After the blockbuster-crammed 2023, 2024 has truly been the year of the indies. Without the monthly bombardment of AAA epics, all manner of weird and wonderful games have had room to flourish, with everything from survival horror Crow Country to rogue-like poker sensation Balatro finding massive success. Now, with developer XD Inc’s delightfully retro-leaning Sword of Convallaria, it’s finally turn-based strategy’s time to shine.
Charging its way onto PC and mobile this month, this charming love letter to classic turn-based RPGs sends players on a monumental quest to rescue the nation of Iria in Sword of Convallaria, a captivating fantasy tactical RPG.
Boasting a delightfully nostalgic pixel art aesthetic, Sword of Convallaria channels the RPG charm of yesteryear and adds modern gameplay flourishes to deliver an anime-esque, tactics-filled romp.
It’s a game that feels both fresh and familiar and features enough depth to keep players questing across this engrossing world for the long haul. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the fantastical world of Sword of Convallaria!
Welcome to A New but Familiar-Feeling World
As a quick glance will reveal, XD Inc’s Sword of Convallaria is quite a looker. Employing an eye-catching blend of retro-inspired pixel art with modern HD, 3D graphics, the world of Convallaria oozes old-school charm, boasting expressive characters and cozy medieval locations that immediately give classic RPG fans the warm and fuzzies.
Thankfully, this is a fantasy setting that sounds as epic as it looks, with the fantastical world brought to life by a rousing score from legendary Final Fantasy: Tactics and Breath Of Fire composer Hitoshi Sakimoto.
It’s not just the music that will sound familiar: many gaming and anime fans will recognize the voices of Sword of Convallaria. Featuring a cast of over 40 well-known voice actors, led by Demon Slayer and Naruto’s Kazuhiko Inoue, Spy X Family’s Takuya Eguchi, and Persona 5’s Yuki Aoi, Sword of Convallarai’s richly detailed story is brought convincingly to life.
A Tale for the Ages
The main thrust of your adventure takes place in the Spiral of Destinies campaign, a 120-hour single-player epic filled with tension, political intrigue, and drama as you fight to save the fate of Iria. As you embark on an increasingly dangerous outing, you will meet a host of warriors, mercenaries, and citizens all wishing to join you on your quest.
We all need something to fight for, and with Sword Of Convallaria’s intricately woven story, you won’t be short of battlefield motivation. Throughout the Spiral Of Destinies campaign, players will encounter a wealth of lovable – and loathsome – characters to befriend and/or defeat. As you roam the realm and fend off attackers, you will encounter various nations and leaders vying for your attention, and it is up to each player to weigh up which force can truly be trusted to fight by their side.
From allying with the holy Papal states of Rodinia, one of the oldest theocratic regimes on the continent, to drawing up a treaty with the Union of the Knights’ States – a national coalition made up of 13 powerful military states – each new ally you declare will have an impact on both your town and the land, bringing a new host of narrative consequences. Can you trust the ancient religious powers to bring peace to the land? Or will long-set corruption be their downfall?
In a nice touch, individual decisions affect the evolution of your town and how your tale unfolds, adding a welcome layer of dynamism and player agency to Sword of Convallaria’s rich and winding storyline.
Declare your allegiance
No matter how much you grow to love the story, you can only hope to reign victorious with the right allies by your side. Unlike in many games in the genre, Sword Of Convallaria’s tactics don’t just extend to the battlefield. As you journey through Iria, a mineral-rich country whose magical resources have drawn unwanted attention from dangerous external factions, you will need to form alliances with other formidable powers to keep your town safe.
In Sword of Convallaria, the world is shaped by your choices, with your actions determining the fate of Iria and its loyal citizens. Placed in the leather boots of a rising mercenary leader, it’s up to players to win over hearts and minds across the land with both their words and their swords. While you can recruit individual party members by plying them with ale at local taverns, it’s the more weighty factional alliances that will truly help you to turn the tide of war.
As you recruit and train a roster of lovable and roguish mercenaries, you will find yourself toiling over each agonizing narrative-affecting decision as you attempt to save the great nation of Iria from invading forces.
Reign Supreme on the battlefield
Victory in Convallaria is earned through employing clever strategies throughout engrossing ‘hardcore combat.’ In classic tactical RPG fashion, battles in Sword of Convallaria are fought via turn-based grid-set skirmishes. While the game follows the genre’s traditional ‘rock, paper, scissors’ approach to resistances and weaknesses, there is a unique twist to proceedings that decides which unit acts first. In Sword Of Convallaria, speed is king, with units acting first according to their agility stats, allowing swift units like archers and rogues to seize key strategic locations on the battlefields before their slower opponents.
It’s not simply speed and might that wins battles here, but cunning, too. In Sword of Convallaria, you can turn the battlefield itself to your advantage, making use of the environment around you to fell even the most fearsome foes. Unlike many tactical RPGs, here the world around you isn’t just set dressing, but another piece of the puzzle to leverage. By cleverly utilizing terrain advantages and objects like wooden crates, gunpowder barrels, and boulders, players can position units on platforms, obstruct enemies, and even outmaneuver unsuspecting foes.
Of course, it’s not all down to the battlefield: preparation is also key to ensuring that your army has a fighting chance. Equipping different gear and raising each unit’s stats at taverns between battles is key to building a fearsome legion, with the latest and greatest gear ensuring that you will strike fear into the hearts of your enemies.
There you have it. Launching on PC, Android, and iOS on July 31st, this thoughtfully-made tactical RPG looks set to be a modern love letter to a much revered classic genre. Sword of Convallaria looks set to inject the genre with a captivating tale of tactics, twists, and turn-based brilliance.
