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Review

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Astral Throne is an Indie, Turn Based Tactics RPG where you pick your path forward for your squad, a sort of Final Fantasy Tactics plus Fire Emblem with a planned world map that changes every run.
Interesting

A Final Fantasy Tactics + Fire Emblem?
Sort of
Think a sort of Final Fantasy Tactics like, but with the ability to pick your path forward at crossroads on the map, and no apparent limit to the amount of counter attacks; so keep swinging hero!
Also, attacks do not always hit here; good, as that means more attacks can be made, and your higher lvl characters get to feel powerful as they dodge attacks from minions left and right.
As your units fight, their individual stats increase over time, and when your characters lvl up, you pick 1 of 3 upgrades for them; powerful upgrades that really matter, like an active use heal over time, a berserker rage ability, or a melee overwatch; powerful stuff like that that will really change how you use the character.
Unit stats really matter here: as a unit will attack twice if their attack is 3 or more higher than their foes; wow.
The Fire Emblem influences come in on the combat, and it is good.

The Combat:
The combat in Astral Throne uses a rock / paper / scissor balance system with heavy weapons, good vs. shields, but bad vs. light weapons, with ranged strong vs. flyers.
There are 4 magic systems too, with Familiar Magic strong vs. Focus magic, and Barrier Magic strong vs. Familiar Magic and weak vs. Focus, as well as Ritual magic; good vs. mounted units.
There are terrain bonuses as well, as Forests grant +10 Avoidance, while Water gives -10 Avoidance, and costs 5 move per step.
All the encounters have a round limit, after which, units start to lose hp, and gain no new exp in the fight, so delaying the fight for too long has real consequences!
Avoid the Stardust!

PermaDeath With a Heart:
When your units drop, they are downed, like in XCOM, and a character must spend a turn to stabilize them, or they die at the end of the battle; either way, they are out of the current combat.
This is much more forgiving than expected, and means that a run can more easily recover if a character drops.
You can also recruit some units in battle with your heroes; giving you the opportunity to build up your forces, but then again, maybe they are worth more as exp?
More Meat For the XP Machine!

Note: This is an early look at the demo for Astral Throne, so any bugs or other oddness is not representative of the final product.
Still, Astral Throne is a fun Retro Turn-Based Tactics RPG with an engaging stat and weapon balance system, and is easily worth a wishlist and a watch.
Watch?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2560500/Astral_Throne/
#AstralThrone #RPG #TurnBasedTactics