• Title: Planet Stronghold
• Developer: Winter Wolves (Celso Riva)
• Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
• Price: $24.99

Guest Review by Tof Eklund

Winter Wolves’ Planet Stronghold is a hybrid dating sim and RPG, combining elements of two distinctively Japanese genres (visual novel and old-school jRPG) with high-res graphics and an art style that is more influenced by western comics than by manga. It’s a natural synergy, in many ways, as both genres are “turn based,” use many of the same art assets, and the stat, skill, and equipment management of the RPG side “compensates” for the lack of crunchy system in most visual novels.

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German developers Rat King Entertainment write in to inform me that a 3D graphical roguelike, developed in Unity, has emerged from the depths. In Pitman, you play a dwarf exploring procedurally generated dungeons of varying descriptions in search of treasure.

It’s a pretty standard premise, all in all. What helps Pitman stand out a bit, however, is its unusual board game presentation. Portions of each dungeon are dropped down at certain intervals, enemies are placed down and picked up from the board, and items are represented as cards. Really, all that’s missing from its board game motif are physics-based dice dropping onto the board and friends bickering about the rules with you.

There seem to be some pretty strict limits on the size of your inventory, at least at the start of the game, which should hopefully force some interesting choices as the game gets harder. Beyond that, the developer hasn’t brought any unique mechanics to my attention, and I haven’t had the time to play through this much yet myself.

Luckily, there is currently a free in-browser demo available on Kongregate, which you can check out here. There is also a trailer available for your viewing pleasure–have a look:

The full version of the game is available for $2.99 on Windows, Mac and iOS devices.

There has been some discussion lately about whether there is really such a huge difference between jRPGs and wRPGs after all. Quite aside from whether we can prove that “East is West” based on a sample size of two, I’d like to discuss an issue hinted at near the end of Rowan Kaiser’s piece: specifically, the utility of having the categories jRPG and wRPG to begin with. Given that I actually use the designations jRPG and wRPG on this site, I feel I ought to explain why.

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I’m a little late, here: Red Rogue has been out in various playable-but-incomplete forms for months now. (This is what happens when you don’t write in, developers: games bloggers seldom act sua sponte, and I am certainly no exception.)

Red Rogue is a side-scrolling graphical roguelike by Aaron Steed, pitched as a reimagining of the original Rogue. If that sounds like the definitely-not-an-RPG Spelunky, consider that Red Rogue features loot drops, magic spells, stats and leveling-up. It also eschews jumping in favor of walking and climbing ladders. It’s still an RPG, in other words, despite the side-on perspective: it’s not a platformer.

The game uses pixelated sprites for its graphics, and goes for a Schindler’s List aesthetic with black-and-white visuals punctuated by the occasional burst of red. The look has a certain charm to it, I think. Currently, the latest build of the game is freely available to play right here on the developer’s website.

“But Craig,” you might say, “I’m too lazy to click once and instantly play a free game in my browser.” Well, you’re in luck! You can click below and watch someone else play it instead, if that suits you better. Lucky you.

There is no date mentioned as far as a final release goes. However, Aaron tells me that he expects development to continue until the end of the year. He also tells me that he has no plans to make any money off of the game, though he might accept donations once Red Rogue is completed.

Almost Human have announced that first-person Dungeon Master-alike Legend of Grimrock is due for an early April release.

The PC version of Legend of Grimrock will be released in early April and we are going to start preorders a few weeks before launch. That said, we have signed NDAs so we are not allowed to tell the exact date and distribution platforms just yet but rest assured that everything is now in good hands.

There you have it. As long as they don’t release on April 1, I think they’ll be fine.

Stoic Studio writes in to announce the release of a trailer for The Banner Saga (last posted about here), which they say contains “real gameplay footage.” Well! There’s not much to do but give it a watch, eh?

 

Personally, I have a hard time believing that that’s actual footage of the combat, what with the complete absence of any GUI on the screen. Still, it’s nice to get a look at those lovely animations.

IndieGameMag reports that Stoic Studio, a newly-formed indie operation consisting of three former Bioware employees, have announced that they are creating a new turn-based tactical RPG called The Banner Saga.

On their site, the devs describe their game as follows:

role-playing meets turn-based strategy, wrapped into an adventure mini-series about vikings.

Travel through stunning landscapes straight out of an animated film as your party escapes what could be the end of everything. Battle painstakingly hand-animated foes in strategic, turn-based combat. Make decisions with real consequences in conversations with people you’ll actually care about.

