The turn-based tactics and occult school life of Demonschool are taking a little extra time. Today, developer Necrosoft Games announced that Demonschool is moving to a Q2 2024 release window.

Previously set for 2023, the studio says it's taking more time to put everything together. "We're trying to make this thing as good as we possible can, and it needed a little more time in the oven," reads a statement fro?m Necrosoft Games on Twitter. "But it'll be worth it! Ple??ase wishlist on steeeeeeam!"

The news arrives alongside?? a new trailer, shown at today's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2023 showcase. The trailer features a good look at the mechanics of its turn-based tactics, as well as some glimpse??s of different characters that will be in your party.

School's out for demons

Demonschool is a pretty rad-looking tactics RPG, from the team behind games like Hyper Gunsport. It's been on our radar for some time, and made a strong impression when I got the ch??ance to demo it at PAX East this year.

The story follows Faye, who's attending a university while also getting involved in a ton of ??occult and supernatural happenings. Between the turn-based battles, you can also wander around, pick up quests, and chat up other people.

It's really neat, and despite dashing my hopes for a last-second end-of-year surprise, I hope the extra time in the oven helps Demonschool shine. In an increasing?ly crowded 2024, this is still one of my more anticipated games. Definitely one for the indie and tact??ics crowds to keep an eye on.

Demonschool is currently planned for Q2 2024 on PC via Steam.

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Does this imply the existence of a back mission?

I’m happy to see the Front Mission series finally getting some love over here in North America. It hasn’t been completely absent, but our coverage has been spotty. We missed a slew of them and only received three out of the five “numbered�titles. The fact that we’re getting not one but three remakes (one of them having never been localized) gives me hope that we’ll see more of the series over here. It worked for Yakuza, right?

This is actually my first chance to really delve into the series. My previous experience with it was watching my roommate fall in love with Front Mission 4. I don’t remember why I didn’t try it for myself because I recall it looking cool. Mechs are cool. Tactical strat??egy games are cool. It’s enough that I bookmarked the game in my brain and planned to one day circle around back to it. Today’s the day, and I can start?? at the beginning.

Front Mission 1st: Remake (Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Forever Entertainment
Publisher: Forever Entertainment
Released: November 30, 2022
MSRP: $34.99

Front Mission 1st: Remake is a remake of the first Front Mission, Front Mission 1st. Technically, Front Mission 1st isn’t the first Front Mission; it’s a 2003 PS1 port of the 1995 Super Famicom game, Front Mission. So Front Mission 1st is technically a remake of a remake, but both said remakes are really remasters. Front Mission 1st: Remake is a r?emaster of a re?master, but unlike the first remaster, this remaster remakes the remaster’s graphics.

The biggest difference is that it’s been remade in 3D, but it includes all the content from the PS1 version. The gameplay is largely the same. If the tweaks to the gameplay are too much, you can even set them to be closer to the original. Which is definitely okay by me. Likew?ise, the soundtrack has been remastered, but this is less of a ??major change. I kept switching back and forth between classic and remastered. Some tracks were better, and others weren’t.

Beyond that, I don’t have en?ough experience with the original to really nitpick the differences.

[embed]//youtu.be/kvj7WerPPF8[/embed]

War never changes

Front Mission tells the story of the OCU and the UCS, who have aggravatingly similar names. They’re fi??ghting over a croissant-shaped island in the pacific called Huffman, and it’s clear off the hop that things aren’t quite right. On the OCU side, Royd Clive loses his Fiancee while investigating a weapons factory. He’s disavowed ??but finds himself fighting alongside his old employer through the mercenary group, the Canyon Crows.

It presents a rather gritty perspective on war. The w??hole “war is hell�vector is certainly not new for video games or even the mecha genre in general. Neither is the whole dead girlfriend thing. It’s a fine framework, but it’s hardly novel. That said, it has a good pace to it and serves as a good backdrop.

The anglophone ear

Aside from the routine story, Front Mission 1st manages to combine some of the best parts of the tactical and mech sub-genres. You have grid-based maps, and you have a toybox of parts to build robots from. In this case, they’re called “Wanzers�which comes from the Ge?rman “Wanderpanzers�or “walking tanks.�That still sounds kind of dumb to the anglophone ear, but it’s supposed to be pronounced “Vanzers.�It still sounds kind of dumb, but it doesn’t matter; mechs are awesome.

You put them together from a variety of parts, then ?slap on some weapons or shields. You can also fall back on good ‘ol fisticuffs, which always looks funny to me. In battle, the legs, individual arms, or body can be damaged. While you can still move without legs, you can’t hold weapons without arms or live without ?a body. This means you’re constantly balancing armor, HP, and other stats.

This means two things: first, putting together robots is always fun. However, ??the second thing is that it creates a lot of prepwork. You put together a rather sizeable team, and some missions have you field as many as 11 wanzers, all of which need to be configured manually. New parts can get dropped every couple of missions, so if you want to keep everything at the tip-top, you’ll be making shopping trips each time. It can be a bit much, and I wish there was some sort of auto-optimization option.

