3 new turn-based games for November
Why is it the end of the year already?
Did you get to enjoy Steam Next Fest? Check out any spooooky games for the season? Let me know in the comments below!
Hello JOMT Reader!
Just like that, the autumn leaves have changed colour, transforming my part of the world into a brilliant blaze of yellows, oranges, and reds. Geese dot the cloudless blue sky, coordinating their annual migration south with their distinctive honks.
It also means US Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the end of the year celebrations soon after that. Maybe some of these turn-based games releasing in November will keep you busy until then!
Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch
🔗 Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2530490/Lost_Eidolons_Veil_of_the_Witch/
📅 Release date: November 5, 2024 (early access)
🖥️ Developer: Ocean Drive Studio
📢 Publisher: Ocean Drive Studio, Kakao Games
🎮 Platform: Steam (PC)
The original Lost Eidolons game, released in October 2022, was a grid-based JRPG where you controlled a squad of characters fighting to stay alive during a civil war. The story takes you through set pieces in a variety of environments, from open fields and forests to the hallways and courtyards inside castles.
Veil of the Witch expands on that formula, adding branching narratives, and curiously, rogue-lite elements. Part of the story seems to stem around finding pieces of yourself, which happens when you restart your journey.
I’m not sure how I feel about having to play the same parts of the story multiple times to progress the story, but the proposition does have me interested. One of the things the developers were trying to address was the slow pacing typical of these games. Hopefully, the rogue-lite element can complement the formula and make these types of games accessible to a wider audience.
Zero Orders Tactics
🔗 Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1877650/Zero_Orders_Tactics/
📅 Release date: November 4, 2024
🖥️ Developer: Pauloondra
📢 Publisher: Pauloondra
🎮 Platform: Steam (PC)
Most turn-based tactics games ask you to take control of a squad of characters to guide them to victory on the battlefield. The environment is something for your characters to navigate or take advantage of. Not so in this game.
In Zero Orders Tactics, there’s only one thing you control: the environment. Your battling units are set on auto-pilot, meaning you don’t have direct control over where they go. But you can guide them by changing their environment.
Aside from this unique take on turn-based tactics, the thing that stood out the most was the developer explicitly saying that there is no output randomness in the game. Just take a look at this disclaimer, lifted straight from their Steam page:
0% random actually means 0% output randomness in the core game. You may still experience input randomness in the core game, as well as various types of randomness between battles. Consult your numerologist before using this product.
If you’re curious about input vs output randomness, there’s an excellent description by
that you can read here (Part 1 / Part 2).I’m looking forward to watching my minions navigate their way to victory while I literally shift the sands under them.
Menace from the Deep
🔗 Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2644610/Menace_from_the_Deep/
📅 Release date: November 11, 2024
🖥️ Developer: Flatcoon
📢 Publisher: Flatcoon
🎮 Platform: Steam (PC)
There’s no shortage of rogue-likes and rogue-lites as developers fight for ever-shortening attention spans. But I do appreciate the fact that the short sessions allow me greater control over how much I play.
Menace from the Deep combines rogue-like deckbuilding with upgradeable cards, resource gathering, and crafting to tell the tale of a secret society. Like Lost Eidolons, you’ll discover pieces and memories of the past about your characters as you play and replay the game.
One thing I love about deckbuilders is the art, and this game is no exception. I love how the characters, monsters, and cards are brought to life and I can’t wait to see this game for myself.
If you liked what you read, please consider giving this post a like! What games are you most looking forward to in November? Let me know below!
Oh I really like deck building games. The only one I have is Slay the Spire but I really love it. It would be nice to have others to try.
Zero Orders Tactics looks very unique! I like the idea of moving the terrain instead of the characters. And you're right, Menace From The Deep's art really stands out.