Take those beautiful fantasy landscapes of the best RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Skyrim, and infuse it with a tense, resource-scarce fight for survival blending tough decision-making and grid-based tactical combat. What you have is new roguelike strategy game Lost In the Open, which sees you attempting to stay alive against all odds in a challenging series of encounters as you try and keep one step ahead of your pursuers. If you think you’re up to the task, a new free demo out now on Steam is the perfect chance to test your mettle.
Lost in the Open puts you in the unfortunate boots of Nrvesk, ruler of the kingdom of Ruedome. Following a “bloody, oppressive, and unjust” reign, an assassination attempt on your life leaves you severely wounded and on the run, protected by just a small force of your elite bodyguards. This roguelike game sees you crossing a map covered in encounter nodes that lead to various events, similar to those of games like FTL and Slay the Spire. You’ll find scenarios with decisions to be made, traders offering valuable supplies, and of course plenty of battles.
Those combat encounters are your real meat and potatoes, and are designed to push you to your limits, developer Black Voyage Games explains. “Enemies will pull you out of position, lure you into traps, and work as a team to flank you. Fights take place on a grid of squares, and positioning is key – characters control the tiles in front of them, affording attacks of opportunity on any enemies trying to approach. Conversely, attacks coming in from their flanks are more dangerous, and those from the rear doubly so.
Within a given map, your goal is to get to the far side, although deviations from the straightest route will likely offer more ways to stock up and prepare for later encounters, if you manage to tackle them successfully. Each region is split into separate biomes; the Fallen Forest, for example, has sparse tree coverage in the lower areas, dense forest at the top, and a moderate amount in the middle. Each of these regions comes with slightly different scenarios and combat encounters, so choose your path carefully.
With the survival of your king paramount to success (indeed, losing him means the end of your run), it might seem prudent to explore as much as possible before moving on. You’ll need to exercise caution, however, as the royal guards from rival nation Stratha are on the march, and if they catch up to your squad it’ll prove rather more difficult to get away a second time. Manage your resources carefully and forge your loyal companions into battle-hardened veterans, however, and you might just live to see another day.
The Lost in the Open free demo is available on Steam as part of the Endless Replayability Fest, which runs from Monday May 13 through Monday May 20. You can head over to the Steam store page to download the demo and try it out for yourself, or to add the game to your wishlist to stay on top of future updates and be notified when it releases. Lost in the Open is currently planned to launch in 2024.
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