14 DAY TRIAL // Now that Wasteland 2 is out of the way, it's time to set our sights on the future and see what other post-apocalyptic Mad Max-inspired action is coming our way.
Fortunately, we don't have to look very far, since Skyshine Games has just kicked off their Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Bedlam, a rogue-like role-playing game with turn-based battles inspired by The Banner Saga, FTL and XCOM, as the devs note.
What Bedlam is all about
The studio aims to create a strategic single-player experience for PC and Mac, where players will be in charge of commanding their crew in battle, managing resources, improving your fortress-on-wheels, interacting with various characters, and generally exploring the post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Skyshine Games licensed The Banner Saga game engine from Stoic Games, for use with their new title, so you can expect a similar artistic style, with hand-drawn characters and environments.
Players will have to navigate the world of Bedlam, passing through territories that are under the control of random factions (Marauder, Mutant, A. I. or Cyborg) and uncovering various Points of Interest, consisting of random events, mysterious relics, towns or brutal encounters.
Exploring the wasteland
Each destination is a potential risk, but also holds the promise of great reward. You'll come across valuable, long-forgotten fuel deposits, or metal salvage yards, as well as livestock herds, new crew members or ancient technologies that you'll be able to integrate into your roaming fortress, the Dozer.
However, when venturing into unknown territory you'll also run the risk of coming in contact with nano-plagues, radioactive storms, or mutant infestations that will prove fatal to your crew, passengers, and even Dozer.
You'll need to constantly be on the lookout for opportunities to salvage resources, in order to keep your crew fed and engine running, and your reputation and final reward will depend on how many of your passengers make it through intact, so you have to make every decision count.
In case you manage to get to the end of Bedlam, you'll always have the option of a New Game+ mode, essentially, going on an entirely different journey while keeping your current progress, and experiencing a harsher world.
A twist to classic turn-based combat systems
The turn-based combat system is very simple and fresh, there is no turn order for your troops, and every time you get to move you can choose each one of them to move and/or attack for the round, making it like a sort of chess with guns and bloodshed.
There will be several different classes of troops, and you'll also be able to employ various Dozer abilities and weapons that have the potential to turn the tide of battle in the blink of an eye.
The game has just started its crowdfunding campaign, and it's going very well so far, with 29 days left. The team is looking to release Bedlam sometime in the summer of 2015.
