Game News Spire of Sorcery is a strategy RPG where you lead a party of runaway mages, now on Early Access

[Infinitron]

Tags: Charlie Oscar; Spire of Sorcery

Spire of Sorcery is a turn-based strategy RPG where you lead a party of mages who have fled from civilization and made their home in a magical spire deep in the wilderness. Originally announced back in 2017 by Lithuanian indie studio Charlie Oscar, Spire of Sorcery attracted some attention due to the involvement of Alexey Bokulev, creator of cult strategy title Eador: Genesis. However, when the game was released in late 2019 in an unusual "Limited Early Access" capacity, it quickly became apparent that something was wrong. Over the next two years its design would be massively overhauled, leading to the departure of Bokulev. During this time, the game was also rebranded from strategy RPG to "survival strategy game" and then back to an RPG again. Yesterday it was finally released as a conventional Early Access title. Here's its trailer and description:

Spire of Sorcery as a turn-based party RPG where you use spellcasting, alchemy and a bit of equipment to explore the world full of dangerous encounters. Engage with creatures from the realms of life, death and chaos to help the sentient citadel mend the broken world!

• Explore the original world of Rund to discover creatures, resources and recipes
  
• Cast spells, including combos, to affect opponents and trigger environmental effects
  
• Concoct substances that range from curative to explosive
  
• Prevail in encounters by combining the effects of spellscasting, alchemy & equipment
  
• Manage your party, considering mood and personal traits of its members
  
• Find new party members and increase their stats to reach their true potential
  
• Taste any resource that you find to modify the looks of your party members
  
• Collect resources to cook food that may taste great (or horrible)
  
• Expand the Spire with new rooms that offer new mechanics
  
• Break into ancient barrows, dispel cursed weepers & battle infection-ridden gigglers
  
• Resolve mini-stories that pose moral choices, affecting the mood of your party

The world is larger than just one play-through and every challenge has alternative solutions. Try and succeed – or adjust and replay!
​

A demo of Spire of Sorcery was available during Steam Next Fest back in June and wasn't too popular. It may end up the way most games with such troubled development cycles do. But if you'd like to give it a try, the game is available on Steam for $20, with a final release planned before the end of 2022.

 

[MrBuzzKill]

This was originally being made by the guy who made Eador: Genesis, Alexey Bokulev. At some point though he left the project, and I'm noticing some differences with what we got in the end compared to what his vision originally was.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

This was originally being made by the guy who made Eador: Genesis, Alexey Bokulev. At some point though he left the project, and I'm noticing some differences with what we got in the end compared to what his vision originally was.

Man probably wised up to the fact that casters suck.

 

[Bester]

the game is available on Steam for $20

Also available on rutracker(org), take it for a spin.

 

[MicoSelva]

I played the demo when it was available a while ago, and it is a pretty interesting game, with really unique encounter design. Many encounters are non-combat, and you need to combine runes to cast spells to deal with various obstacles (like locked doors, etc.) and protect the party from environmental hazards. It plays a bit like a puzzle game with RPG progression and hexagonal world map.

Since in the beginning I did not know what I was doing, my first party froze to death while trying to pick a lock on a chest found in some ruins. It was pretty glorious (read: funny). In another encounter one of my wimp mages lost consciousness from fear, when trying to loot a corpse.

 

[Fenix]

At least art looks competent and warm.

 

[Zeriel]

This was originally being made by the guy who made Eador: Genesis, Alexey Bokulev. At some point though he left the project, and I'm noticing some differences with what we got in the end compared to what his vision originally was.

What was his vision? Not tumblr faces?

 

[Haba]

This was originally being made by the guy who made Eador: Genesis, Alexey Bokulev. At some point though he left the project, and I'm noticing some differences with what we got in the end compared to what his vision originally was.

What was his vision? Not tumblr faces?

It wasn't supposed to be an RPG.

Edit: Since Infinitron is passive-aggressively agendapoasting me, here you go:

Then:

Yet your most powerful enemy is neither of those. It is the time itself – the approaching death from old age. Only one thing can save you: the elixir of youth. Several ancient manuscripts mention it in passing... There must be a way to learn the formula. There must be a way to obtain the ingredients... Before it's too late.

Now:

Spire of Sorcery as a turn-based party RPG where you use spellcasting, alchemy and a bit of equipment to explore the world full of dangerous encounters. Engage with creatures from the realms of life, death and chaos to help the sentient citadel mend the broken world!

The early focus was on managing the spire itself. Exploration was means for achieving the Spire-related goals.

 

[Zeriel]

This was originally being made by the guy who made Eador: Genesis, Alexey Bokulev. At some point though he left the project, and I'm noticing some differences with what we got in the end compared to what his vision originally was.

What was his vision? Not tumblr faces?

It wasn't supposed to be an RPG.

Edit: Since Infinitron is passive-aggressively agendapoasting me, here you go:

Then:

Yet your most powerful enemy is neither of those. It is the time itself – the approaching death from old age. Only one thing can save you: the elixir of youth. Several ancient manuscripts mention it in passing... There must be a way to learn the formula. There must be a way to obtain the ingredients... Before it's too late.

Now:

Spire of Sorcery as a turn-based party RPG where you use spellcasting, alchemy and a bit of equipment to explore the world full of dangerous encounters. Engage with creatures from the realms of life, death and chaos to help the sentient citadel mend the broken world!

The early focus was on managing the spire itself. Exploration was means for achieving the Spire-related goals.

Yeah, that is pretty sad. Went from an intriguing premise to "GENERIC GENERIC GENERIC".

 

[Infinitron]

Edit: Since Infinitron is passive-aggressively agendapoasting me, here you go:

Just saying, this was from before 2019 and the big redesign: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...ow-on-early-access.118269/page-5#post-6402579

 

[Grotesque]

fuck early access.

announce it when it's released.

scratch that!
announce it half a year after it's released.
and that for ANY game

 

[Irxy]

The early focus was on managing the spire itself. Exploration was means for achieving the Spire-related goals.

The core idea afair was the lack of direct control over the mages, kinda like Majesty - you were supposed to manage the tower and set goals/orders and have students controlled by ai and act according to their stats/personalities.
They have pretty much abandoned the original design completely late in development and made a different game with those assets.