In my constant vigilance for new and intriguing games that bear that special something, I’ve come across Wildermyth, which is a game that has shot straight to the top of my personal most-anticipated list. “Why?” you ask? Well, hold on a second and I’ll get there.

Okay, I’m there. The reason I like this game so much is that there isn’t anything else quite like it. It has a beautiful and unique aesthetic, for one. You can see that in all of the screenshots. But then I learned more about the actual gameplay loop and I started to see that something special. It starts off simply enough: gather a small group of adventurers, called a company, and set off to find the evil that’s plaguing the land. But what makes that part exclusively its own is the journey your characters will take in order to accomplish that task.

Because Wildermyth is just as much about the dynamic character interaction that occurs between your adventurers as it is about the strategic and tactical aspects of the game. While defending the lands from various monster groups and assaulting groups of would-be marauders, all through glorious turn-based tactical combat, you’ll also take part in meaningful and game-changing character interaction sequences that will oftentimes change how you play the game.

In a recent game, I stumbled upon a fire shrine of sorts. The fire within called out to one of my characters. Before I knew it, I elected to set it free, just as it…requested? and my character became infused with fire. His appearance had immediately changed, showing a fire mark on his forehead, and his appendages became rather fiery, too.

Or in another sequence, where that same male character decided that he was going to find a way to build someplace safe for his potential future family with one of my female characters. The adventure that he and another party member went on took some very wild turns and did not end the way I had expected.

Furthermore, during each of these events, and I’ve seen many of them, something changed with a character or the dynamic between my characters, or both, that affected both gameplay and the tale being told. These sequences developed a story that was just as fun to watch play out as it was to play through.

I’m only a few hours in with Wildermyth, but I’m having a blast already, and the game still has at least another six months of development to go. Even in beta/Early Access, Wildermyth is something special. I can’t stop singing its praises to those that will listen and I’m eagerly awaiting every little word of an update.

Speaking of updates, it just had one for Halloween and it will also get another, more significant one, as it transitions into Early Access on Steam on November 13th. So the developers are already working hard to keep adding content and further refine the systems that are already in place.

I had a chance to speak with two of the developers, Nate and Annie, via podcast and got them to speak about their game a bit. Nate is the main programmer and Annie is the main/solo artist of Worldwalker Games. Did I mention that they’re married to each other (how cool!) and really fun to talk to? Listen here:

You can also watch the video below for a good taste of what to expect if you bought into the beta now on itch.io or pick it up on Steam when it enters Early Access:

As I’ve likely made abundantly clear, I think Wildermyth is a game worth being excited about. Not only does the game ooze with personality and character that is rarely this immersive, it also has great gameplay mechanics that are already very solid, with many more months left of development time and polishing time left.

So, keep an eye here on eXplorminate as we will keep you up to date with any further Wildermyth news.

Until next time, keep eXploring.

Rob founded eXplorminate, and quickly brought on Nate, as his passion for 4X needed an outlet. You can find Rob in just about every 4X game beta and 4X game forum, too. He’s equally obsessed with the strategy and tactics genres and constantly combs the internet for new and exciting titles in those genres. He’s proud to be a member of Amplitude Studios’ VIP program and the concept creator of Endless Space 2’s Unfallen.