Uploaded March 2022 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
I have a few game obsessions that I return to time and again. If you’ve watched this channel, you know that probably the biggest one is programming games. But there’s another genre that maintains a permanent residence inside my head, and th at’s turn-based strategy games. Ever since the days of the Apple II and the old Strategic Simulations game “Computer Ambush”, I’ve always had a soft spot for them.
Games like this can operate on several different levels. If they operate on the level of moving entire armies, we’d call that strategic. If you’re moving individual units, that’s a tactical game. And if it’s somewhere in between, we’d typically call that “operational”. For largely historical reasons, these games tended to come in at a somewhat higher level of UI complexity than action games. But over time game creators realized that it was possible to make a tactical turn-based RPG where the tactics were complex, but the UI itself was simple. Some of them even made their way to handheld devices like the gameboy. Games like Advance Wars, Final Fantasy Tactics…and Fire Emblem.
What Fire Emblem brought to the genre was a level of drama that hadn’t really been seen before, at least at this level of depth. Instead of having interchangeable soldiers, tanks, or airplanes, your units were characters with individual quirks, motivations, and unique abilities. And unlike most games at the time, Fire Emblem brought the concept of death being permanent. It sounds funny, but in the context of strategy games of the time, the idea that a unit wasn’t just valuable, but literally irreplaceable was unusual. And since the plot and characterization of the games meant that you were invested in the characters, a member of your army dying wasn’t just a loss, it was a tragedy.
Today I’m taking a look at Telepath Tactics Liberated, a new indie game from Sinister Designs, releasing March 12. Sinister Designs graciously provided a build of the game in order for me to be able to finish this review in time for release, for which I thank them.
I have a few game obsessions that I return to time and again. If you’ve watched this channel, you know that probably the biggest one is programming games. But there’s another genre that maintains a permanent residence inside my head, and th at’s turn-based strategy games. Ever since the days of the Apple II and the old Strategic Simulations game “Computer Ambush”, I’ve always had a soft spot for them.
Games like this can operate on several different levels. If they operate on the level of moving entire armies, we’d call that strategic. If you’re moving individual units, that’s a tactical game. And if it’s somewhere in between, we’d typically call that “operational”. For largely historical reasons, these games tended to come in at a somewhat higher level of UI complexity than action games. But over time game creators realized that it was possible to make a tactical turn-based RPG where the tactics were complex, but the UI itself was simple. Some of them even made their way to handheld devices like the gameboy. Games like Advance Wars, Final Fantasy Tactics…and Fire Emblem.
What Fire Emblem brought to the genre was a level of drama that hadn’t really been seen before, at least at this level of depth. Instead of having interchangeable soldiers, tanks, or airplanes, your units were characters with individual quirks, motivations, and unique abilities. And unlike most games at the time, Fire Emblem brought the concept of death being permanent. It sounds funny, but in the context of strategy games of the time, the idea that a unit wasn’t just valuable, but literally irreplaceable was unusual. And since the plot and characterization of the games meant that you were invested in the characters, a member of your army dying wasn’t just a loss, it was a tragedy.
Today I’m taking a look at Telepath Tactics Liberated, a new indie game from Sinister Designs, releasing March 12. Sinister Designs graciously provided a build of the game in order for me to be able to finish this review in time for release, for which I thank them.
