Coldridge is the debut project from a team of strategy game veterans under their Frog Collective banner, and it looks like an endearingly quirky blend of Red Dead Redemption and the Civilization series.
The developers behind Coldridge spent 12 years over at Amplitude, a Paris-based studio known for strategy games including Humankind and Endless Space, and now they've started their own studio and are working on its first project. Coldridge takes the turn-based strategy foundation the studio is known for and builds upon a Wild West-inspired setting with cowboys, carriages, and, uh, magic portals.
You take the role of a prospector, who inexplicably has a thick French accent which I absolutely adore, and it's your job to comb through the treacherous cursed wilderness of Coldridge to map out the locations of valuable resources for an all-powerful guild. You'll need to piece together complex puzzles and strategically manage contracts to maximize gains as you gradually unravel the mystery at the heart of the guild and its connection to the cursed lands.
"Our goal is to offer a captivating adventure that challenges your strategic thinking and keeps you hooked with every decision," reads the Steam description. "See how long you can survive and how deep you can delve into the secrets of Coldridge."
Central to Coldridge's gameplay is an element of risk vs. reward that'll help inform which contracts you take on. You'll be able to choose from contracts that entail great danger for a bigger bag as well as safer contracts with more modest rewards. As this is a strategy game after all, you'll want to carefully plan your moves and utilize both terrain and equipment to successfully and efficiently navigate various obstacles and objectives.
There's also some roguelite goodness to be had here, with unlockable items and characters as well as "fresh challenges and opportunity" in each new playthrough. You'll also be able to buy items with the gold you earn from contracts, including new shoes for your horse and magic portals (presumably as a means of fast travel).
Coldridge doesn't have a release date yet, but there is a demo that's supposed to come out sometime this month.
In the meantime, here are the best strategy games to test your wits with.
