WARTALES

Wander a land filled with danger and unpleasant wildlife

- Ian Evenden

Rats. They're a staple of early RPG levels, and while some games have fun with them, like giving them psychic powers or hiding a single huge one under an inn, in Wartales they're grotesque, their disgusting hole surrounded by the carcasses of their victims, the ground made sticky by blood.

I hadn't even picked up a quest, so I didn't need to attack. I just saw rats and waded in with all the misplaced bravery of the level-two fighter. And frankly, I've had better mornings.

This fight against rats hinges on killing the broodmother, a swollen monstrosity who summons more rats out of the ground every time she gets a turn. Wartales, from the French developer behind Dune: Spice Wars, has been in Early Access for a while now, and is aiming for a release later this year. The game switches between real-time exploration and turn-based combat, so pitting my party of six fighters, rangers and archers against 15 rats sees the rodents nibble away at health and armor while I'm waiting for a turn. I prevail, but my party members are injured, have the plague, and are in need of a rest.

Wartales drops you down in a rural landscape and asks you to make the best of it. You're not special, there's no prophecy, nor do you have a mysterious amulet, birthmark or hairstyle. There's not even a 'you', as you begin with four characters (plus a pony, sworn to carry your burdens) and can recruit more. Some may die, others leave because you're not paying them enough, but there are often useful warriors sitting in the taverns looking for work.

Those that survive can have their equipment upgraded, with items either picked off corpses, bought, or crafted. Then there are stat upgrades, oils, potions... the list of familiar fantasy game items is long. There are also little minigames for mining, lockpicking and forging, bonuses for fighting side by side with your allies or surrounding the enemy, and constant opportunities to steal.