The Iron Oath – Steam Early Access Preview

Developed by Curious Panda Games, The Iron Oath is a turn-based tactical RPG that places players into the role of a commander of a mercenary company in an ever-changing medieval fantasy world.

One could ask, what’s so different about it compared to a wealth of other management/sim titles available on PC? You could find anything your heart could possibly desire – leading your own guild, building and managing a tavern and so much more.

As it turns out, a lot.

Looking after a score of mercenaries turned out to be no easy task. Players will have to keep their eyes peeled to make sure the soldiers are healthy and rested, their equipment is in good condition, there is enough money to pay off their services, the tasks are not close to expiring, the scary void dragon is nowhere to be found and so much more.

But let’s start at the beginning!




The Iron Oath is currently available in Steam Early Access and features a slice of what the full version of the game will have to offer, including 6 classes, 4 regions and a part of the main campaign that will roughly take about 15 hours to complete unless you rush through it.

The developers expect the game to remain in EA for 12 months to ensure it reaches its full potential with the help of The Iron Oath’s players and their feedback. The full version of the game will see the team expand the existing features as well as introduce new ones such as the Company Council, Sea Travel, new region and more.

The beginning of The Iron Oath will see your character, the leader of a mercenary band, step on the path of vengeance. However, in a dangerous ever-changing world like Caelum, periodically going through the Scourge and being attacked by the voidspawn, it is no journey for a lone wolf.

Accompanied by a few old friends, the protagonist starts hiring more people to form them into a renowned mercenary company to take on the world and seize revenge. The game does have a small sequence that serves as a tutorial as it takes you through what you have to do to keep your newborn company afloat, such as taking and fulfilling contracts for gold and fighting a variety of bad guys.

The Iron Oath is delightfully tactical in its many aspects, be it traveling, questing, delving into dungeons or actually fighting. The game always has something in store to keep players on their toes.

When it comes to the overworld traveling, you have to keep an eye on your overall gold – mercenaries like to get paid! – and the passage of time. Not finishing a contract by a certain date means failure and a hit to the reputation of your company. While not critical, you don’t want that to pile up. 

It is breathtaking to see the world go through change as your company traverses its plains and deserts and caves  – rulers clash in combat and change, dragon attacks cities, there are time-limited events that have an effect on the surrounding area, like a festival giving extra contracts or an increased chance of ambush due to the overwhelming number of bandits. 

Dungeon delving will have you keep an eye on supplies – there is a limited number of potions, bandages, tools, etc. that you can take with you, and all of it costs gold that could be otherwise spent on equipment, rest or salaries. 

To delve deeper, you have to unlock tiles of a dungeon in a linear fashion that reminded me of Gordian Quest. Moving from one tile to the next takes a turn. Additionally, you can run into an ambush or find a trap that will take multiple turns to take care of. Every 20 turns your run will receive extra affixes, like the mercenaries getting tired or enemies being aware of your presence. 

In certain cases, you can camp and rest to restore your characters’ health and abilities but that option is not always available. One of the affixes makes it so you can’t post sentries while resting which, in turn, increases the chance of getting attacked. 

You want to optimize your time spent in dungeons in such a way that you explore enough nooks and crannies to get hidden treasures but, at the same time, are not overburdened from affixes and battles that the end boss eats you alive. It sounds easier than it actually is, especially on the higher levels of difficulty!

When it comes to battle management, The Iron Oath really shines. Before proceeding into a dungeon or right as you venture into combat sequence, the game will ask you to form a team of four characters.

The answer seems easy enough: just grab the strongest characters, gather your party and venture forth. But the trick is that The Iron Oath won’t let you – you won’t actually be restricted from picking your faves, but there are enough reasons not to.

Characters that have just been a part of a battle are considered fatigued, receiving a wealth of debuffs to their performance as well as injuries. Spending enough time away from combat makes them recharge their skills and become available (blank state) or well-rested (providing a buff). In this way, the game encourages players to keep hiring and training a B-team. And maybe a C-team. Resting in an inn in the city and taking advantage of the infirmaries allows you to speed up the process of recovery.

Remember the section about the passage of time? It is not limited just to the world. As the time goes on, your characters become older and, at a certain point, they will retire and leave your company. Chances are, it will happen to your oldest and strongest mercs so you should always be on top of things when it comes to whipping the younger ones into shape.

Add in the fact that mercenaries can also die for good, and it really is in your best interest to keep replacement ready at all times. This approach helps The Iron Oath feel fresh and exciting even if the overall gameplay loop stays relatively the same throughout the game.

Even if you hire two, for example, Stormcallers or Valkyries, they might have access to different abilities and have wildly different character attributes. As your characters level, you will get access to more skills and increase their characteristics – the number of charges, power, range, etc.

Additionally, you might want to keep an eye on gear. It deteriorates as your mercenaries take part in battles and there is no actual repair function. So at some point you might find that your Guardian lost her armor and weapon and is suddenly much weaker and squishier.

Last but not least let’s talk about actual combat. The battles are happening in turn-based mode on a hex grid. Before the fighting actually begins, both sides have access to the deployment stage that allows you to position your fighters on the battlefield. Certain affixes in the dungeon delving stage or getting ambushed skip the deployment phase. 

Usually, you only control your four characters throughout the battle sequence but there were a handful of quest-related battles where my mercs have gotten reinforcements. On the other hand, it is not unheard of for enemies to get reinforcements as well. 

In one turn, the characters can move and use an ability or wait/take a defensive stance. It allows your melee characters to come within the range and then attack or your ranged get around the line-of-sight limitations before unleashing their damage. You can also use double move to cover greater distance instead of attacking or performing an extra action. Stronger abilities may take a few turns to charge up before dealing devastating damage. 

The battlefields also provide opportunities for those who know how to use them: there are traps, holes, fissures, weak floor points, etc. that can turn the tide of battle. For example, a Pugilist can kick an enemy and push them right into a fissure, dealing extra damage and stunning them in the process. On the other hand, the same can happen to your own characters as well. 

Certain enemies also possess interesting abilities such as creating dead zone cells that prevent your characters from using any ability besides auto-attack as long as they remain inside. However, leaving might also trigger an attack of opportunity, dealing unnecessary damage to your characters as well. 

There are a lot of tactical elements to consider in every system of the game. 

Even in the Early Access phase, The Iron Oath is something special. If you are into making sure your company is the best possible version of itself, you can spend countless hours chasing contracts, getting better gear, hiring and leveling mercs and more. 

I can’t wait for the developers to release the full version of the game with extra classes and features and improve on how exquisitely tactical it currently is in its many aspects. 

There are certain areas that can use attention more than others. Despite the overall enjoyable story, the actual roleplaying aspect is missing nearly entirely. For most conversations, you will only have one option as an answer, making the game entirely linear. Some quests provide you with an opportunity to ask for more information, but overall most of your dialogues are restricted to “Yes, we’ll take care of it” (Take contract) or “No, we’re not interested” (Refuse contract). 

Currently, it is a chore to manually keep track of and compare the mercs’ gear to the vendor’s offerings without interface tips about either. Additionally, the game could use some additional subtitle settings and a bit of a voiceover if only for the main storyline. 

Note: the Steam Early Access key was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this preview.

Pros:

  • Enjoyable visual style & OST
  • Interesting main campaign
  • Many tactical sub-systems

Cons:

  • At the moment, very linear storyline
  • Could use some more QoL features and settings
Written by
A lover of all things RPG and TBS, Catherine is always looking for a new fantasy world to get lost in.

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