Abstract
- Oaken is a model new turn-based tactical roguelike coming to Xbox consoles.
- Oaken takes place in a mystical world impressed by Celtic and tribal legends.
- Oaken’s battles happen on a hexagonal grid and are extremely tactical.
All of it begins with a tree. Oaken’s story revolves across the Nice Oak and its spirits: the Woman, a clueless, but fairly courageous little sprout – alongside along with her awakening into this whimsical world, she inherits a quest to convey again the Oaksong – a spell which has stored the inhabitants of the Oak peaceable for numerous cycles; Kidu, a fierce and unpredictable fireplace Spirit, who has his very personal concepts on tips on how to take care of all of this mess; and the Pathfinder – a mysterious mentor, who helps them attain their vacation spot together with many different spirit Guides found in the course of the journey.
In most tactical roguelikes and card battlers, the battle pits “your aspect” versus the “enemy aspect”. In Oaken, battles are centered in your hero character who participates within the battle. Heros can summon spirits and use spells and trinkets. And you’ll in fact lose the sport in case your hero is defeated. The so-called line of sight and “motion areas” are calculated from the place of your hero. There are occasions and dialogues directed at them, and on the finish of the day it’s as much as the Woman and Kidu to resolve the battle of the story in their very own methods!
Artwork-wise, the group over at Laki Studios had enjoyable arising with these loopy and cute Spirits inhabiting the Oak. A whole lot of celtic and slavic folklore served as a base for the designs and the lore of Oaken. That being stated, in addition they wished to twist that base in a enjoyable, whimsical path. Video games like Rayman or Closing Fantasy had been additionally huge inspirations. The builders wished the design to be cute whereas remaining very mysterious and sort of historical at their core.
As for the mechanics, the Laki Studios crew are self-professed huge board-game followers and so they obtained a variety of inspiration from bodily video games, one among their favorites being Neuroshima Hex . That sport gave us the preliminary push to attempt to experiment with rotating models on a hexagonal grid. They then tried to make use of probably the most enjoyable facets of card video games like Hearthstone and Faeria, combined with the good roguelite and tactical facets of Into the Breach. So you’ll be able to clearly say that Oaken was created by mixing tons of various parts!
Talking of mechanics, each unit in Oaken has a “entrance” and “again”, and might rotate in one among six hexagonal instructions. Relying on their place and rotation, they’ll use a number of skills, backstabs, dodges, costs – there’s loads of placement, motion and assault actions to outsmart your enemy. Don’t get fooled by the lovable artwork fashion although! Oaken is a troublesome tactical sport even on commonplace issue. We’re fairly assured than battle examined gamers will discover the upper issue ranges to be fairly difficult!
That being stated, the builders additionally wished to guarantee that Oaken shouldn’t be overly complicated on the primary playthrough whereas additionally being laborious sufficient for demanding gamers! They launched a system known as Abilities and Masteries that permits gamers to progressively improve the problem as they make progress into the sport. And as a solution to additionally help gamers who’re primarily right here for the story and are purely into relaxed gameplay, in addition they added a Relaxed mode.
We’re effectively conscious that there are numerous Tactical and roguelikes on the market. Oaken locations a better emphasis on positioning and particularly rotation because the group discovered that to be one thing underutilized within the style. Laki Studios additionally labored very laborious on Oaken’s character design. Each spirit within the sport went by an in depth technique of design, from a number of idea arts to polished illustrations. In addition they paid particular care to the sport’s world constructing. It’s coherent and logical and has been in growth for years. Oaken’s story concerning the cute spirits has precise that means. However to be taught extra about that, gamers must get the sport!
Ported to Xbox consoles by Pink Artwork Studios, Oaken is coming to Xbox Sequence X|S and Xbox One on July 20. Pre-order Oaken on the Microsoft Retailer and get 20% off its full value.
