Stylish turn-based strategy game Ex Sanguis is looking for Steam playtesters

Othercide is one of those games that's been on my backlog for too long. The turn-based tactics game is wonderfully stylish and seems to serve up the exact type of head-scratching combat I crave. Now, developer Lightbulb Crew is searching for playtesters to try its next project. Ex Sanguis was announced at Tacticon with a hyper-violent teaser trailer, and it looks like an evolution of Othercide in all the best ways.

Sometimes it's the messiest games that end up being the most intruiging. Ex Sanguis appears to be tight in a mechanical sense, but brings a bit of life and spirit to its monochrome world via torrents of messy, stylised blood. In Ex Sanguis, "blood is defiance," so expect to extract plenty of the stuff as you battle your way through fights reminiscent of some of the best turn-based strategy games.

The recent teaser trailer gives us a good look at the combat and procedural levels. I like that you can use the environment to your advantage by blowing things up or using the terrain to block lines of sight. There's nothing we haven't seen before from other turn-based tactics games, but its sense of style takes it pretty far.

If you're a fan of Othercide, Lightbulb Crew is promising plenty of fresh mechanics to sink your teeth into, as well as a whole new progression system. You now have more control over how you progress through the battlefield. You can take on high-risk, high-reward missions straight away, or you can be a little more methodical by slowing down and gathering resources. And if you really want to bolt headfirst into danger, you can also choose to beeline it to boss encounters. Even if you fail, which you most likely will if you're rushing, the game's roguelike element means you'll retain some progress after every run.

For me, it's the artstyle that really sings in this one. It's simple but effective in its black and white environments, which makes the bloody combat stand out even more. Consider me intrigued.

There's no release date for Ex Sanguis just yet, but you can sign up for its playtest now. More information is over on the game's Steam page.

While you wait, here are a bunch of other upcoming PC games to look forward to. We've also got a list of the best roguelike games to play today.

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