Battle Brothers

I'm going to keep this short due to me not being the best writer. The game is great with a x-com type feel. As the ring leader your job will include accepting contracts, hiring mercs, equipping them, etc... You will feel the death of your "brothers" and believe me; they will die. I have the game on steam and I wish I had known it was going to have been released here.

The game fucking kicked my ass for so long, somehow I kept going because of how polished and detailed the world is. Game lore and setting is low fantasy, medieval Germany which is something not seen often and greatly appreciated. Battles are turn-based with very tight mechanics and extremely rewarding once you master it. One negative I'll give is the lack of mod support. This game has a great Mount & Blade feel and if there's one thing that game did right was modding. The possibilities here for modding are immense. I don understand though that the developers are a small indie team and didn't have the foresight to make the game modifiable. In any case this is one of my all-time favorites. This the second copy I got from the game after putting 300 hours in the Steam version.

This game...it's actually quite good and a lot of fun, as long as you understand what you're getting into. The RPG elements of the game are very light, because Battle brothers isn't an RPG, it's a squad based tactical sim, with some RPG flavor thrown in. Yes, you can equip your team with armor and weapons, and level up your characters, but there's no story or campaign for you to go through. It's all just one big sand-box, and the freedom to do your own thing is unmatched. You will however be fighting a lot, and you will lose characters. This is the essence of the game. So then let me tell you a bit about the fights, and maybe save you some headaches. Learn to fight as a squad, not as individuals...or suffer losses. Learn to swallow your pride from time to time and run. That's right, you will often find yourself in no-win situations, that's ok, recognize it and remember that discretion is the better part of valor. Understand that equipment is very impactful in surviving, perhaps more so than leveling up. Now throw in some events, late game crises, exploration, and a ton of randomness...and this is a game that will give you tremendous replay value. P.S. Don't let the weeble-wobble looking guys turn you off, believe it or not, you quickly learn to love them. Overall an excellent small-unit tactical simulator where terrain (elevation, LOS, etc) plays a role. If on discount, an absolute recommend.

Ever think XCOM didn't have enough RNG? I admire this game's dedication to real tactics and a grim world that reflects the pitiless storytelling they're going for, but dice rolls really will decide how good a time you have. And again, that's coming from a huge XCOM fan. Wandering around the world endlessly hoping a town has a suitable mission so that you have the *opportunity* to actually play the game didn't suit me. While there were some really thrilling battles, so much from the loot to the challenges available to the WILDLY random stats of the unit you just spent 3/4 of your fortune on is just obscenely luck based. Add that to irritating mechanics that punish success like the game getting harder if you level too quickly, or if you recruit too many men etc really demoralize and encourge gaming the system. Also, don't expect to have any fun playing blind. Unless you have like 20 hours to bang your head against the wall, expect to read a ton of guides before even bothering to start.

It took me a long time to actually try it - the graphics put me off at first. But once I started to allow the game to show its strengths, that is all but forgotten. I really love the artwork and actually began to really like the graphics as well. You have to be honest with yourself when playing this game and start with a lower difficulty, until you really understand the mechanics. Don´t worry about Bros dying or losing a company, it is part of the game and makes the success stories even greater. You get: Great tactical battles, Wonderful soundtrack, Excellent writing, Lots of fun (and sadness when losing good bros).