For fans looking for a challenging turn-base RPG where decision-making is crucial, check out these great, yet unrelenting tactics games.
Tactics games is a subset of turn-based RPGs where the battlefield also needs to be included in decision-making. This is due to the fact that tactics games involve players moving their units around the map to establish the best position against opposing units.
Having another mechanic to take note of gives tactics games further depth because players can’t just expect to win by placing all their units in the frontline. Oftentimes placing the right unit on the critical space means winning or losing the battle. That said, here are some tactics games that put players’ mettle and strategic thinking to the ultimate test. 8 Othercide
Othercide is a Lovecraftian-inspired tactical game from Lightbulb Crew and Focus Home Interactive. Players command a group of Daughters across various stages to accomplish objectives. Each Daughter has specific roles: Blademaster, Shieldbearer, and Soulsinger. These represent the melee, defense, and ranged support, respectively.
What makes Othercide difficult is in its unforgiving combat system. Daughters spend action points to access and execute moves: spending too many action points will leave them exhausted and will take them longer to gain their turn. Players can’t heal their Daughters conventionally as well: the need to sacrifice one Daughter of equal strength to the one they want to heal.
These mechanics, along with the randomly-generated combat stages and enemy locations make this game one of the more difficult tactics titles in recent years. 7 The Banner Saga Series
The Banner Saga series tells the story of two characters whose tales diverge or not, depending on the player’s choices. The games take inspiration from Nordic mythology, and have a fun and engaging cast of characters to acquire between the three games.
Gameplay-wise, the games’ Strength and Damage mechanic provides a challenge for players since the units’ Damage relies on how much Strength they possess. Strength gets sapped the more hits units take, and the less Strength units have, the less powerful their Damage becomes.
Keeping this in mind is essential during the later stages, since terrain as well as the surprisingly expansive enemy types will have players plan out the best means to strike and come out on top. 6 Wild ARMs XF
Wild ARMs XF, also known as Wild ARMs Crossfire, is the tactical game that came from the Wild ARMs franchise. This game veers off from its previous titles in terms of gameplay by adding tactical elements.
