Templar Battleforce is a top-down turn-based tactics game with some RPG elements developed by one of my favourite indie developers the Trese Brothers. I love turn-based tactics games a lot from classics such as the original XCOM games to newer ones like Battletech and Gears Tactics. It makes this game fall into a genre I very much enjoy!
Now, I like real-time strategy too but there's something a bit less inherently intimidating about turn-based, mainly as I am terrible at micromanaging units at high speeds. Clicking frantically in desperation to avoid my units collapsing into burning wreckage. So, I always take a peek at games like this.
The game itself wears its inspirations on its sleeve, the setting draws elements of Warhammer 40k and Dune. The former especially given the game itself feels a lot like a more in-depth approach to something like Space Crusader or Space Hulk (yeah, I know that first one is so old it's a fossil.) Yet it still feels very much like its own thing, and I find it quite compelling.
Gameplay
The early missions act as a relatively scripted tutorial, slowly introducing new mechanics as you go. The game isn't ridiculously complex though, so long as you read the tutorial messages and the tooltips you'll likely figure out most of it as you go. There is even a library section which explains everything from stats to game mechanics if you ever get confused. Honestly, I think more games should include that. I doubt I'm the only one who accidentally clicked off or missed a tutorial message.
There are also multiple difficulties ranging from easy to nightmare plus the usual iron-man one auto-save mode. It seems to affect a whole range of things from enemy spawns, the rate at which your templars heat up and cool down, the level of fresh recruits etc. Higher difficulties also increase the XP and requisition points you earn to counter that fact so it has benefits too. Though I only played on normal I can imagine you need that extra XP and RP just to make it through some of the missions if you were to play on Nightmare.
The game uses a movement point and action point system, allowing you to move and shoot or stay still and shoot more or something in between. I mean you are essentially piloting mechs and it sounds more complicated than it is in practice. Also, while there is no reloading a heat system sort of fills the same role. As you move and shoot the mech heats up, if it overheats you start taking damage until you let it cool off.
There's usually at least something you can do every turn, even if it's just letting your templars cool off lest you turn their armoured suits into ovens. There's often something your classes can do every turn, buffing, overwatch, sensor scans, deploying turrets etc. Though all of that depends on the classes of your templars plus what level they are. This leads nicely to the fact there's often always something to shoot at too!
Depending on your chosen difficulty, enemies will have a chance of spawning every turn in addition to those already present. The biggest hurdle I encountered in a test run on brutal difficulty (one below the highest) was the heat generation, it requires a lot more planning to do well with and a different way of approaching the way you build up your force. Having said that I enjoyed the challenge but you can always play on an easier difficulty. It does turn into quite a slog if you aren't careful.
The missions feature all kinds of objectives like taking points, opening bulkheads, powering up various systems or even rushing through an infested ship frantically sealing airlocks behind you. There isn't any procedural generation for the maps though the campaign is lengthy and has some branching paths which add to the replay value in addition to higher difficulties. Capturing points also serves another purpose in missions as well. It's sometimes worth exploring in the fog of war too as you can find consumables called ordinances to use or even get extra XP for them.
Those capture points give you an increased squad cap and a points income with which to recruit new templars or call in more of your veterans. Each controlled point gives you an extra 3 to your squad cap so they are always worth going for just so you don't get overwhelmed by the Xeno swarm.
The final part of the gameplay is the secure zones where you can move around and talk to various characters, learn the lore and choose which mission you want to do next. Usually choosing one of two ways to approach each offered mission. There was a lot more to the game than I first thought and that's before we even get into unit customisation!
Unit Customisation
There are 8 classes of Templar you can unlock and improve the abilities for as you complete missions. From the defensive-oriented soldiers with overwatch to flamer-wielding hydras, scouts and engineers there are plenty of options even within each class which brings us nicely to that rather sizeable requisition tree. You can also customise their appearance from a few options, different armour colours and portraits to differentiate your stompy mechs.
You earn requisition for each completed mission and get a bonus for secondary objectives (and your difficulty level.) You then spend that to unlock new equipment options, new skills and higher ranks of those skills. Like the captain who acts as your battle force leader, I lent mine more toward pistols than swords and geared them accordingly. Another example is the engineer who is your point capture specialist, I geared mine toward faster capture speeds and sentry turrets. It's not ridiculously expansive though there is enough there that you can build classes in ways that fit your tactics best. That is always a plus to me. The requisitions also allow you to unlock powerful unique items called relics of which only one of each can be equipped at a time across your entire force.
The way I built my particular force was specialised around ranged combat with a heavy focus on soldiers, scouts and engineers with a hydra with its flamethrower being my heavy hitter. Mainly because the idea of engaging the melee-specialised enemies in close combat felt unwise. Having said that there are melee classes available that can hold their own such as the paladin and berserker (or your captain if you go that route with them.)
