Cast your mind back to 2022 and you might remember Dark Deity, the fantasy turn-based RPG that took more than a little inspiration from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Fast forward to the present day and we have Dark Deity 2, the second entry in the series which looks just as tied to the Nintendo touchstone.
This one launched on PC earlier this year, but developer Sword and Axe and publisher Indie.io have announced that it will also be making its way to Switch on 4th September, and we can't help but feel that it's a good fit.
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As you might expect, the Fire Emblem ties are once again strong with this one. Taking place in the fictional, fantasy setting of Verroa, you'll control Gwyn, Riordian and 18 other playable characters on their quest to protect their land from the neighbouring Holy Asverellian Empire.
The action all takes place in a top-down, tactical style, reminiscent of the early Fire Emblem games, with one-on-one turn-based encounters zooming in on the hits in all their pixel art detail. It's a format we've seen many times before, but it doesn't make it any less cool.
This sequel boasts 45 classes for its 20 playable characters, with built-in randomisers and campaign customisers ensuring a decent level of replayability.
Here's a brief rundown of the game's set up and a handful of screenshots:
A quarter of a century has passed, as Irving and the Eternal Order carefully rebuilt Verroa to protect it against a future war. Their efforts will be put to the test far too soon as a new threat looms on the horizon. The neighboring Holy Asverellian Empire needs new lands to grow, and the fractious, fragile Verroa seems ripe for the taking. All that stands in its way is the Order and twenty scrappy heroes-to-be.
Take command of the Eternal Delegation, led by Irving’s descendants. Gwyn and Riordian will have to navigate the treacherous politics of Verroa, and weave a web of alliances to turn the tide of the coming war. Your decisions will determine the shape of these alliances and define your army. Coupled with the help of a giant pool of customizations, no two playthroughs will ever feel the same.
Dark Deity 2 is now available to pre-order on the North American Switch eShop (it doesn't appear to be live on the European variant at the time of writing) for $24.99. There's even a 20% pre-launch discount available for those who want to save a few bucks.
We had a perfectly good time with its predecessor back in 2022, stating in our review that "Dark Deity delivers a convincing and essentially satisfying facsimile of GBA Fire Emblem, but perhaps fails to stand on its own two feet". Let's hope the sequel moves things in the right direction, eh?