Blood and rust

It’s also not a terribly balanced game. You have the option of fighting in the arena for cash and experience, and I quickly found out how to exploit this to the moon and back. I was never short on funds, and I had a few pilots that were exceedingly effective in combat. It made the OCU campaign a cake-walk. The UCS is a bit less flexible an??d there are difficulty options (most of which are locked off the hop), but going god-mode through more than 30 missions sucked some of the fun out of it.

Not all of it, though. Dashing across the battlefield and shooting robots in the dick is always an enjoyable spectacle, and there’s a? decent variety to the missions. Even while I was walking through the game with little resistance, I stayed engaged.

The graphical upgrade to Front Mission 1st is pretty good, too. I especially loved the city maps when you can rotate the camera around buildings. Rain has a nice effect to it, as well, even though I kind of wished the game ran at a higher resolution so I cou?ld enjoy it more. I did come across some bugs and ??performance oddities, but the team has a day one patch coming out that should address much of it. Nothing I ran into was overly intrusive, even in its pre-release state.

Old metal with a new coat

I do wish more was done to address some?? UI issues. Some important information seems rather out of reach, and while you can buy parts and immediately equip them, if you want to reconfigure from there, it’s in an entirely different menu. They’re annoyances that se??em to stem from the game’s origins, but they aren’t deal-breakers.

While Front Mission 1st didn’t set my world on fire, and I found it lacking in a lot of areas, I did enjoy it. It’s n?ot the best tactical strategy game to come out this year,?? but it’s welcome nonetheless. It’s also a great and loving remaster of the Super Famicom title, and while there are places I wish it was tightened up, I’m overall happy about it. It leaves me excited to play the next two remasters as they work their way to release.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Make good choices at Digimon camp

The long-awaited Digimon Survive got a new trailer today, h??ighlighting both its tactics and its story ahead of its July 29 launch. Ther??e are dangers, decisions, and a whole lot of Digivolution.

Digimon Survive is one-part visual novel mystery adventure, following a character lost in the world of Digimon. These sections seem to follow the cast of human?s as they venture around, trying to figure ou??t what's happened and how to get back home.

Then, once a battle breaks out, it gets tactical. Digimon battles happen?? on a grid system with turn-based tactical fights. And yes, the Digimon can evolve into wild, wacky new Digimon.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLiTAk9TyUk

The mix of mystery and tactics certainly seems interesting. And I can't help but be drawn in when the trailer shows a chart of Digivolutions with all kinds of crossing arrows and p??aths.

Digimon are the champions

The tactical story-driven Digimon Survive has been in the works for quite a long time, with quite a few delays. Then, earlier this year, the team finally locked a firm date for it on July 29.

With such a long road to launch, I'd hope Digimon fans find what they're looking for in Survive. Other Digimon games like Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth have flown under the radar, but been pretty solid.

The tactical take and incorporation of adventure game elements in Survive really intrigues me, even as someone who isn't the biggest Digimon fan. (I did really like Our War Game, though.)

Hopefully the wait's been worth it. Digimon Survive will launch on July 29 for PlayS??tation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, N??intendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

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Leaks of an unannounced Fire Emblem are out there

Screens and details about an unannounced Fire Emblem have been leaking out online. A few different parties now allege there is a new Fire Emblem in the works, with screenshots purportedly showing an ??early version of the game.

Earlier this week, Nintendo insider Emily Rogers shared some details about the "new" Fire Emblem game. And not long after Reddit user u/miasmadelta shared more, backing up the report of a brand new Fire Emblem and sharing some screens.

The reports say that the new Fire Emblem is indeed a new entry in the series, not a remake. Rogers claims that it's a collaboration between Intelligent Systems, Koei Tecmo, and Gust. She also says it's been finished for over a year. It also has a gimmick that lets players summon Fire Emblem characters from the past to their squad.

The Reddit user backs up the idea that it's been completed for "quite some time". To add a little more credence, Eurogamer reports that it understands the project to be real.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADaRsEhTB70

Blue skies and a battle

The last mainline release in the Fire Emblem series was 2019's Three Houses. The Nintendo Switch series debut was a pretty rousing success, garnering both critical acclaim and sales. While there was the re-release of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light in 2020, a new strategy game has yet to crop up since Three Houses.

Aside from the strategy, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is due to launch next week. It's in the Warriors line of games, so expect big crowds, strongholds to capture, and 1,000-hit combo musou action. It's fun, from what I've played of the demo, but it's not the tactical strategy of the mainline Fire Emblem games.

The time seems ripe for a new Fire Emblem, especially as tactical RPGs as a whole are surging. Triangle Strategy launched this year, Front Mission remakes are on the way, and a Tactics Ogre listing leaked as well. If this is truly the Year of Tactics, I hope these leaks indicate Fire Emblem won't miss the party.

