As I continue to venture into the world of indie games, sometimes they find me. Goddess of Strategy is a game that started to follow me not that long ago, and I always appreciate that, so I made sure to check out the demo they have available on Steam. The game is inspired by games like Fire Emblem and Hades to create a tactical turn-based RPG roguelike where you must stop the threat of the Seven Deadly Sins to save the Olympian Gods and the world.

The gameplay was a lot of fun as it mirrors other games in the genre rather closely. Battles occur in turns, and you can move your units across the map in grid-based movement. The gameplay here is done rather well, and it absolutely captures all of the charm of this style of gameplay. The elements inspired by Hades are where I really got to see how this game stands apart from similar games I’ve played, and I’ve played a lot.

As you battle, you’re progressing on a map until you get to a boss, so you need to be aware of your health and resources and the path you take to get there. However, in addition to that, skills are an active thing changing as you progress. As each character levels up, your stats increase, and if you don’t like the stats you got, you can sometimes reroll them. I absolutely took advantage of this when luck was not on my side. When a character levels up, you also get to choose one of three skills to add to them. These skills are incredibly helpful, and in one instance in my playthrough, vital. I was at the final boss, and when a character next to the boss leveled up, a Legendary Skill appeared that caused significantly more damage specific to the boss. It was the perfect skill for the situation I was in, and the tide of battle changed instantly.

The Olympian Gods play an important role as well because as you progress through the map, you can receive blessings from them to gain additional skills to use in battle. For example, with Athena, she gives a skill that grants a unit a shield and 50 exp. When I had a unit I was sending to weaken some incoming enemies, I used the shield to increase her level. By the time I was done, she had higher stats, a new skill, and greatly improved defenses. The element of customizing every unit as they level up makes this a different experience than games like this that I’ve played before.

I also want to commend the tutorial for explaining the mechanics very well. It wasn’t lengthy, but by the time it was done, I had a clear grasp of how to do everything I needed to do. We also don’t get much of the story since it appears to be a demo focused on the gameplay elements. What we do get honestly didn’t catch my attention, but that could change as it’s more fleshed out with the game’s completion.

Overall, a lot of the gameplay here sticks with the successful approach commonly done for turn-based tactical games; however, adding the ability to greatly customize each unit after every level-up gives an entirely new element to both strategy and luck. It’s definitely a solid game with a good foundation to it, so if you want to keep track of their development, then make sure to give them a follow on Twitter/X.