The world is becoming ablaze with games that dip from the disparate wells of survival, RPG, life sim, and city builder. Titles like Manor Lords, Bellwright, Lost Legions, and Dawn of Defiance all blur these lines as you not only have to survive but you’ll build up your own settlements too, complete with production chains and villagers to look after. Sengoku Dynasty is a game that does a few things differently, such as uprooting the action to Japan, and now adding soulslike combat.
Or rather, that should be souls-lite. The new combat system in Sengoku Dynasty is still focused around dodging, planning your attacks, and breaking poise but it’s not quite the full-fledged experience you’d expect in something like Elden Ring. What it does do, however, is beef up the fighting in this simulation game by making AI enemies much more responsive and harder to take down. They’ll be dodging your attacks more and striking with more ferocity, requiring you to dash, block, or parry them to get the upper hand.
This combat overhaul also applies to gear, with weapons and armor now having damage values and their own effectiveness ratings. So if you want to play a tanky character with heavy weapons, you now can, or you can make sure your gear is appropriate for a nimble sword wielder able to dance around foes. What’s notable about the revamped combat is that the developer admits it’s not finished yet, but as this is an early access title it will be working on the system with the input of fans.
Outside of combat, this update has made it so your character has a multitude of paths to follow, in order to learn new skills and perks. Now you can earn experience to become a leader, helping your villagers become stronger and work better. You can be a craftsman, building faster and getting more resources from farms. Warriors become tougher, stronger, and more capable in combat, and monks are the jack-of-all-trades, able to do a bit of everything well. It all helps round out the experience, and developer Superkami promises more will be coming.
Production has also received a lot of attention, with better visual clarity over what your villagers are doing, and improved tools to manage the entire shebang. Tools are more efficient, recipes are more clear, and there’s plenty more too.
The Ikigai update is out now for Sengoku Dynasty, and you can also save 30% on the title until Thursday September 5. Head over to the Steam announcement for the full details and to check out the game itself.
If you’re looking for something similar, our guide to the best city-building games will see you constructing in no time, and our best building games guide will see you implement a more hands-on approach.
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