2023 was packed with fantastic RPGs, and even a die-hard fan of the genre might struggle to find all the hidden gems. One of these titles is The Iron Oathwhich left Steam Early Access in November – we talked about it while it was still in early access, but developer Curious Panda Games has beefed up the game with several meaningful updates on the way to a final release.
The Iron Oath puts the player in the role of the leader of a mercenary company, freshly betrayed and seeking recovery. Unfortunately, you live in a hostile fantasy world under siege by dark forces. The writing and world building are a bit basic, so there aren’t many surprises when it comes to it The Iron Oath‘s tradition. But that’s okay, because that’s all just preparation for the real drama: commanding a huge gang of mercenaries, most of whom are so rude that they carry on and suffer nasty injuries, die in battle, retire, or bounce due to low morale.
“A lot of (early access) was adapting to what the fans wanted versus what we wanted,” said Curious Panda programmer Chris Wingard during a conversation with Polygon. “We had a plan in place, but the fans had other priorities.”
Image: Curious Panda Games/Humble Games
“Our biggest update by far was our combat and enemy update, which was in March. It wasn’t something we really planned to do, but there was a lot of feedback about combat – not enough variety between encounters and things like that,” adds artist Nick Mueller. “So we added some enemy variants and enemy elites to mix things up.”
The Iron Oath started with six lessons and now offers eight, most of which break from the typical fantasy mold. The Guardian and Ranger are both archetypal paladins and villains, but the Valkyrie, Pyromancer, and Pugilist are all new takes on warriors. Later in the Early Access phase, Curious Panda Games added new classes: the zone-controlling Icebinder and the bardic Balladeer. Each class has branching talent paths, allowing the player to experiment with different builds. One Pyromancer might be suited to playing a support role and helping manage tanking duties, while another might focus on pure fiery damage.
It’s easy to get attached to the best members of your team. A powerful party member can guide a team of rookies through tough battles, rescue sticky situations, and serve as an anchor for the rest of your squad. But relying too heavily on just one or two of your mercenaries is a bad idea. The player must constantly renew his selection.
When you pick up an adventurer at an inn, you immediately have to make a choice: do you want to sign a one-year contract, with room to renegotiate? How about a five-year contract? The latter provides security (you have them locked up), but requires a larger upfront payment. Even a well-paid mercenary might resign in disgust if you repeatedly betray their core morals.
Image: Curious Panda Games/The Iron Oath
This system of recruitment, retirement and the occasional tragic fall is reminiscent of Wild myth. However, inside The Iron Oath, you don’t forge a handful of legacies. You build your business and tell a special legend.
A smaller group may consist of six or seven warriors, and losing just one of them can be devastating. Endgame missions require at least ten party members to rely on, and a particularly ambitious leader can fill their bench with a few dozen scrubs to take on each challenge.
Managing mercenaries is tough at the best of times; traveling through the overworld killing bandits and monsters is enough to reduce the resolve and ranks of your company. Things get trickier when you’re forced to enter a dungeon. The Iron Oath draws a healthy amount of inspiration Darkest dungeon; these enclaves are long, grueling processes involving multiple battles and events.
Wingard notes that there is “a fair amount of RNG” in these dungeons; each dungeon has its own modifiers, both positive and negative. The longer the player stays in depth, the greater the risk of adding worse negative modifiers. They must also manage their party’s health, capabilities, and morale.
“We don’t want you to lose a character and feel like you have no control over it,” says Wingard. “That should never happen; there is always a way around it.”
The Iron Oath is a focused RPG that excels in the mercenary management game, both in small-scale battles and in the larger scope of supporting your warriors for years or even decades to come. “We are pleasantly surprised by the reception and how it went,” says Wingard. “We are already working on mapping out a new roadmap.”
“We definitely have a lot more to introduce into the game.” says Müller. “We have now completed our Betrayal campaign, but there (are) definitely more stories we want to tell with the game. There is at least one larger campaign that we will implement in the coming year.”
The writing in it The Iron Oath is simple, but it’s enough to drive the player forward and push his band of mercenaries. Then the real excitement begins: sprains and bruises turn into serious injuries, fighters have to spend time on the bench and your MVP might just die in the fight. Even with so much competition from other RPGs, The Iron Oath stands out with its clever mix of inspiration from Dungeons & Dragons, Wild mythAnd Darkest dungeon. The Iron Oath is available on Steam and GOG.