Your templars also level up which does a few things for them. The first lets you spend points on attributes to improve weapon handling, health, defences and skills. Secondly, it allows you to rank up your skills or acquire new ones provided you have unlocked them in the requisition tree. Last but by no means least, it gives your templars more gear points allowing them to wield more powerful weapons and armour. The gear system itself is relatively straightforward, you have hand slots for weapons, two slots for war gear which give stat boosts to things and the armour slot itself.
Finally, there's the combat record for your battle force, not strictly a customisation option but it's nice to see how many Xeno you have slain throughout a campaign. Always a nice touch!
Story/Setting
Now, as with all my reviews whether it's an old game or not, I'll be avoiding any spoilers as let's be honest, spoilers suck. I will give you a rough idea of the setting and overall story inspirations while doing my best to avoid giving away anything important to the story itself. You can pick up most of it during the game, whether in the library section or just the conversations in secure zones.
Templar Battleforce wears its inspirations on its sleeve, taking definite cues from things like Dune and Warhammer (specifically Space Hulk.) Yet it manages quite nicely to be its own thing and honestly, I like the setting and it gets built upon in Star Traders: Frontiers which I'll be looking at in the future.
The story itself follows a group of Templars escorting a trader fleet in a great exodus from some vast war. Though the particular group you play as has splintered from the main fleet and comes across a Xeno fleet, a boarding action from the Xeno begins the game with your captain and you go from there. The branching plot helps with replay value as well and you'll likely be tempted to see how the story changes based on your choices.
The setting I find genuinely interesting enough to keep you curious to see what happens next and honestly, for a small indie tactics game, that is more than I expected. I do genuinely hope the Trese Brothers continue to build on this setting though I know their current project is its own thing (Cyberknights Flashpoint is very obviously a cyberpunk setting.)
Graphics
The graphics are to be honest functional at best, they do have an almost board-game feel to a degree. They work though and it's easy to see what is going on at a glance for the most part. I do recommend customising your veteran's appearance so you can see who is who much easier. It's an indie game though and graphics while always nice to have to me are secondary to gameplay.
The special effects are also a little weak and lack punch, there often doesn't feel like a huge amount of impact or visual feedback beyond the damage numbers. Though to me that feels more like a nitpick than anything. They are serviceable but like most gamers, I do love some good explosions!
Having said that I do think the variety of tilesets they use ensures most missions are at least different to look at, it could have taken its Space Hulk inspiration all the way and just been ship interiors forever. Instead, you also have desert planets, organic interiors of Xeno ships and more ensuring you'll likely always see something new at some point.
So, functional at best is my view on the graphics for this.
Sound & Music
As with the graphics, the sound effects are serviceable, they work and only one or two weapons sound a bit weak such as the sentry turret but they work. It's easy enough to tell what's going on and who and what is shooting most of the time. I mean it's a relatively cheap indie game, you can hardly expect Battlefield War tapes kind of sounds. So, temper your expectations a bit.
The music I like it, has eerie ambient tracks as you explore or the combat music as your templars face off against a horde of Xeno from all sides. It works and I actually like the music, as with the sound effects, temper your expectations this is a small indie studio. In my opinion, it works and adds nicely to the game's atmosphere.
The sound is best summed up as serviceable with the music being the standout.
UI & Controls
As with the graphics, the UI is best described as functional, honestly, it works and that is all you can ask. There's a library section which lets you understand the game's various rules and mechanics, tooltips are good though the game isn't a hardcore sim so it's easy to pick up what is what.
I mostly use the mouse to click everything I need to get to though you do have custom keybinds you can opt to use if you want which is always a good thing. I just preferred the mouse over remembering hotkeys. That's just me though.
Overall
A relatively easy-to-grasp turn-based tactics game with some deep customisation for your units. It won't break the bank or tax your PC over much either. It has enough depth and choice to be interesting yet not so much that you'll need to dig through a wiki or watch guides to figure it out.
Is it the best turn-based tactics game out there? No, but you'll have fun with it if you like the genre. It has an extensive campaign and multiple ways you can build up your battle force plus multiple difficulties if you want to challenge yourself.
If you are looking for something fun to scratch your turn-based tactics itch and you like Space Hulk you really can't go far wrong with this. That and it's cheap even at full price, I had a lot of fun with it even when I went for the crazy option and tried a harder difficulty.
Thanks for reading, all constructive feedback is welcome and don't forget to check out my Ko-Fi or Patreon if you wish to throw some pennies my way to keep me doing what I love doing, thanks again!
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