Tactics V: Obsidian Brigade |OT| Yes, Five. There is no Tactics IV, III, II, or "Tactics." There's just Tactics V. Also it's 2D. But in 3D. But 2D.

[TheMoon]

Developed & Published By: From Nothing Game Studios (Official Site)
Genre: Fantasy Turn-Based Tactics RPG
Platforms: Nintendo Switch | Steam (Win/Lin/Mac) | PS4 | Xbox One
Release Date: August 9, 2019
Multiplayer: 1-2 Players
Languages: English
Nintendo Switch eShop: EU | US | CA | AU | NZ (989 MB)
Microsoft Store: Buy Here (861.38 MB)
PS4: UK | US
Price: US$24.99 US$ 19.99 | CA$34.99 CA$ 29.99 (Switch) # CAD $31.99 CAD $25.59 (Xbox One) | €20.99 €16.79 | £18.89 £15.11 | AU$31.50 AU$25.20 | NZ$34.65 NZ$27.72
~~~ LAUNCH WEEK DISCOUNT 20% OFF UNTIL AUGUST 18!!! ~~~

Tactics V: Obsidian Brigade is a retro-style tactical turn-based video game in homage to console tactical RPGs from the 1990s. It's set in an in-house fantasy setting with its own lore and magic, and it also uses techniques to convert to a 2D isometric look from 3D assets.

Content Included:

• Combat system mechanics: facing, targeting styles, actions, delayed actions, reactions
• World map navigation
• About 50 hand crafted levels
• Roughly 80 scripted scenes/battles
• Between 12-18 hours of story content
• Around 3 hours of optional story
• Multiple tiers of gear/weaponry
• 13 unique unlockable classes
• Optional cooperative main-game via assigning troops to another controller during deployment
• Training option allowing a non-fatal combat to be controlled by player(s) or AI to gain XP and Skill points
• Optional Alternate top-down perspective
• New Game Plus

The dream behind this demo goes with the Roman Numeral five in its name, which was originally the code name differentiating it from four other tactical game systems the programmer, Paul Metcalf, had made.

With a long history playing tabletop wargames and RPGs, Paul always finds a way to slip turn based games into his side projects, including a multi-part Youtube series. While some Unity scripting APIs have changed, the youtube series still helps other devs, or future devs, tackle hurtles in such a project.

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Gameplay without commentary

 

[Arturo]

You guys have to stop. I had seen this game in the upcoming section of the eShop and didn't even click on it. Until today. And now I need it.

Guys, please… stahp

 

[Video Games Are Dumb]

Hey! That's my interview with Paul! He's a really nice guy and Tactics V looks amazing!
Thanks for sharing the video!

 

[Mudcrab]

First time I'm hearing about this and it looks like I need it???

 

[Sumio Mondo]

Reminds me of Ogre Saga which started with Ogre Battle (which Matsuno created as the fifth chapter, despite being the first game). Anyway this looks really up my alley. This game came out of nowhere.

 

[TheMoon]

Hey! That's my interview with Paul! He's a really nice guy and Tactics V looks amazing!
Thanks for sharing the video!

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The benefit of a game having little to no coverage online, anything that exists bubbles to the top more easily :D

You guys have to stop. I had seen this game in the upcoming section of the eShop and didn't even click on it. Until today. And now I need it.

Guys, please… stahp

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First time I'm hearing about this and it looks like I need it???

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Seems like my subliminal(??) messaging in the thread cover banner worked lol

 

[Akelisrain]

Wow, so many sleeper hits coming.

 

[ara]

Huh. This looks great. How is this the first time I'm hearing about this game? Looking forward to impressions.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

Huh. This looks great. How is this the first time I'm hearing about this game? Looking forward to impressions.

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Yeah, looks stunning. Never heard about it before.

 

[Arturo]

It's out in Europe, guys. And with a nice discount. The discounted price is 16,79 €.

 

[Airbar]

Saw it in the eShop and looked up some videos. This definitely looks nice and I really dig the lo-fi artstyle.

 

[Deleted member 18400]

This game looks fun but god do I really hate the aesthetic. The graphics are just jarring to me.

 

[Deleted member 3534]

Absolutely put off by how this game looks. The dithering. Ugh.

 

[TheMoon]

It's out in Europe, guys. And with a nice discount. The discounted price is 16,79 €.

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Yooo, they could have advertised this somewhere beforehand lol

Extremely tempting to bite the bullet sooner rather than later...

Price: US$24.99 US$ 19.99 | CA$34.99 CA$ 29.99 (Switch) # CAD $31.99 CAD $25.59 (Xbox One) | €20.99 €16.79 | £18.89 £15.11 | AU$31.50 AU$25.20 | NZ$34.65 NZ$27.72
~~~ LAUNCH WEEK DISCOUNT 20% OFF UNTIL AUGUST 18!!! ~~~

