The Iron Oath might be the next great turn-based tactics game

The entire world of The Iron OathThe story is dark and full of betrayal, bloodshed, and death. A company of mercenaries is leading me, looking for revenge on a bad mission and the death of someone I trust. My practical concerns include maintaining my gold supply and ensuring that I am able to continue providing for myself. The passage of time is another resource I need to control. This will have an even greater impact on the lives and livelihoods of my mercenaries. I’ve already learned the best way to adapt, though — by just being the absolute worst person, all of the time.

The Iron OathFans of RPGs and strategy games will find it familiar in some aspects. Take a pinch of Darkest DungeonAdd some XCOM and some sprinkled with some Divinity. Original Sin. Cook it all in a pan with some gorgeous pixel animations, an epic musical score, a fantasy world constantly on the cusp of an apocalypse, and inventive demonic enemy designs, and baby, you’ve got a stew going.

My adventure in the fantasy world of Caelum requires me to travel between open spaces, towns and cities, dungeons and single battles. These things could easily become one big mess of numbers and goals. But Curious Panda Games, the developer of this campaign introduces each level of complexity slowly through a carefully-paced tutorial. Also, there are some very specific difficulty settings. The Iron OathIt can be either a pleasant, easy walk or a strenuous trek through dangerous terrain.

Image: Curious Panda Games/Humble Games

I am able to use the powerful elementalists, rangers warriors and wizards that the game offers me as mercenaries in order to make it through this difficult world. It’s deeply satisfying to unleash a charged electrical torrent on an enemy or have a valkyrie soar through her enemies, spear first. By the time I was out of the game’s intro and into the open world with my starting mercenary party, I felt pretty confident that I would be able to catch up to the ne’er-do-well who stabbed me in the back and get revenge.

My story was not so simple. I encountered other factions and explored new places, expanding my company. This is an early access game, but there’s still a good amount of meat on the bone. Each mercenary can be upgraded and customized by players. They also have the option to send some of their favorite mercenaries on additional missions in exchange for extra XP. One drawback to this is the fact that mercenaries can become more injured and stressed the more you depend on them. Relying too much on them might cause their to snap. They might even die if they don’t receive treatment. It’s like Darkest DungeonIt’s a hard job. My company gets a round of ale once in a while, but they’re more often treated to skull fractures, trauma, and broken spines.

And even if you do everything “right,” the clock is ticking, as it is for us all. This isn’t a Fire Emblem title where everyone remains rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed; they eventually pass away. There are always new mercenaries to recruit, level up, and customize, and I can upgrade my company to make managing the crew easier … but as I juggle gold and potions, I learn to start treating human life with the same cold practicality. These aren’t my comrades — they’re Investments.

Image: Curious Panda Games/Humble Games

It is particularly true during battles. The Iron OathThis is where it shines. It gives me a clear view of the area when I enter a dungeon. It is possible to scout out the area, find traps and then explore. Once combat is over, it’s time to get down to business. I place my four mercenaries on a grid with some of my enemies. The strategy starts when I decide where my first placement will be. Flanking, cover, and positioning are all important; the enemy is usually equipped with brutal damage abilities and debuffs that can cause chaos if I don’t plan around it. Due to the limited charge of my powerful spells, I must ration through many battles.

This constant tension of resource management, limited supplies, and continual danger means that I sometimes have to make some rough choices — choices that my mercenaries will have Thoughts about. One example is when I am deep in a dark basement and find an uninjured man. Although I can assist him, my enemies will have more time for traps and ambushes. So he can flee on his own, I could give him my valuable medical supplies. Or … I could just kill him and loot his body! That might aggravate some of my mercenaries, but others will think that’s just smart. Do you give away potions of health to strangers? To be in This economy?

Image: Curious Panda Games/Humble Games

If I make too many choices that my mercenaries don’t like (or if I don’t pay them because I just Had to spend all of my gold on gear) they’ll leave the company altogether. A lot of mercenaries who are angry and tired can be very ineffective in battle. This can lead to low morale or even death for their friends.

This was my biggest concern throughout all of my experience with The Iron OathThe UI. It’s a collection of little annoyances that don’t seem to matter individually, but they pile up over time. For instance, during battles, there’s no easy way to see my characters’ health at a glance as I survey the battle. Their portrait overlays will have a red shadow that represents their general HP loss, or I can hover over them with my cursor to get a full name and health bar — but neither of these are ideal when I’m also trying to suss out all the enemy information and terrain, while also worrying about the remainder of the dungeon. Other times I had to close out the upgrade screens and it was a long time before they were found again. None of these are deal breakers (especially in an early access game) but they’re bummers nonetheless.

Overall, I’m excited to see how The Iron Oath Curious Panda Games already has a roadmap for 2022 that will lead to a full release. This map includes new classes, additional points of interest and more quests. For now, I’m having a lot of fun with the current build — my mercenaries, on the other hand, probably have some complaints with my management style.

The Iron Oath On April 19, 2009, it was made public. Windows PC. Humble Games provided a code for the game. Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Find out more. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.