Ahead of the Game - Stormborn Era is auto tower defence with strategic ship-building and hordes of the undead
That Kraken's up to no good again
- Repair and build your ship, then protect it from the undead
- Collect cool-looking crewmates
- Auto-defend yourself from incoming enemy hordes
Hello and welcome to Ahead of the Game, a series where we tell you all about an upcoming game that, despite not being out yet, is available for you to play at the time of publishing. Through this series, you can grab a chance to play games well ahead of their release date, be that through Soft Launch, Open Beta, Demos, or more.
Speaking as someone who's afraid of the water, I'll never understand people's fascination with setting sail across the high seas - after all, there's no limit to the number of unholy abominations that are out to get you once you're adrift at sea. There are colossal waves, tentacled beasts, and bloodthirsty pirates to look out for. Did I mention the tentacled beasts?
Okay, given you're a bloodthirsty pirate yourself in Stormborn Era, I suppose that cancels out the plundering perils you might just encounter across the seven seas. But as for the aforementioned giant beasts, one particular Kraken's got a hold of your ship - and it's up to you to rebuild and defend it from hordes of the undead (of course).
Thankfully, you can use your conch to call upon warriors from across the seas to join your cause, and each one not only has some awesome skills that'll come in handy in battle, but they also have really cool character designs that'll make you want to add them to your roster.
I particularly love the voice acting here, and when you complement that with the lovely theme music that plays on the main menu, this is one idle-slash-tower defence strategy game I wouldn't want to put on mute.
Yes, it's idle, it's tower defence, but it's also strategy and city-building, as you'll build and upgrade different parts of your ship to add buffs to your heroes in battle. Combat plays out automatically, ala-tower defence, with buffs you can choose from to survive the hordes of enemies charging your way.
Eventually, you'll unlock other weapons such as ship cannons to help you when push comes to shove, all available as you progress through the nodes on the boardgame-esque campaign.
So, how do you play Stormborn Era?
Thanks to the magic of soft launches yet again, Stormborn Era is available to play on Android if you happen to be based in the Philippines. Let's hope it gets a wider release soon though, because that Kraken's got its slimy tentacles around your ship wound tight, and Margaret's in trouble.Right - Margaret. She needs saving, and let's just say you'll definitely want to come to her rescue - no matter what it takes.
