Four Overlooked or Underappreciated Turn-Based Gems

These are games that don’t seem to get the hype of turn-based games like XCOM or Divinity Original Sin, but have something interesting or innovative to bring to the turn-based genre. I choose these games because on the Steam Database they had a low ownership or lower played rate than other TBG games. But really, I choose these games because they were a blast to play and you can’t go wrong adding them to your collection.

1. Skulls of the Shogun: Ever want to know what it would feel like to be trapped in bureaucratic hell as a skeleton samurai leader? Luckily, Skulls of the Shogun has you covered. On top of that selling point, you get a rotating host of dead Samurai era warriors to command. It all plays out in a unique take on turn-based tactical strategy. You have a map and objectives to complete and buildings to capture that allow you to craft more powerful units. The movement is free-form rather than hex or tile-based, so you have to carefully observe distances from your enemy. While the map gets pretty busy each unit and their abilities are different enough to keep it interesting. And then there’s the story… oh the story! It’s not laugh-out-loud funny, but just generally a humorous take on Samurai movies (which I am sucker for...I love of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai). If you like a good story with your strategy and you like an interesting take on turn-based combat, you can pick it up on almost every platform (except Xbox - it was a 360 Arcade title, but is not included in backwards compatibility sadly...), usually on sale.

2. Invisible, Inc.: If you are fan of Klei Entertainment's other games like Don’t Starve or the fantastic Mark of the Ninja, the art style of Invisible, Inc. is instantly recognizable. All their games have this style, but every game does something different. In the case of Invisible, Inc. it is a turn-based strategy/RPG that has almost no combat. It is about futuristic secret agents who infiltrate various nefarious corporate facilities with various mission objectives. You bring a number of different agents who have different skills and strengths. The main focus is stealth and keeping guards and security tech from seeing you. The tension is always high and gets higher as the threat level increases. The main storyline is very interesting and has a couple of good twists. Available on multiple platforms (unfortunately not Xbox...yet), it will keep you busy slinking and stabbing for a reasonable, but not outrageous, time, and you will enjoy every minute.

3. Steamworld Heist: I absolutely love the heck out of Steamworld Heist. Its ricochet gun mechanic placed in a 2D turn-based game is the most innovative thing I’ve seen done with 2D side-scrolling and TBGs. The story is great too, with interesting and humorous characters and enemies. It has Western pirate comedy space vibe, like some kind of steampunk Firefly.  The progression system scales nicely as you level up your character and discover loot, aka booty. My standout favorite booty is the hats. You can shoot them off your enemies and wear them in later missions. There are even in-game stores dedicated only to hats. Once you beat its fantastic campaign, there may be no reason to return if you beat it on the hardest difficulty (congrats- you are truly a TBG master!). However, ramping up the difficulty on subsequent playthroughs will keep you coming back to land that one perfect hat-shot again and again and again. 

4. Vaporum has sort of steampunk meets Bioshock meets Legend of Grimrock feel, as you explore a giant ominous mechanical tower going up and up rather than down and down into a dungeon. Just like LOGI&II it has grid-based movement but real-time combat. So normally I wouldn't include this as a TBG, but the grid-based aspect is quite strategical and also, I just like this type of game as much as a turn-based one - so I'm including it. Uncover a deep story (with audiologs and writing), fight increasingly difficult enemies, and uncover more loot to equip. You are a solo player rather than a party, but this is balanced by choosing a powered suit with various upgradeable abilities and a couple of weapon slots for both melee and ranged weapons, as you wish. In that way, it feels like you have real freedom in how you want to play and customize your player character. It has all the traditional grid-based dungeon-crawling hallmarks like puzzles, secret rooms, and aggressive enemy AI, but it has an atmosphere and setting all its own It just recently released on consoles, so now you have many platforms..