- Chaotic intensity from complex natural systems and wild magic: ice meteors, volcanic craters, electrified lakes, and more.
- Explore a vast, beautiful archipelago by boat, wing, and paw in this open world adventure.
- Available for preorder now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and the Windows Store.
Hello Gamers and Goblin Enthusiasts,
I’m Badru, Tenderfoot Tactics‘ director, and I’m writing this post to introduce you to the game which we just announced as coming to Xbox platforms and is available to preorder today ahead of its full release on February 21st.
Tenderfoot Tactics takes advantage of both Play Anywhere and Smart Delivery so you’ll be able to carry your squad of goblins across a variety of platforms, such as the Xbox Series S|X where you’ll be exploring the archipelago at 60fps with a native 1440p and 4k resolution (respectively).
I’ve been playing it again on my Series S and it’s such a joy to be reminded what a curious, distinctive, and gripping game it is. So, what is it?
A Rowdy, Chaotic Tactics Game with No Random Chance
Before everything else, Tenderfoot Tactics is a game about strategic thinking in small scale grid-and-turn-based combats. The battles are fast, tricky, and wild. One mistake can spiral out into a huge number of consequences, but clever play can recover a seemingly impossible battle and turn it into a win. In line with its goblin-brained ethos, it encourages risky, aggressive tactics.
Unlike most games of this type, in Tenderfoot Tactics, skills always do exactly what they say: there are no damage ranges or hit chances. You’ll never have to restart a combat because of a random number generator. Nevertheless, the battles are anything but predictable.
Chaos from Complexity: Natural Systems
Water flows downhill, pools in valleys, and soaks into soil.
Plants propagate and draw moisture out of the soil.
Fire spreads through dry plants (and goblins).
Like in the real world, Tenderfoot Tactics’ natural systems are deterministic, but so richly interdependent that the results of an action are impossible to really know, and beautiful to watch unfold.
At the start of the game, your goblins will be relative outsiders to magic, but as you grow in power you’ll be able to evolve them into advanced breeds: Wizards and Woods Witches, Liches, Elementalists, and other strange creatures. Before long you’ll be calling down meteors, raising mountains, electrifying lakes, opening volcanic chasms, and much, much more.
Exploring the Archipelago
Again unlike most games of this type, Tenderfoot Tactics takes place in a tremendously large world, and has a lightweight, exploratory, nonlinear story.
Very early in the game, you’ll find yourself with an objective that is both distant and vague, and you’ll have to set your own route towards it. Don’t worry if you feel lost. Take some time to sail around, looking for landmarks or interesting features. Gather birds and use them to soar higher and further afield.
As you roam, your goblins will express their impulsive desires: to follow their nose to a nearby herb, or maybe to visit that town on the horizon. Take whatever cues seem interesting to you. There’s no wrong way to spend your time in the archipelago.
Tips for New Players
The tutorials are all available in your pause menu at any time. Don’t be nervous about skipping them if they’re too much to read at first, but do go read them eventually! The game is much more enjoyable with a full understanding of its systems, which are fairly simple.
You can change your goblins’ skills at any time out of combat, and for the starting breed, the base ‘goblin’, doing so is completely free.
The game features dynamic difficulty adjustment, and very few consequences for fleeing a battle, so if a fight is too hard for you, just run!
Okay thanks! Have fun with Tenderfoot Tactics! I think it looks, sounds, and plays beautifully on my Xbox Series S. It’s a strange game, and one I’m very proud of. I hope it gets its nasty little hooks in your brain like it does mine.
Tenderfoot Tactics
Ice Water Games
$14.99
MODERN TACTICAL RPG, INSPIRED BY THE CLASSICS
A novel, deterministic combat system, with easy to grasp rules and astonishing depth. No random miss chances. No damage ranges.
Manipulate the elements to turn the battlefield to your advantage, but beware the consequences, as nature is complex and fickle. Open chasms, raise mountains, boil lakes, drain rivers. Start fires you later regret.
VAST OPEN-WORLD EXPLORATION
Unearth ancient ruins, discover strange artefacts, and meet new friends, in a lush, painterly world. Explore the reaches of the archipelago by boat. Take to the skies as a bird to survey the landscape and plan the best route forward.
For a generation, the terrible Fog – one vast, voiceless, and cruel spirit – has been eating the once-thick forests of the mainland. Now, with nowhere left to call home, and granted magic by the friendly spirits of the archipelago, one small party of would-be adventurers sets out. Find a way to save the many goblin towns of the rocky coast, discover the truth of the Fog, and, if possible, put an end to it.
