New turn-based RPG gives Battle Brothers a fantasy spin, and I can't wait to meet my merry band of mercs

Battle Brothers is one of those games that is infinitely better than what you expect at first glance. Overhype's turn-based strategy game has become something of a cult hit thanks to its unforgiving gameplay, remarkable depth, and immense potential for creating emergent narratives. Its egg-head character avatars may still be a bit off-putting to those who don't vibe with its visual style, but what if a game came along that married its wildly addictive loop with a beautifully-presented pixel art sheen? Pathbreakers: Roaming Blades is here to offer the answer.

Pathbreakers: Roaming Blades is set to introduce us to the Stormtossed Isle, a medieval fantasy realm that is fraught with peril and plunder. Pulling from Battle Brothers, Pathbreakers has you lead a company of mercenaries through each procedurally-generated adventure, fighting, bartering, and exploring as you go. Developer 6 Eyes Studio previously flexed its penchant for iterating on the greats with Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark, which is effectively a love letter to Final Fantasy Tactics that's filled with modern quality of life sensibilities. My interest is already piqued from its pedigree alone.

From what's been revealed so far, Pathbreakers will feature eight different classes, each boasting two advanced classes. Expect multiple origin stories for its main cast, providing some of the narrative depth we see in Battle Brothers. As noted, we're looking at turn-based combat here, and up to eight of your mercs can be brought into the fray at once. You won't just be fighting off humanoid assailants, as there are plenty of monstrous beasties, too. From the announcement trailer, we can already see that 6 Eyes has plant-based salamanders, snowy lycans, and hellish hounds in store. As any RPG enjoyer will tell you, having to fight feral beasts is the worst - we're never getting out of Caelid.

Of course, there's more to mercs than meets the knife. Companies can specialize either as fighters, traders, or explorers. Depending on which road you go down, you'll unlock access to different contracts, commissions, and more. Many campaign beats and side hustles offer branching storylines, so be prepared to make some devilishly difficult choices to continue making progress. Pathbreakers will launch with full mod support, so you'll be free to tweak various aspects of the experience as you see fit.

Supporting Pathbreakers is Manor Lords and Cataclismo publisher Hooded Horse, which isn't at all surprising considering the contents of its catalog. Hooded Horse certainly has a solid track record with its partnerships, so I'm expecting big things when Pathbreakers eventually enters Steam Early Access. It doesn't have a set date for now, so whack it on your wishlist if it sounds like a bit of you.