The Iron Oath

Are you ready to take The Iron Oath? Good. Buckle up and prepare yourself to command your own mercenary company in this tactical RPG where your decisions truly matter, and it is up to you as to what you do and where you go. In that same breath, however, the consequences are also yours to accept. Lead this band of would-be heroes as they join, fight, win, lose, age, retire and die in your company. Make sure you don’t get too attached to anyone. If you are after a game that provides a real challenge, you are in the right place. Let’s get into it.

Gameplay

So, the gameplay of The Iron Oath is entirely turn-based tactical roleplaying. You control a band of mercenaries, the members of which you are free to choose, and you all travel through the harsh realm of Caelum. Turn based combat means the game functions like Wartales or Baldur’s Gate 3, and you take a turn make some moves, attack some people, and then it’s the computers turn. Some would consider it not to be a combat style that requires skill but that’s incorrect. As you progress, you will gain party members who have a unique set of skills. To be efficient, you need to know what your party is capable of, what they can handle and such. You need to be able to effectively use them in combat without misusing their abilities. It requires patience and learning in order to be a master of it and, I have to be honest, it’s a LOT of fun.

Also, with this gameplay choice, the developers have ensured that you have an amazing amount of replay value. You could start again from scratch a number of times and make totally different choices every time, and the game would turn out sufficiently differently.

The World

Set in the fantasy realm of Caelum, you will experience the world changing from many actions and decisions that you make and the events that occur in the world around you. Years will pass in this game as you travel through its sprawling landscapes. The realm is always changing and evolving, cities will rise and fall along with the noble houses that control them. Some of these may have been friendly, some will not be. The ebb and flow of time is an amazing thing in this title, especially with how it affects the world.

The Visuals

The visuals in The Iron Oath are stunning! The character from their icons to their sprites are fantastically realized. The game, despite its pixel-art inspired look, somehow still captures movement incredibly well. Hair and clothing flows in the wind while blood and magic have unique and interesting particle effects. I found this game to be particularly impressive for its artistic choices. It is somewhat reminiscent of games like Blasphemous and Octopath Traveller.

Pros

• Excellent Visuals
• Awesome Gameplay
• Brilliant Game Mechanics

Cons

• The story felt very thin at times.