Hardlane Studio, a three person dev studio based in Minsk, dropped its demo for Ragtag Crew onto Steam as part of the Steam Next Fest. I jumped into the demo for 45 minutes or so the other day, and found a fun roguelike tactical RPG, reminiscent of last year's Rogue Lords.
In a fun hook, players can construct their own team from a list of templated personalities and skills, and then set their motley group to adventuring across the wastes. Though the combat is complex and somewhat tough, a lot of the fun in Ragtag Crew comes from watching your characters interact with each other, takings swipes at their teammates when they screw up and encouraging each other when things are going well. As new teams grow in affection for each other, new buffs unlock, allowing them to do things like cover each other in combat.
I had a great time with Ragtag Crew - enough so that I'm thinking about playing the full game when it releases later this year. Take a look at my session here:
Interested in trying Ragtag Crew for yourself? Check out the demo, available on Steam until June 20.