 

[deadfolk]

Hmm, I was planning to sit this one out for now, given the glut of games atm. That discount, tho...

 

[TheMoon]

Hmm, I was planning to sit this one out for now, given the glut of games atm. That discount, tho...

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Right? They're evil.

 

[deadfolk]

Right? They're evil.

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Yup. Now I have to decide between this and This War of Mine.

 

[Feeroper]

This looks great but I'll be curious to hear impressions before I bite.

 

[Video Games Are Dumb]

Absolutely put off by how this game looks. The dithering. Ugh.

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Really?! I thought the main selling point is how accurately it resembles the Sega Saturn style of games.

 

[Sinatar]

Why make 3d models and put a filter on them to make them kinda sorta look like pixel art? Why not just use pixel art which would look literally a million times better.

The game looks interesting but the aesthetic is just the dirt worst.

 

[Gorgosh]

Not even listed on German PSN Store? Out already on Steam in Germany though

 

[TheMoon]

Why make 3d models and put a filter on them to make them kinda sorta look like pixel art? Why not just use pixel art which would look literally a million times better.

The game looks interesting but the aesthetic is just the dirt worst.

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Animated pixel art is a shit ton of work than creating simple 3D models with basic keyframe animations. Note that this game has a rotating camera.

Not even listed on German PSN Store? Out already on Steam in Germany though

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The usual PSN bs, I guess. Expect it to show up in a week or so maybe, going by recent history.

 

[Feeroper]

Is this out on the eshop yet? Anyone pick it up and try it yet?

 

[TheMoon]

Is this out on the eshop yet? Anyone pick it up and try it yet?

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1) yes
2) not me because broke

 

[deadfolk]

Anyone found any reviews yet? I've struck out.

 

[HotHamBoy]

The graphics STRONGLY remind me of cell-shaded Nintendo DS games.

 

[dabri]

But I'm still playing Fire Emblem! ....My wallet hurts

 

[Tamazoid]

Anyone found any reviews yet? I've struck out.

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Doesn't appear so since it just released. I'm very tempted by this, but I think I'll wait for reviews to flow in.

 

[TheMoon]

But I'm still playing Fire Emblem! ....My wallet hurts

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Yea all these tactics games releasing around Fire Emblem on Switch are really poorly timed, imo. Mutant Year Zero, Chroma Squad, this ...probably more that I'm forgetting at the moment...

 

[Star Parodier]

The gameplay and map structure looks pretty good (the Tactics Ogre influence is pretty obvious), but the aesthetic is not my cup of tea. The dithering reminds me of old PC-98 games, but not in a good way. Those games used dithering techniques to enhance the visuals and produced some of the most beautiful games of their time. This just seems like a filter haphazardly thrown on a modern game to give it a faux-retro feel.

 

[Naar]

The gameplay and map structure looks pretty good (the Tactics Ogre influence is pretty obvious), but the aesthetic is not my cup of tea. The dithering reminds me of old PC-98 games, but not in a good way. Those games used dithering techniques to enhance the visuals and produced some of the most beautiful games of their time. This just seems like a filter haphazardly thrown on a modern game to give it a faux-retro feel.

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This is exactly how I feel right now. I would have bought it, but waiting to see if it's really good because I can't stand thier style

 

[1upsuper]

Yea all these tactics games releasing around Fire Emblem on Switch are really poorly timed, imo. Mutant Year Zero, Chroma Squad, this ...probably more that I'm forgetting at the moment...

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If these were better spread out I would have ended up buying all of them. As it stands I'm sticking with FE for now.

 

[TheMoon]

If these were better spread out I would have ended up buying all of them. As it stands I'm sticking with FE for now.

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Ash of Gods: Redemption is the only smart one as they pushed the game out of their Q2 window (no idea if it was deliberate or not).

