Telepath Tactics Liberated

awesome game, more then awesome !

Really fun, really good story (actually thinks deliberately about politics and ideals rather than going with Ye Olde Fantasy Genre Standards). There's a few missions where I had to back up and adjust my approach, it's easy to overextend, but fortunately the different difficulty settings give you a lot of room to adjust how hard you get punished for mistakes. As my party got bigger I did regret that I didn't get to see more of them in action more often, but that comes with the genre to a certain degree. Lots of room for different strategies and customizing your party for the approach you like best, especially as you unlock more characters. Push and pull effects are STRONG, don't underestimate them. Definitely recommend, especially if you're a fan of the SRPG genre in general.

Overall, good game. 6.5 I remember playing telepath RPG more than 10 years ago, and recalled enjoying it, so i got this game. Played it on soldier difficulty, and this is after i have played that. Some things about AI or Layout can be different in other versions. Also, there is a randomizer mode i might try out at some other point. - Visuals: The game maps are generally very clear, but not really distinctive. They occasionally feel a bit same-y, but the graphics never trick you. For the story parts there are some well done portraits. I think it's refreshing to see people who actually look like humans. When the still portraits are "animated" (they get moved across the screen, for example closer to another person), i feel like it looks weird, as the visuals don't really make a difference if it's a punch, a hug or a kiss. Maybe another portrait frame for the "moving characters" (for example, with a "hug animation" would help. - UI Unpolished, especially in the shop. It's not that easy to check the equipment of all your characters and buy stuff. Also, you can't click and drag (to move the map) if you have a unit selected that can walk to tile you start to drag from. This isn't a major issue, as you can undo your moves. EXCEPT when there's fog of war. - Music: You won't recognize it afterwards, but i think it fits very well - SFX: Occasionally a bit of a problem. My pyros AoE-spells blew out my ears - Gameplay: Map design / Terrain Dynamics / Push&Pull: Great ideas, not always perfectly done. For example there is a great emphasis on terrain in the trailer above. But on soldier difficulty, there is rarely any high ground, especially not for the player to use. Pushing/Pulling enemies and allies around occasionally has some uses, but for the most part, the layout makes it more efficient to just hold a choke point than to try to push enemies around. Occasionally it can be useful to push enemies into each other, especially when one of them is about to die but dealing regular damage would be overkill. If there was a "push aside" mechanic, i didn't unlock it, but something like that would make bridge-fighting a lot more interesting. Ofc, there would then need to be a possibility to counter them. Energy: Energy regeneration is bound to your inaction. +1 if you move but don't act, +4 if you don't even move. This doesn't really work as my 5 energy characters have the same regeneration as my 50 energy characters. While i feel this is somewhat balanced, it does make some mages very useless if you don't have enough energy restoring items, while others never need any of those. AI: Now this is why i put my difficulty disclaimer above. I've had many problems with it. First off, it's a bit stupid, but that's because i'm playing on a low difficulty (soldier). However, i've come to realize that this also affects allies. "Oh, 3 enemies surround me, i have about 10 allies to the south, 4 enemies to the north... let's run north! Also, occasionally you have enemies spawning from new angles, which doesn't always seem fair. (either you are correctly placed, then you can farm them for exp, or you're not, and you have to reposition your whole crew to handle a new threat). The Storytelling: Classic YA story of teens growing to be heroes. Nothing to write home about, but the characters make it somewhat interesting. Some are cringe, but i wasn't always sure which ones were intended to be and which ones were not. Some things in the story and the gameplay interact with each other. Some characters on the maps can be recruited. If you fail to rescue an ally, this person will no longer have a story. Which can be an issue because they might have extra missions for you, giving you the possibility of even more special allies. So missing the first rescue will affect your further experience by removing even more than just that person. (Allies you can't encounter because the prerequisites aren't met will be replaced by random villagers so you don't have too few allies, but you will have story/mechanics removed anyway). Also, some enemies can be recruited (my favourite character was an enemy). - The Dev team: If you complain about something in the forums, they will reach out to you (if it's a bug, there is a separate category for that). So in general, if there's something you think needs polish, just tell them, the game is still actively worked on.

