''Ironcast'' is a turn-based strategy video game with individual missions played through a match-three system. The game features procedurally generated missions and permadeath, staples of the roguelike genre. The game was developed by Dreadbit and released for PC platforms in March 2015, PS4 and Xbox One in March 2016, and Nintendo Switch version in August 2017.

Gameplay

The game is set in a

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...

19th century, the player commands mecha robots (the eponymous Ironcasts) and must deploy them to repel a French invasion of Britain. Players can choose from an assortment of missions, their successful completion will reward the player with repairs and upgrades to their Ironcast. The missions are conducted through a match-three system, with coloured tiles on the grid representing resources required for the Ironcast's operation.

Production

''Ironcast'' was developed by Dreadbit, a studio founded by Daniel Leaver, formerly a senior designer at Media Molecule. The game was part funded through a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

crowdfunding campaign, raising £10,183 in October 2014.

Reception

The game received a positive critical reception, with Metacritic scores of 70/100, 75/100 and 78/100 for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

, PC and Xbox One platforms respectively. Christian Donlan, reviewing the game at Eurogamer described it as "tense and personable and clever". John Walker at ''

Rock, Paper, Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...

'' found it "much more tactically thoughtful than a match-3 RPG has been before", though found the game's presentation dull.

References

External links

''Ironcast'' official site
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170727105008/http://www.dreadbit.com/Ironcast , date=2017-07-27 2015 video games Alternate history video games Crowdfunded video games Kickstarter-funded video games Linux games Video games about mecha MacOS games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games Roguelike video games Steampunk video games Turn-based strategy video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in the 19th century Windows games Xbox One games