“House Blackfoot seeks revenge,” it says: It’s more of an RPG than Slay The Spire. You build a party of six characters from across six animal-themed factions. As you battle, via side-on combat where positioning matters, your characters level up and unlock unique cards and passive abilities that expand your tactical options. You can pair an archer weasel with a bearserker in ways that empower both. Beautiful. Forewarning: it’s got roguelike elements, too. You’re navigating the streets of a city rather than climbing a tower, but if you die it’s still back to the beginning with you - albeit with some tokens to spend on boosting your next run from the off. I feel like there are a million of these Spire-buts around at the moment, but I’ve been keeping an eye on Banners Of Ruin for the past year because it looks and sounds lush. I’m not normally a fan of anthropomorphic animals - conceptually it seems a little obvious - but I like the character art and atmospheric environments here. I also appreciate the polish of the UI, and the smooth ways cards unfurl, turn over, disappear. I like these kinds of games, and current evidence suggests this might be a slick one of these kinds of games. I’m going to give it a go. Banners Of Ruin is available from GOG, the Epic Games Store and Steam for £12.39/€14.39 with a 20% launch discount.