The Banner Saga is a mature game aimed at gamers who appreciate art, story and strategy.

Visually, the game features an isometric perspective and an art style that harkens back to Disney’s Sleeping Beauty era. The devs did a short interview with IndieGameMag, which you can check out here, including a screenshot of some combat. I still had a few questions of my own, however, so I emailed Stoic Studio and got a few extra details about the game.

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Tomes of Mephistopheles, a first-person action RPG taking place across randomly generated dungeons and an equally-randomly-generated overworld, has reportedly entered a paid alpha stage. The devs sum it up as follows: “Following the alpha funding model, we offer gamers immediate access to the early alpha of Tomes of Mephistopheles, free updates and a free final version of the game once it’s released.”

The purchase page adds more details:

This is an alpha funding project. The price of the game will be going up as we add more content to it. By purchasing Tomes of Mephistopheles right now, you will be getting at at the lowest price possible and will be granted all future updates for the title for free, including final release of the game.

You can currently buy into the alpha for $10.00. The purchase page makes no mention of Mac support, but Windows and Linux are evidently supported. Kot-in-Action have helpfully provided alpha footage of the game so you can see for yourself where it’s at and decide if this is a train you want to climb aboard (metaphorically speaking–it’s a game, not a train, and I take no responsibility if you actually try to climb on it).

A new tactical RPG has been released by Sinister Design*, by the name of Telepath RPG: Servants of God. Quoth the game’s page:

Telepath RPG: Servants of God is a hybrid western RPG / strategy RPG set in a unique Middle Eastern steampunk fantasy setting.
The game features:

• Tactical turn-based combat where positioning and planning are key
• Branching dialog and quests with multiple endings
• Different races and factions, each with its own agenda
• Dozens of different psychic and physical abilities to manipulate and decimate your enemies
• A variety of characters that you can choose to recruit, grow close with or alienate
• Lasting consequences for the choices you make throughout the game
• A thoughtful narrative about the nature of the mind and the existence or non-existence of God

There’s a good preview of this game up at The Indie Mine. A relevant snippet: “It’s a solid SRPG with a compelling story that should win over traditional tabletop wargamers, as well as anyone who enjoyed Disgaea or Final Fantasy Tactics.”

You can get the full game for $24.95 here if this sounds like your sort of thing, or try out the free demo. (You’ll need Adobe AIR installed–you can get that for free, quite painlessly, here.) Finally, here is a trailer for you to feast your eyes upon:

*Full disclosure: Sinister Design is my company. But Telepath RPG: Servants of God is definitely an indie RPG, so I figure it belongs on the site.

Carpe Fulgur have released a new localized game (their third, I think?) by the name of Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone. This one is a side-scrolling action RPG sort of in the vein of Ys III: Wanderers from Ys. Andrew Dice from CF has this to say about it:

Fortune Summoners is a 2D sidescrolling action RPG. Gameplay in Fortune Summoners consists of side-scrolling action, with you in control of one of three party members and the computer controlling the other two (with highly customizable AI dictating their actions). You will explore towns, delve dungeons, climb towers and, just maybe, find Arche a snack or two. Combat is different depending on who you control – Arche, being a swords-girl, controls in a fashion similar to a character from a brawler or fighting game, with many special moves tied to button combos. Sana and Stella, her companions, rely more on their varied selection of spells to see them through a fight – spells that rain ice down on enemies, make mirror images of friends, or set the ground ablaze!

Other features include:

• A massive gameworld to explore – nearly a dozen dungeons to delve into, and easily 25+ hours of gameplay, with lots of extra content to explore!
• Gorgeous, detailed 2D sprite backgrounds and animations – like the best 16-bit game you never got to play!
• Classic platformer-RPG action in the vein of some of the true greats of yesteryear!
• Conquer the challenges before you with intelligent AI companions – you can let them do as they want or customize their behavior to your heart’s delight!
• Stunning, professional-quality music and sound!
• Full support for Xinput controllers, including the XBox 360 controller, as well as keyboards!”

I’m planning to do a proper review of this one in the near future (in no small part because of how excellent Recettear was), and as such I have been steering clear of reading reviews of the game (reviews like this). One thing I can definitely say, however, is that this game has some eye-poppingly gorgeous pixel art. For now, you can get the demo here–or, if you want to jump right in, you can grab the full game for $19.99 on Steam.

If this game has an official trailer, I can’t find it. A bunch of people have started posting Let’s Plays of the game, though–this one should do the trick as far as showing off how the game plays: