Renowned Explorers: International Society

Silly game but surprisingly fun.

Wow, unexpectedly great game. Devs could have certainly put more on the store page to show the game. 100% buy on discount - heck would buy at full price now after playing

Renowned Explorers is such a fun, character-driven roguelike with tons of charm. You build a party of three characters from distinct backgrounds and archetypes and they serve as your exploration squad. Each "level" you choose an expedition to explore; a randomly generated world with a hexagonal grid where you use your resources to explore, engage in D&D like event rolls, and battle. On rest-phase you take advantage of their skillsets to research, public speak, and hire experts that help multiply your renown. I love that you can charm your way through battles just as easily as you can brute-force your way through encounters. The DLC is fun and adds characters and additional expeditions to explore. The game isn't perfect and I so hope for a sequel, but it's highly replayable, charming, and has aged so well over the years.

I was recently in the market for a game in the "strategic exploration game" genre and reached the conclusion that many others in similar spots have, namely that the two principal options are Renowned Explorers or the Curious Expeditions franchise. After spending some time with both, I can say that they are substantially different games, both of which are likely worth your time and money, but that I'll likely be spending more time with Renowned Explorers in the future. Curious Expeditions 2 revolves around optimizing movement and inventory management with a light tactical combat layer, whereas Renowned Explorers revolves around resource management and engine building with a much deeper tactical combat layer. The systems here are complex, but not overly so, although they are admittedly extremely poorly documented in game. I've only scratched the surface, and whereas I felt like I had mastered to core gameplay loop of CE2 prior to completing my first playthrough of the campaign, I expect that getting a full grasp on RE's ruleset will take substantially longer, and also that it will have substantially more replayability due to how meaningfully crew construction affects optimal resource generation/consumption and combat strategies.

10 years. 10 long years I have enjoyed this game. From the cute art to the interesting battle mechanics to the cookie stories it told. Abbey games made a gem. It may not have been well received by many, but it was a delight. Is it perfect? No, the difficulty scale is sorta wacky and there are occasional bugs, but was it a bad game? Certainly not! It was fun, silly, and had a cast of characters I loved to select from (Ivan, my beloved book worm bear man!). If you ever want a game that is chill and silly and just the right amount of campy explorer adventure, get this game. Support an indie dev who continues to make games today. Thank you for giving me a game I have enjoyed and boot up from time to time to mess around. And I can't wait to try more.

I saw Abbey Games' post that this is 10 years old now. Anyone interested in turn-based tactics should give this a try. It has the most unique conflict resolve system that still scratches that combat itch. There's also loads of good references, difficult challenges, and by mixing up your parties and plans, infinite replayability. This has been one of my top 10 turn-based games for a decade now, recommended at full price.