The post Details on? a new Fire Emblem reportedly leak out online appeared first on Destructoid.

The Year of Tactics carries on

A listing for Tactics Ogre: Reborn leaked out last night. A PlayStation Store listing not only had the name, ??but a??lso a few pieces of art to go along with it.

Though the listing is down now, users were quick to catch the relevant info and art (thanks, Escapist) before it went away.

Sadly, there wasn't anything about pricing, release date, or details about the upcoming project. All we have is the above and below images, one bearing the name Tactics Ogre Reborn.

If we want to over-analyze a bit, the above image struck me a bit because it is pretty darn similar to the box art of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. You can see the box art below (via MobyGames) has two similar characters and stances in front of a flag. Reborn, however, is stylized closer to Akihiko Yoshida's style of art seen on the cover of the PSP version of Let Us Cling Together.

Let us believe, together

That's about all we've got to go off, aside from it being published by Square Enix and designated as an RPG. Square Enix did trademark Tactics Ogre: Reborn in April though, so this looks like confirmation th?at ??something's happening.

Tactics Ogre and the overarching Ogre Battle series doesn't always get the universal admiration of fellow Square strategy game Final Fantasy Tactics. But entries like Let Us Cling Together have been lauded among tactical RPG fans for ages. The last Ogre entry was the Let Us Cling Together remake for PlayStation Portable in 2010, which the U.S. got a year later. Older entries like Ogre Battle 64 and The March of the Black Queen are even further back, though they did get Virtual Console re-releases.

We don't have any confirmation on what this specifically is or when it will be announced. But this Tactics Ogre: Reborn listing does add onto the pile of a very tactics-filled year. There are the impending Front Mission remakes and new entries like The DioField Chronicle. And we've already had stellar games like Triangle Strategy. It's a good time to be a tactics fan.

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The new roguelike will be tactical and co-op

Shiny Shoe, the team behind the deckbuilding hell-train roguelike Monster Train, has a new game in the works. Today the team revealed Inkbound, a co-op tactical roguelike that's co??ming?? to Steam Early Access in 2023.

While 2020's Monster Train blended deckbuilding with tower defense, Inkbound is going for a different vibe. According ?to the developer, it's blending tactics games, ARPGs, and roguelikes into one with hy?brid real-time/turn-based battles.

The option is there to go fast or slow down, charging in for melee hits or staying just out of reach and pelting away with ranged attacks. Most notably, co-op play is a big c??omponent.

Binders, the heroes of this realm who maintain stories and care for them, can work together in fights. One might lean into healing while another does the damage, or focus on debuffing the enemy. Shiny Shoe says co-op is "rewarded, but not required." Playing solo is totally possible, though playing co-op is the best way towards Inkbound's best loot.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMzkN45lsyU

A neverending story

Inkbound will launch into Steam Early Access in 2023, though you can also sign up for beta access through the official website here. The Shiny Shoe team seems keen on using this ev?olving this game over time, making use of the in-development structure of Early Access. CEO Mark Cooke says the team's goal is to give players new surprises each week, whether it's new enemies, loot, or biomes to explore.

It's an interesting pitch, mixing co-op in with roguelike and tactical combat. But after the mish-mash of ideas that is Monster Train turned out so well, I'm inclined to keep an eye on what Shiny Shoe is doing. There are many competitors in the roguelike world, but Shiny Shoe has already shown once that they can make some??thin??g unique and interesting.

We'll see what Inkbound brings to the field in 2023?? when it launches into Steam Ear??ly Access on PC.

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The Year of Tactics charges forward

A new tactical RPG from Square Enix is on the way, under a brand-new moniker too. The DioField Chronicle is a new kind of strategy? role-playing game, using real-time systems.

Shown at today's State of Play, The DioField Chronicle definitely has some Final Fantasy Tactics v?ibes at first. It's set in a fantasy world,? in the midst of a clash between armies and nations. Soldiers in armor stand around a table, discussing battles.

Where The DioField Chronicle differs looks to be its combat. Ther?e's a real-time approach, rather than the turn-based you'd expect. Square Enix is describing this as the Real-Time Tactical Bat?tle system, or RTTB.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Jnap7qQK8

So while it's got a bit of classic FFT in there, it also feels a little akin to an RTS too. The cut-ins, with stylized portraits and zooms, also bring to mind Fire Emblem: Three Houses. And the maps look to be "boards," again similar to FFT or more recently, Triangle Strategy.

I'm pretty interested in this new direction, because it seems pretty novel and different than what you'd usually expect from a tactics game. The tactical RPG genre is having a big year in 2022, with Triangle Strategy just out and games like Front Mission and Midnight Suns on the horizo?n. But something a little fresh and ??interesting seems intriguing, too.

The DioField Chronicle is coming to PlayStation 4, PS5, X??box One, Xbox ??Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam sometime in 2022.

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