Battle Brothers Released

Battle Brothers, the highly anticipated turn-based tactical RPG by Overhype Studios, has left Early Access and has officially released unto the masses. The Standard Edition comes with a price tag of $29.99, or your regional equivalent, on Steam. Here’s the launch trailer:

And a feature list:

• Manage a medieval mercenary company in a procedurally generated open world.
• Fight complex turn-based tactical battles with historical equipment and brutal injuries.
• Permadeath. All characters that die in combat will stay dead – unless they return as the undead.
• All characters come with their own background stories and traits. Want a stuttering ratcatcher, a greedy witch hunter or a drunkard disowned noble?
• Character development without a restrictive class-system. Each character gains experience through combat, can level up and acquire powerful perks.
• Equipment that matters. Different weapons grant unique skills – split shields with axes, stun enemies with maces, form a spearwall with spears or crush armor with a warhammer.
• Diverse enemy roster. All enemies have unique equipment, skills and AI behavior.
• A dynamic event system with atmospheric encounters and tough decisions outside of combat.
• Three late game crises – a war between noble houses, a greenskin invasion and an undead scourge – add a looming threat along with new contracts, enemies and events.
• Two full hours of orchestral soundtrack.
• 70 Steam Achievements and Steam Trading Cards

The game currently doesn’t have a Metacritic score and I wasn’t able to find any reviews for the release version. There is however a fresh review-style article on eXplorminate. It doesn’t score the game, but the impressions are quite positive. An excerpt:

Overall, Battle Brothers is one of those Early Access success stories. It felt a lot like a finished game long before its official release and ultimately, the game accomplishes what it set out to do. This is Mercenary Company Simulator 2017. The combat system works well, and battles are both fun and tense affairs with permanent consequences. The leveling system and equipment system combine in ways that allow for an in-depth level of customization for your troops. The artwork is pleasing to the eye and the orchestral score fits the game well. The developers show no signs of slowing down after release and there is a lot of bang for the buck to be had for the reasonable asking price. Anyone interested in a build-your-own mercenary game with detailed turn-based combat in a stylized and grimly beautiful medieval fantasy world will have a blast knocking bad guy heads in Battle Brothers.

TL;DR: Battle Brothers is a gem and is a joy to play for fans of Strategy RPGs and/or turn-based combat systems. The game is light on story/plot and is very much a sandbox experience; the narrative is the player’s job and the game provides the tools to craft it. The world simulation runs in real time and the player can take advantage of opportunities as they arise and explore freely – as long as the food holds out. The game is pretty difficult, even on its easiest setting, so those looking for a good challenge are likely to find it here.