Day two. We are playing random games. This is a new Steam mechanic — for the first two days of the festival you can play random games, after which the selection becomes personalized and Steam starts suggesting games similar to the ones you play. It is meant to help sell us more games and wishlists.
An expensive-looking tactics game in the visual style of Darkest Dungeon.
Turn-based tactics with small combat locations (locations like in Into the Breach, not like in XCOM) and long chains of character conversations as part of the story.
The game is already at a very high level of quality: the tactical game design and balance (the start of the game), the technical side, the visual side, the UX, the interface, the sound design — every aspect of the game points to an experienced development team.
The gameplay is almost classic for the genre. You have characters with different skills, and there are enemies. The goal is to destroy the enemies and survive. You have to think over each turn, calculating chains of actions (attacks, movements).
Good tutorial and a good hint system overall. There are descriptions and videos of how the mechanics work (much like in Into the Breach) and simplified diagrams of the mechanics (like in The Last Spell). The genre’s target audience will most likely have no trouble figuring it out and playing.
What annoyed us a bit — the intrusive dialogues between characters, of which there are many and which can’t be skipped. Players should have the option to choose whether to consume the texts or not, and force-feeding them (basically making you nervously click through) is no fun.
The art also feels unpleasant — it’s very overloaded and the picture is hard to read. Everything is drawn coolly and the quality is high, but it’s too much. Looking at a screenshot — okay, fine, but actually playing and parsing it all is uncomfortable (that’s our opinion, as usual).
Game link — https://store.steampowered.com/app/2479090/Prelude_Dark_Pain/
Similar games that have stood the test of time and still play great: Into the Breach, The Last Spell.