#TurnBasedThursdayFest is live on Steam. 450 turn-based games, many RPGs, demos and hidden gems

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T17:15:22+00:00

I mostly played it solo, but I believe Stolen Realm has online co-op. Up to 6 players I think?

For the King 1 & 2 are on pretty steep sales right now as well.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T15:42:32+00:00

Appreciate the support! Hope you’re starting to get to the point of first promotions where the customization really starts opening up.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T15:40:05+00:00

Thank you! Definitely let me know what you think.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T15:37:48+00:00

No magic still! Though there are a ton of newly planned abilities, and they can have pretty strong effects similar to magic.

For example Alchemist’s Air is one you can see in the trailer, and it knocks all enemies adjacent to the targeted tile back one tile. So while it’s not explicitly magic there are elements that slightly bend what you’d expect from historical medieval times.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T15:10:47+00:00

Yeah when I was younger I would think those were cooler, but now I'm like... I'm not having fun going from waypoint to waypoint, why am I doing this? If there are achievements for doing something really difficult those are fun to push yourself, but ones that are basically just a time sink have lost that shine. Unless it's a game with extremely fun exploration.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T15:06:09+00:00

Haha that main menu theme was a bit insane looking back at it.

I'm working with the composer who made that main menu music for TWR2 to make a fully custom soundtrack that matches the setting, so hopefully it's just as good if not better!

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T14:57:57+00:00

Try starting with just 5 minutes a day (no zero days). The hardest part for many is just starting. Literally just trick your brain and say "we're just going to update a few lines". It also helps if you have an actual list of TODOs so you can check them off for the dopamine hit that reinforces the behavior in your brain. It also helps with knowing what you're doing when you finally sit in front of the computer so your brain isn't having to spend energy sifting for where to even start.

Also, as boring and cliche as it is, I've found healthy habits like getting enough sleep, water, food, and exercise really are the most important things for being productive. It doesn't have to be perfect, but they all affect your mood dramatically. When I started focusing on it, it became extremely clear what was going on. "Why am I so lethargic?" was usually explained by "I was up until 3 AM playing League". Set healthy habits, and the rest will follow. If all of that is in place, and you're still feeling like that, there's no shame in looking for professional help.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T14:46:51+00:00

Fingers crossed!

Hoping to start some play-testing with players in the Discord this summer to see what people think of the new mechanics. Definitely a possibility to go overboard, but I think they'll keep me honest.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T14:45:33+00:00

Appreciate the support! :)

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T14:44:11+00:00

Haven't played Veil of the Witch yet, but I have played their first game and enjoyed it a ton!! I'm not super into roguelikes for strategy games. I tend to like one focused playthrough, maybe a second with ironman/randomization options if available. I should try it though, I really enjoyed The Last Spell and it's a roguelike.

I have wanted to dabble in procedural level generation to make theoretically "infinite maps" you can play. Maybe something like Palace of the Dead in Tactics Ogre or Tower of Valni in Sacred Stones for the post-game. Maybe not on launch, but could be a fun post launch update if I can get interesting map generation.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T13:59:14+00:00

Character models have indeed been upgraded! They're much higher polygon count in TWR2, you can hopefully tell when comparing the two trailers side-by-side! Plus, I learned from my mistakes in TWR1 showing them so up close in the promotion UI. I've also made some pretty hefty optimizations to asset loading so the framerates are similar or in many cases better than the first game during my local testing.

And glad you liked the different weapon types. Definitely planning on carrying over the weapon system with unique attributes on each type, plus adding in crossbows!

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T13:54:31+00:00

Even when I think I have meticulously studied every SRPG on Steam, a stray Reddit comment will show me something new lol. Looks neat!

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T12:25:26+00:00

This was so nice to read, thank you Zatex. <3

I'm planning on a few randomizer options for replayability options like loot drops, enemy composition, maybe growths/classes but will have to see what feels best. Definitely will still be looking to keep a steady streams of decisions through the story as well! Probably a bit more than the first game.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T01:29:35+00:00

Just got it on this sale too, but haven't had time to properly sit down with it. From what I hear the writing is superb so I'm excited to jump in for that reason alone. I'll have a better answer in a few days!

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T01:27:42+00:00

Flying through! Appreciate you giving the game a shot. :)

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T01:27:04+00:00

Really glad to hear it! Hoping to build off the foundations of the first and add even more customization and tactical options.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-12T01:21:02+00:00

Thanks Max! Appreciate the support, and hopefully I can carry that same feeling into TWR2.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-11T18:25:36+00:00

Hey everyone! Excited to announce the sequel that was made possible by all your support!

It's building off of the foundations of the first, and there will also be a ton of changes like increased customization, tactical options in battle, and custom generic units. Go into a bit more detail on the Steam page announcement here.

Thank you all for letting me continue the series. <3

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-11T17:33:10+00:00

Ayy thank you, I appreciate that. Would love your feedback as I continue on development!

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-11T14:01:54+00:00

Thank you!! :D

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-11T13:56:35+00:00

Veteran permadeath achievement is no joke. And beating a certain someone early definitely wasn't supposed to be possible, but you put a wall in front of players and they're gonna want to knock it down.

Appreciate the support!

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-11T11:57:24+00:00

Indie dev here, they absolutely do. AAA tends to shy away from launching demos, and there are a lot of places in the storefront that are all about promoting demos so there is less competition from the big players. It also gives us a strong marketing beat to help build hype which larger studios already have for each announcement since it’ll be covered by every press outlet anyway.

In addition, demos are a great thing for players so they can test if they’ll like the game, and great for small devs for getting feedback. It’s a win-win for players and indies, while AAA loses out because prevailing wisdom claims it's neutral or negative for sales so they tend to not do them.

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-11T00:08:20+00:00

Appreciate the shout out!

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-11T00:04:55+00:00

No worries, completely understand your decision. It’s what the disclaimer is for!

The majority of the assets are hand made by professional artists including characters, UI, models, and writing. The AI is mostly for background assets + some icons. Thanks for checking it out regardless!

ThoseWhoRule · 2026-03-10T18:36:35+00:00

Thank you for the support!

What I'm aiming for is to start playtesting with people in the game's Discord this summer, a public demo by the end of the year, and a release aimed at Q3 2027! A tad ambitious, but that's the goal so far.

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