The upcoming tactical RPG Miasma Chronicles has a lot of awesome influences. The dark and dark aesthetic is very similar to XCOM. Turn-based combat is similar to classic Final Fantasy. Created by Bearded Ladies from the RPG Mutant Year Zero 2018, there is even a slight hint of Hitman, many developers have already worked on the IO stealth series. But as we get confirmation of the Miasma Chronicles release date, the latest version of Bearded Ladies has some interesting hidden mechanics that could make it stand out among RPGs and deck builders alike.
If you are not familiar with Miasma Chronicles, the setup is as follows. In a futuristic dystopian America, humanity has somehow managed to solve all of its environmental and ecological problems. The companies that created the technology to keep the planet clean now control everything; suddenly, a new threat appears in the form of the titular Miasma, a loosely defined force of nature seeking revenge on humanity.
A spiritual successor to classic PS1 RPGs like Xenogears, Miasma Chronicles blends strategy game mechanics with turn-based tactical deployments to create a sort of surreal steampunk XCOM. You position your team in real time, looking for high ground and decent cover before committing. From there, battles are won through skillful combinations of your party’s abilities, skills, and traits. But there is a twist.
Speaking exclusively to PCGamesN live at the San Francisco Game Developers Conference, Bearded Ladies studio head Mark Parker (pictured below left, facing marketing manager Niklas Oden) explains how Miasma Chronicles is especially Designed to encourage experimentation.
“One of the changes we’ve made is a skill tree that you can pick at any time,” Parker explains. “That way you can spend points and get stuff, but let’s say later in the game you’re facing a new type of enemy that suits a different playstyle, you’re not stuck with the wrong cards you picked earlier.
“We were talking about having an old man or someone who could take your money out of the game, and then we thought, ‘Why do we want to punish a player if they want to experiment? We want them to do fun things!
The ability to change stats at any time gives Miasma Chronicles players the freedom to improvise and explore other character builds whenever they want. Typically in RPGs you have to choose a development path early on and commit to that single role; if you want to step back and try something else, that means you’re starting your character from scratch. Refunding your entire build and using everything you’ve spent so far to instantly craft something new is a really good idea.
Combat in Miasma Chronicles also includes stealth mechanics directly inspired by the many Bearded Ladies developers who worked on Hitman.
“Of course, we have some of that DNA,” Parker explains. “You don’t have random deaths and things like that, but there is a bit of stealth in that we have items that you can distract enemies from, as well as things like radios – if you turn them on, enemies will investigate.”
Starting May 23, you can publish Miasma Chronicles on Steam. In the meantime, you might want to check out some of the other best 4X games if you like XCOM and strategy, or maybe some of the best card games on PC.
Source : PC Gamesn