The games is incredibly fun. You are expected to outsmart and outplan the opponents and you have plenty of tools to do so. Generally, you will always be outnumbered, but if you play your cards well without breaking your weapons, you should be able to defeat all enemies (the quest usually doesn't require you to kill everyone). This being said, inventory management could have been planned better, pathing doesn't consider fire pits (it was problem only once in a tutorial though, they aren't common) and a few balance choices are kind of weird. For example, archers progressively gain more pierce resistance with levels which makes them, among other things, pretty great at tanking cavalry (!) and shield gives you HP instead of phyisical resistances (which means that wooden shield helps you against fire attacks) or that crossbow basically decimating bridge tiles is pretty funny.

Writing is quite bad. I saw the developer responded with hostility to somebody else who said this in a review, which is unfortunate.

Pro: The level designs were quite well thought and varied, really fun to play. Eg. siege a castle with draw a bridge, fighting as you cross a collapsible bridge. The tile building and destroying mechanics force you to well plan your every move. It is a big pro for SLG since even Fire Emblem Three Houses' levels become all homogenous. Cons: Have to be honest here the art is quite a turn-off. No charm from the characters. Many faces look similar. The story and narrative is also not engaging. I really see a lot of potential and the developer's strength is definitely on game design and level design. Should get most out of the dev's talent by working with artists and writers. Hope to see a next gen game from this dev!

Great turn based classic strategy game

Gameplay Mechanics: 8/10 Narrative: 6/10 Graphics: 5/10 Sound and Music: 6/10 Replayability: 7/10 Innovation: 7/10 Telepath Tactics Liberated is an indie tactical RPG that punches well above its weight class. Don’t let the retro visuals fool you—under the hood is a deeply strategic, highly moddable turn-based tactics engine with some creative mechanics that set it apart from bigger-name titles. Gameplay mechanics are excellent for fans of classic grid-based tactics. You’ve got elevation effects, terrain manipulation (like pushing enemies off cliffs or into water), and even destructible terrain that can completely change the battlefield mid-fight. Positioning, planning, and creative use of abilities really matter here. Score: 8/10. Narrative is okay. It tells a decent story with a mix of politics, rebellion, and character drama. The writing is earnest but not especially memorable, and the pacing is a bit uneven. It does enough to frame the action without stealing the spotlight. Score: 6/10. Graphics are old-school and functional. It’s not trying to wow anyone visually, and while everything is clear and readable, it does feel pretty basic by today’s standards. Score: 5/10. Sound and music are similarly retro. The soundtrack has a charming, low-budget feel, and the sound effects get the job done, but this isn’t a game you’ll be listening to on repeat. Score: 6/10. Replayability is strong thanks to branching missions, mod support, custom campaigns, and different builds you can try out for your units. Score: 7/10. Innovation gets props for its terrain and knockback mechanics, which genuinely change how you approach battles. It also offers deep modding tools, which few indie tactics games do this well. Score: 7/10. Bottom line: If you’re into classic tactical RPGs and don’t mind simple visuals, Telepath Tactics Liberated is a hidden gem. The gameplay is rock solid, with some cool twists that make every battle feel dynamic and rewarding.

Ich konnte nur die erste Mission einmal spielen und musste dann feststellen, das es nicht möglich ist, die Karten vollständig zu erledigen. Denn es ist nur mit vielen Versuchen und viel Risiko, wenn überhaupt möglich, alle Kisten einer Karte einzusammeln. Da ich bei solchen Rundenbasierten Rollenspielen, aber gerne alle Kisten mitnehmen (wenn es 1 mal nicht geht, ist das okay), aber das ist hier laut der Entwickler nicht gewollt. Ich habe wegen der ersten Map dann hier das Forum durchsucht und da wurde das von den Entwicklern so dargelegt, obwohl viele die da geschrieben haben, das nicht gut fanden. Ich gehöre dazu und konnte unter diesem Gesichtspunkt das Spiel einfach nicht weiterspielen und habe es zurück gegeben.

Outstanding game from an awesome indie developer! The story is well done and the game play is fantastic! It reminds me of Fire Emblem and Battle Brothers. The weapons breaking takes some getting used to and can really spike the difficulty but, luckily, each character has an ability that makes them useful even without a weapon. I played the developer's other demo and plan to purchase that immediately after I finish playing this one! I will be following this dude and snatching up games as he puts them out! You can tell a lot of love went into these games and I applaud that.