3 new turn-based games for June
Finding unique turn-based games is tough
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Hello Scientist Gamer!
It’s hard to believe that we’re almost at the halfway point of 2024. It’s been a whirlwind year for gaming, acknowledging that things haven’t been all positive. Layoffs or acquisitions followed by layoffs seem to continue to happen. I sincerely hope that the latter half of 2024 will be kinder to those in the gaming industry.
In terms of turn-based games, we’ve had some great releases, including All Quiet in the Trenches, Thaumaturge, Unicorn Overlord, Broken Roads, and Songs of Conquest. I’m loving the variety but most of all, the unique combinations of genres that developers are testing with the turn-based formula.
With that in mind, I’d like to take a look at some promising turn-based games releasing next month. If you’ve got some cash to spare, take a look at these turn-based games!
Songs of Silence
🔗 Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2195410/Songs_of_Silence/
📅 Release date: June 4, 2024 (early access)
🖥️ Developer: Chimera Entertainment
📢 Publisher: Chimera Entertainment
🎮 Platform: Steam (PC)
This turn-based strategy game plays like an auto-battler version of Heroes of Might and Magic. You can customize your armies, outfitting them with different units and send them out onto a turn-based world map. Once in combat, you can watch the action unfold, as your units will act accordingly. The only input you have in combat is to play your ability cards, which lets you buff your units or rain fire from above.
I’ll admit it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it does infuse the traditionally slower paced turn-based genre with a boost of speed. The developers have done a fantastic job with the art in the game, from the vibrant world map, to the unique units and character portraits.
As of the time of writing, a demo is available on their Steam page, so make sure to check it out if this sounds like a game for you!
The Ancients
🔗 Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1769130/The_Ancients/
📅 Release date: June 5, 2024 (early access)
🖥️ Developer: GorillaSoftWorks
📢 Publisher: Camlann Games
🎮 Platform: Steam (PC)
Your goal in this game is to lead a primitive tribe to survive in a harsh, ever-changing environment. You’ll need to hunt and forage for food, build shelters to protect against the elements, and battle rival clans as you prepare to survive the coming ice age.
There seems to be a fairly robust research and customization tree for your tribe, to help you on your journey. The customization is tied to culture and religion, allowing you to mix ideas together to form your own cultural identity.
The game will no doubt be compared to prior giants like Civilization, and more recently to games like Old World. The unique cultural identity mechanic does seem intriguing as it has the potential to let you change your play style on the fly, but I guess we’ll find out when the game is released.
Sandwalkers - Prologue
🔗 Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2995230/Sandwalkers__Prologue/
📅 Release date: June 3, 2024 (prologue — longer demo)
🖥️ Developer: Goblinz Studio
📢 Publisher: Goblinz Studio
🎮 Platform: Steam (PC)
The central game mechanism of rogue-like games is progression after death. But because of the way most of these games are set up, you always start at the beginning, potentially with new abilities or items. But what if you didn’t start at the beginning? What if you retained some of the knowledge between runs?
In Sandwalkers, you start by leading the 14th caravan of brave explorers who venture into the unknown in search of answers. As you discover things about the world and inevitably perish, the knowledge you gain carries over to the next run: memory points can be spent for various buffs and the discovered parts of the map remain visible. It’s cool to know that what you did during your 16th run has bearing on your 26th run.
After trying the demo, this game jumped a couple of places on the list of games I’m looking forward to. Sandwalkers - Prologue releases next week, with the full game to follow sometime in Q2 2024. If you’re at all curious about unique rogue-like games, I would give this game a look!
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