14 DAY TRIAL // To say that Iratus: Lord of the Dead is just another Darkest Dungeon clone would be an understatement. Despite the similar gameplay mechanics, the game developed by Unfrozen is so much deeper when it comes to tactical choices, managing your band of undead and building your underground base.
In Iratus: Lord of the Dead you play as an evil necromancer who was just recently freed after being imprisoned millennia ago. Your task is to escape from the tomb and conquer the world of the living once again, but to do that, you'll have to face the hordes of humans and dwarfs.
The title is in early access, so you can only play three stages, but there are plenty of hours of entertainment stuffed in it if you plan to pick this one up. Since you play on the side of evil, your team will comprise of skeletons, vampires, ghosts, mummies, banshees and many more.
There are 16 types of units available in the game, but some of them are locked behind requirements like gathering a certain amount of resources or using an ability. Some of these units can only be unlocked after multiple playthroughs, but they're well worth the time.
You won't recruit units in this game, but create them instead with components dropped from the enemies you kill. That includes hearts, heads, bones, rags, armor and so on. These “ingredients” can be upgraded through alchemy to offer your units better stats and what makes it more interesting is that you can replace older components with better ones later on.
But Iratus goes even deeper and lets you add buildings to your underground lair that will give you some benefits if you house one or more units inside. As you win battles and gain experience, Iratus will be able to upgrade some of his powers: Alchemy, Magic, Wrath, and Destruction. On top of that, you can fit Iratus with artifacts that give you great bonuses to your units or allow you to cast powerful spells during battles.
Build a band of powerful undead and conquer the world for your master
Each of your units come six unique abilities that can be upgraded, but some of them require them to move back or forward. It's very important to know very well what your units can do and how they complement each other to be successful in the game. It takes some trial and error to manage to balance the strengths and weaknesses of your units and actually build a viable group.
Speaking of groups, there are two types of damage in Iratus, which affect either the vitality or the sanity of an enemy unit. From what I noticed, building groups that rely on dealing sanity damage is the way to go, but sometimes you need a mix of both since there are units in the game that aren't affected by mind attacks. It adds another layer of complexity and fun to the game.
Every time you start a new game, the map is procedurally-generated, but you're allowed to plan your route since everything is revealed from the beginning. Aside from fighting enemies, you can get artifacts, new units, improvements for your evil characters, and quests. Solving a quest doesn't always imply combat, and the rewards are always worthy.
There are enough enemy variations and lots of variables to consider when building your group, so if you liked Darkest Dungeon, then Iratus: Lord of the Dead is a must-buy. You can find it right now on Steam for €25, but keep in mind that it's still in early access.
