Star Renegades – PAX East Preview
Star Renegades is an upcoming turn based tactical rogue-lite RPG coming from developer Massive Damage. Carrying on their track record of producing pixel art RPGs like Halcyon 6, the Toronto based team is looking to take things to the next level with the inclusion of perma-death, nemesis elements, and an enhanced tactical timeline battle system. The game was playable at PAX East 2019, and we had a chance to dive in with the developers.
In Star Renegades’ turn based battles, you play as a squad of up to six Rebellion soldiers, each with their own unique set of skills and proficiencies. In the PAX East demo, a droid soldier called Xurx possessed primarily buffs for allies, damage inhibiting status effects to use on enemies, and healing abilities. Nodo Kalthoris, the rogue-like gunslinger, was able to initiate sneak attacks, quick shots and sabotages to rapidly damage Imperium baddies. Wynn Syphex was the main damage dealer in my party – she was a soldier wielding a massive blade and outfitted in a mech suit, almost doubling her in size. Wynn was able to carry out attacks such as slash and cleave, but could also use her massive frame to shield and defend more vulnerable allies. Aside from applying buffs to each other, your squad mates can work together to initiate powerful combo attacks and enemy interrupts.
Successfully finishing battles will yield resources, weapons, and upgrades. These items can also be found in the overworld in chests, or rewarded for completing optional activities outside of battles. In the demo, these include taking down Imperium battle ships and saving Rebellion refugees. Upgrades and new weapons come at a fairly steady pace, and can be equipped to Rebellion soldiers for things like enhanced shields, new attack buffs, and status effects. This helps to keep the arsenal of attacks at your disposal fresh and new with every battle.
The combat system also includes the use of a timeline system that adds an advanced layer of tactical planning to battles. A horizontal progress bar at the bottom of the screen outlines when and where you attacks are set to take place. Conversely, the timeline also shows when enemies are set to attack and what sort of attacks will be coming at you. You’ll need to develop an understanding of how your attacks fit in with your allies planned attack, as well as what the Imperium bots will be throwing at you. Some of the more powerful moves will occur in later turns, or in multiple turns. In order to initiate combos or interrupts, players will have to do a bit of advanced scheduling to ensure everything takes place in the correct sequence.
Sprites in Star Renegades are impressively vibrant and detailed. The primarily pink and pastel color palette is somewhat diversified in the character design. While the backdrop of the world and combat arenas follow a general neon theme, your rebellion soldiers really pop out and have clear delineation in their gear.
Along with the graphical style, what really helps Star Renegades stand out as a tactical role playing game is the inclusion of a rogue-lite respawn and nemesis system. Having a single member of your squad die in battle means they are lost for good, along with all resources and experience. But if you’ve really created a bond with a fallen soldier, you do have the option of reanimating them in exchange for a substantial amount of resources. What makes this choice even more difficult is that if you pass on the opportunity to resurrect a character, there is a chance the Imperium Army may do it instead. Your once ally will now be fighting against you and this forms the basis of a nemesis system also present in Star Renegades.
Star Renegades is materializing into a complex and rewarding pixel art role playing game. We really enjoyed our time with the game at PAX East, and are eagerly waiting for the full release on PC and Switch sometime in 2020.
