, you’ll have to start over but some of the cards you unlock as well as the pilots will still be available to you.
I love that this game is not constrained by its puzzle-like nature. In fact, there are so many degrees of freedom in terms of tactical play but also strategic considerations that it doesn’t feel like a puzzle at all. And I appreciate when games allow me the freedom to work towards my own solution. I’m looking forward to the rest of the content and seeing how long I can last in the game!
Average play session length: medium; I spent about 5 minutes per encounter, but the entire level including the boss took just under 30 minutes to complete
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 9/10; I couldn’t stop playing until I finished the first boss encounter
Replayability score: 10/10; there are additional cards and pilots to unlock so I think you’ll be enjoying this game for a long time
Interregnum Chronicles: False Prophet
Release date: Q1 2024
Developer: Spacewalkers
Publisher: Spacewalkers
Available on: Steam (PC)
I thought I wasn’t going to survive the game’s opening mission (at least for the demo). It threw me into the middle of a pitched turn-based battle between my three units and about three times as many enemy units. Somehow, I survived.
There are two major mechanics at play: the first is the turn-based tactical battle. You spend action points to move your units and get them shooting at enemies. You’ll have to keep an eye on things like ammo, optimal range of weapons, cover, and line of sight to make sure you have the best chance to take out your enemies.
You’re not constrained by grids or hexes when moving, so you have complete freedom of movement. The only thing I noticed about the tactical battle was some questionable movements by the enemy AI; for some reason, some of them would move back and forth between the same two spots. I’m sure it’ll get ironed out before launch, but I think it contributed to my survival against odds.
The second mechanic is survival, which plays out on the open world map. In between tactical battles, you’ll explore the world, looting buildings and avoiding (or fighting) enemies, all while keeping an eye on how cold, hungry, and tired you are. When you make camp, you can feed and warm your crew by burning materials you looted. The survival portion plays in a turn-based manner: every action you take is a turn that other entities on the map will use to make their move.
I don’t know why more games haven’t combined these two genres together. Even though games like Wartales has survival elements (feed company, pay wages) it feels less like survival and more like living. There isn’t a scarcity dilemma to deal with as long as you keep on making money in Wartales. In False Prophet, there are hard choices to make: do you burn the bag of chips for warmth or do you feed it to your crew?
I loved making those decisions and seeing how it unfolds. Given the game setting, neither mechanic felt out of place and I’m excited to see the rest of the game!
Average play session length: long; plan to spend about 30-45 minutes per tactical encounter, some tougher battles may take longer
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 7/10; some tougher and longer battles may induce fatigue
Replayability score: 8/10; this depends on how much the story branches beyond the first couple of hours and how much of an open map it is; the score might also be higher if there are multiple character customization options available
Fragile Existence
Release date: sometime in 2024
Developer: Fragile Continuum
Publisher: Hooded Horse
Available on: Steam (PC), Epic
I know, this one isn’t turn-based. But it looks so good I had to include it. If you’ve ever dreamed, as I have, about waging battles that stretch across continents and over multiple planets, this is the game for you.
You’ll be setting up resource colonies on multiple planets and military outposts to fight back against an overwhelming alien force. The resources that you mine on one planet won’t be readily available across your whole empire, meaning you’ll need to think about your supply chain. Assuming that the enemy will be under the same constraints, disrupting vital supply chains may be a way to ensure victory or buy you time as you build up your military might—or retreat with whatever resources and personnel you can take with you.
I love RTS games where the tactics and strategies are closely tied together, even though they are generally faster paced. I’m hoping that the pause button will be able to save me those situation when I need to take a breath to figure things out.
Average play session length: long; I’m assuming based on play times for RTS games of the past, but an average skirmish map might last 2-3 hours?
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 8/10; this is a combination grand strategy and 4X game, the latter of which tends to have high JOMT scores
Replayability score: 10/10; this depends on the factions available for play and map variability, but the Steam page does indicate mod support with the ability to create planets and systems, which should extend the replayability of this game
Sword of Convallaria
Release date: sometime in 2024
Developer: XD
Publisher: XD
Available on: Steam (PC)
Sometimes, I miss playing games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. The grand story, dozens of characters, and class-based progression systems are all part of the classical experience.
Swords of Convallaria promises to bring back some of the classical experience but with additional features. The battlefield will be similar to you if you’ve played these games in the past: a chess board-like battlefield with environmental elements that will aid or limit your characters’ movements.
The battlefield environment in Swords of Convallaria will be interactive, meaning you can use explosive barrels and rolling boulders to your advantage, or even set fire to dry grass tiles. This should bring some added tactical depth to the game that was absent in previous entries to the genre.
Although many JRPGs feature a linear story, this game looks like it will change based on your choices. Whether it will have a meaningful impact on the ending or branching story lines remains to be seen, but there is hope for some replayability if this is the case.
Average play session length: medium; I’m basing this on my experience with other games in the genre, but the length of an average session will depend on how often battles occur
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 7/10; you’ll probably want to play to unravel the story, but the tactics portion may feel like a drag especially if it is a long or difficult encounter
Replayability score: 6/10; the lack of custom character options and linear story makes it harder to replay this game; further digging for information has unveiled that this game may contain loot box mechanics for access to certain characters
Plague Lords
Release date: Q3 2024
Developer: Red Unit Studios
Publisher: HypeTrain Digital
Available on: Steam (PC)
My heart will always belong to open world games that can be explored fully. Plague Lords is described as an open world game mixed with a little bit of 14th century city building and survival.
In this game, you’ll assemble your own group of soldiers and turn your settlement into a bustling city. Along the way, you’ll explore the open world, looking for survivors and other folks that may be able to help you: either on the battlefield or in building and running your growing settlement.
You’ll inevitably run into hostile entities and will need to deploy your soldiers appropriately. From what I can tell, the combat appears to play out on its own once two units are in range: the tactical portion of this might be in the set up before the battle begins. It also doesn’t look like you’ll have individual control over each soldier, which may be a blessing in disguise as you may be controlling several groups of soldiers in any given battle. Manually moving 20+ soldiers may quickly reduce the fun factor of the game.
The city building and survival aspect of the game seems to be the focus of the game, as your recruited characters will have their own specializations that allow them to perform certain tasks. You’ll also need to recruit people to craft items vital to your survival.
I’m reminded of They Are Billions but with a little bit more focus on individual characters. Ultimately, I think the world exploration and variation in the city building aspect of the game will give this game a long shelf life.
Average play session length: medium; you can probably get through a chunk of the story in about 30-45 min, given that the battles are auto-resolved
Just One More Turn (JOMT) score: 7/10; you’ll probably want to play more to keep building your city rather than experience the battles
Replayability score: 7/10; with some customization options, you could play this a couple of times through; however, these characters may not feel different during the auto-resolved battles
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