Platforms: Windows, Linux, OSX
Relase: November, 2017
This is as good an opportunity as ever to share one of the greatest grand strategy games ever made that no one ever talks about with GAF!
I recently discovered Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension just last year along with some friends of mine. A year on, and we're on our third epic campaign to squash one another's empires. Over the last six or seventh months there's been intrigue, plotting, backstabbing, and friendships both gloriously birthed and mercilessly trounced.
This series of extremely deep, lo-fi, turn-based grand strategy games has been around since 2002 from the same tiny indie developer that also puts out the similarly obtuse, but also similarly deep and rewarding roguelike RPG series Conquests of Elysium.
The series is known for its use of 2d sprite art, simple interface and graphics, and incredibly in-depth empire, unit, and spell systems, with a combat resolution mechanic that takes direct control over units away from the player, instead only allowing you to "program" your armies by setting units, battle orders, and formations. Set your archers towards the back in a line formation with orders to fire on enemies in the rear, guarded by a phalanx of spearmen ordered to attack the nearest opponent, flanked by mages and priests blessing your sacred units, which are units unique to each nation that can be given special benefits by being "blessed" by priest units with buffs that are based on your nation's chosen magical paths and god. You also create your nation's central deity (referred to in the game as a "Pretender God") which can be anything from a bleeding tree to a massive dragon to an inanimate pile of bones.
Additionally, the spell system is completely bonkers. There are eight paths: Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Astral, Nature, Death, and Blood, and each path has dozens of spells divided into seven schools: Conjuration, Alteration, Evocation, Construction, Enchantment, Thaumaturgy, and Blood Magic. Dominions 4 has over 800 spells, and they range from summoning beasts, demons, and elementals, to the infamous Burden of Time, which increases the speed of time in the game. Typically, one turn in Dom is a month, and twelve turns is a year, with seasons that affect both the terrain movement (rivers freeze in winter and can be crossed on foot but melt the rest of the year, for instance, and summers melt mountain snows, making them easier to cross) and battles (certain nations do naturally better in hot or cold weather, such as the ice giants of Vanheim, or the fire nation of Abyssia). Burden of Time severely increases the time acceleration, so most units, mages, and commanders being to grow old and quickly die. This has the potential to absolutely devastate entire armies. Why would anyone cast it? Well, certain nations enjoy very long life, such as the underwater nation (yes, there are nations that are entirely underwater, but various ways for them to get on land, and for land nations to get underwater) of Atlantis, but more specifically, undead nations such as Middle Age Ermor, have armies consisting entirely of undead units unaffected by time.
There's so much more I could go on and on about- dominion and scales, thugs, research, the different ages (early, middle, and late), the insane number of kingdoms and empires, etc. The game's are also home to an incredibly interesting set of lore and myths that take a huge hint from real world history and mythology, and man, like, holy shit, the game's are just a fucking blast.
Seriously, GAF, go pick up Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension. That way you can get hyped for Dominions 5: Warriors of the Faith, coming this November.
Illwinter Game Design said:
More info on Dominions 4: http://www.illwinter.com/dom4/index.html
Dominions 4 on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/259060/Dominions_4_Thrones_of_Ascension/
More info on Conquest of Elysium 4: http://www.illwinter.com/coe4/index.html
Conquest of Elysium 4 on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/403950/Conquest_of_Elysium_4/
