Dunebound Tactics

Dunebound Tactics is a turn-based tactics game set in a desert wasteland. Players command a crew aboard a fragile ship, following the Elios leylines across Imperial-controlled territory towards Haven, a place said to lie beyond the Sands. The ship’s engine runs on Elios, which can be gathered through narrative quests, taken from defeated enemies or extracted from the player’s own crew. After battle, wounded characters can either be healed in the infirmary or drained of Elios, leaving them as husks, with the resource used to power the caravan or strengthen the party.

Survivors can be rescued from the desert or freed from Imperial captivity through narrative events, though the caravan has a limited number of seats. Each recruit receives a random class and traits, drawn from 15 classes and 16 traits that alter skills, stats and abilities. Characters can also equip three modules from a pool of more than 50. The party faces 38 enemy classes across two factions, the Imperials and the Arcanists. In combat, players can destroy or move cover and use Elios to build their own defences, such as ice pillars that restrict movement and explosive pillars that damage enemies. Mines, traps and pitfalls can be placed, and enemies can be pushed into hazards. Caravan skills support the party by applying buffs, destroying cover or attacking enemies. Missions include special events such as last stands and assassinations of elite enemies.

The game is structured around repeated runs. Results from earlier attempts feed into later ones, as modules and sometimes survivors can be recovered from the wreck of a previous caravan. Battlefields, locations and quests are generated dynamically, so the layout and challenges change from one run to the next.