Virtual Alchemy is a newly-forged studio in Warsaw, Poland, and its debut title is a medieval fantasy RTS game calledBand of Crusaders. The Knights Templar have fallen, and it’s up to the player as the Grandmaster of a new knightly order to shape peasants into soldiers, set in a demon overrun version of 1350 Europe. There are two major gameplay components toBand of Crusaders: an overworld map that lets players travel between key regions, as well as tactical combat encounters against demons, cult followers, and more, all within maps generated based on the safety of the overworld’s region.
As the Grandmaster, players will be tasked with developing a camp for their recruits, recruiting and managing each crusader’s mental health, material needs, and combat abilities, and sending these soldiers into combat where they are almost certain to die. All of this is to push back the cult, defeat demons and archdemons alike, and send the forces of pandemonium back where they came from. Still in development,Band of Crusadersis a game designed for those who love experiences where strategy and tactics are constantly in play. Game Rant recently saw a little bit ofBand of CrusadersatGamescom, and it seems to be everything it promised.
Band of Crusaders' Overworld Map Simulates Its Large-Scale
Covering the entire continent is no doubt a large scale, and players will be able to move troops from region to region on it. Along the way, they can encounter enemies and allies alike, trigger combat encounters, and accomplish specific quests. For example, we were shown how to accept quests from other regions and hunt those enemies over this map, while avoiding any nearby dangers. We also saw another combat encounter where we engaged near allies, transitioning to a barren and destroyed field in a rather devastated region. Having allies on the map split the demons' attention for aunique tactical encounter. These maps also manifest based on how safe any particular region is; the more pandemonium, the more destroyed they are. This means that the world ofBand of Crusaderswill change over time as players attempt to combat demons on such a large-scale field.
Band of Crusadersalso promisesemergent gameplaybased on player and NPC interactions, how players deal with human factions, how players face these demonic forces, and more. Some examples of general gameplay modifiers include how strong the demonic forces are, changing seasons, and a day-night cycle. Of course, the most powerful enemies are the Archdemons, and they stand between the player and peace, requiring players to get the utmost out of its strategic gameplay to conquer.
The Crusaders' Camp
To face all these foes, players will need knights, and knights will have their own needs. At any given time, players can develop a roster of up to 20 knights, and the camp will be able to support their needs such as recruitment, the ability to heal and recover, repairing weapons and armor, and training for new abilities. Every crusader is their own designated character as well, not simply a “class” so to speak, which means they have their own backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses to support and maintain. This approach ensures players can get unique synergies; for example, one crusader was able to push back or draw aggro on enemies, letting a ranged unit remain safe as they deal damage. More than that, the buildings with the Crusaders' camps will able to allow players to figure out these strategies, experiment with teams, and progress the overarching campaign.
Players will also be able to progress a Crusader’s attributes and abilities with a very thorough skill tree, which is essentially classless and lets players design their own strategies for combat encounters. Modifying this even further is equipment that can support these builds, improvements obtained throughout the campaign, and abilities tied to weapons. In short, from atop-down perspective, players have strategic control over how their units operate on a large scale and how they progress on a much smaller, but as equally important, one.
Band of Crusaders Requires High-Level Tactics in Granular Combat
While the big picture is undoubtedly important, control over tactics at a granular level is also important.Band of Crusadersseems to accomplish this best at thecombat level. All the aforementioned modifiers come to play in any map, adjusting the strategic situation. Abilities come into play, but much more than that is how players approach certain combat encounters. For example, we played a brief mission where we needed to capture a specific target, with that target being surrounded by a huge enemy encampment with guards, outlying camps, and more. There were at least 2-3 possibilities to approach the situation with that we noticed; we chose to take out a nearby, smaller camp, taking their resources in the process, and headed into the main combat. It was tough and pushed everything we had learned about the game, as we ultimately lost two or three of our party members (having five at the beginning).
Just due to the type of game it is, players are going to lose units inBand of Crusaders, but it also allows them to further realize their preferred units as well. We had to keep in mind how our characters approach combat together, and how we placed them (although players can easily and conveniently move entire troops at once). In short, we were handed a lot of power in the combat, and we, as the grandmaster, had to make choices that reflect life-or-death scenarios.
Tactical Slow-Motion
Complementing its combat is Tactical Slowmo, which was not unlike the tactical pause ofgames likeDragon Age: Origins. The difference is that it puts more emphasis on that life-or-death situation, putting more weight on every choice made in combat. Time still passes, combat is still ongoing, but it does allow a brief reprieve to reconsider strategies, fall back, and anything along those lines. Still, it’s a great tactical addition and made the combat feel even better.
Overall, the overarching story and in-depth tactical elements forBand of Crusadersare very promising. It remains to be seen what Virtual Alchemy shows next or how the studio continues to push this premise and genre overall, but it’s definitely one to watch.