 

[NCR Ranger]

The "3d trying to look like 2d pixel art" art style was an awful choice, but if the game gets good word of mouth I might check it out.

 

[TheMoon]

The "3d trying to look like 2d pixel art" art style was an awful choice, but if the game gets good word of mouth I might check it out.

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It seems to be getting no word of mouth at all since everyone is either playing Fire Emblem or put off by the look :(

 

[Chairman Yang]

I need impressions before I can get excited about this!

 

[TheMoon]

If nothing else, a reminder that there is this Let's Play from a pre-release build that I put in the OP.

 

[Larrikin]

Saw this in the eshop thread yesterday for first time. Immediately fell in love with art style. Gotta research and see if the mechanics are my jam.

What does it compare to if anything?

 

[deadfolk]

Saw this in the eshop thread yesterday for first time. Immediately fell in love with art style. Gotta research and see if the mechanics are my jam.

What does it compare to if anything?

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Maybe FF Tactics if anything. Looks like, anyway.

 

[TheMoon]

Saw this in the eshop thread yesterday for first time. Immediately fell in love with art style. Gotta research and see if the mechanics are my jam.

What does it compare to if anything?

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Literally all we know is the stuff that's covered in the OP incl. the videos. Nobody is talking about or covering this and everyone is waiting for impressions :/ lol

 

[SeanMN]

This is the type of game that would be great for Gamepass.

I'm interested in it, but don't play too many games like it, so I'm hesitant to spend the money to try it. But, if it was on GP is probably be playing it today.

 

[NCR Ranger]

It seems to be getting no word of mouth at all since everyone is either playing Fire Emblem or put off by the look :(

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That reminds me I do need to get back to Fire Emblem. I will check out the Let's Play though.

 

[uncledonnie]

The "3d trying to look like 2d pixel art" art style was an awful choice, but if the game gets good word of mouth I might check it out.

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Eh, I dig that they are trying to do something different. But yeah need to see reviews.

 

[Truly Gargantuan]

The "3d trying to look like 2d pixel art" art style was an awful choice, but if the game gets good word of mouth I might check it out.

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It reminds me of the Ultima games, so it pulls some nostalgia strings for me. They don't nail the look perfectly but I appreciate them going for it

 

[Mejilan]

Love the look of this game and I also love tactical RPGs. But I really, really need at least one solid, credible review to tip me over the edge.
Kind of reminds me of a modern take of some old CRPG art styles and/or that Sega Genesis Naughty Dog game (Rings of Fate? Rings of Power? I forget).

 

[Zaibach333]

Hi, this is Paul, the developer of the game. Reviews are slim, we misjudged the story playtime based on our tests, and learning curve, we have since upped it to 25+ hours, for what it's worth, I did find a review by someone who has finished the game (this one's for Nintendo Switch) https://killapenguin.com/gamereviews/tactics-v-obsidian-brigade-review/

 

[TheMoon]

Hi, this is Paul, the developer of the game. Reviews are slim, we misjudged the story playtime based on our tests, and learning curve, we have since upped it to 25+ hours, for what it's worth, I did find a review by someone who has finished the game (this one's for Nintendo Switch) https://killapenguin.com/gamereviews/tactics-v-obsidian-brigade-review/

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Thanks for sharing! Are there plans to patch the game a bit? The review mentions a few odd bugs with certain AI units, for example.

 

[Zaibach333]

Absolutely yes, though some platforms take longer to get patches out than others.

 

[Gorgosh]

Hi, this is Paul, the developer of the game. Reviews are slim, we misjudged the story playtime based on our tests, and learning curve, we have since upped it to 25+ hours, for what it's worth, I did find a review by someone who has finished the game (this one's for Nintendo Switch) https://killapenguin.com/gamereviews/tactics-v-obsidian-brigade-review/

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Hi Paul, I would like to support the game, sadly it is still not out on EU PSN (at least Germany). Is there no planned EU release on PSN?

 

[Zaibach333]

Hi Paul, I would like to support the game, sadly it is still not out on EU PSN (at least Germany). Is there no planned EU release on PSN?

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Thanks for your interest, at this point in time there's some constraints on age rating concerns financially, I do see it going to EU eventually, but when I can not say. I'm sorry this is the case, however, at the moment we are on Switch, Xbox One, and Steam in Germany to my knowledge.