Oakenfold splices turn-based strategy with roguelike elements to deliver a game that gives players an experience that is both challenging and rewarding.
Oakenfold is a 2D turn-based strategy roguelike game developed by Rutger van Dijk and published by Studio Taghua. You play as Asha, one of the last humans left on Earth. She has volunteered to find Earth’s remaining Dilithium supply and use it to power Oakenfold, a living Biosphere ship, to escape from the planet that has been ravaged by biocides, Earth’s immune system.
Being a turn-based strategy game, Oakenfold has you move Asha around the map while choosing which zones you want to enter on a branching path. Each zone is randomized, but the types of enemies you face and the tasks you can complete are shown before you enter a zone. Once in combat, the player has a certain number of moves that they can make before the enemies take their turn.
The player must then use Asha’s abilities to either defeat enemies or to reposition them so that they don’t destroy Dilithium crates or hurt Asha. The abilities Asha has depend on her mindset and what mindset she has changed based on what difficulty the player chose at the beginning of their run.
The main goal of each zone is to survive while completing as many tasks as possible. The types of tasks you can complete depend on the type of zone. Some zones have you move Asha to Dilithium crates on the other side of the field with only a small number of moves, while others have you complete tasks while trying not to get eaten by a giant Sandwurm.
Tasks don’t necessarily need to be completed, as you’ll still progress to the next zone once you survive for a certain number of waves, but it is highly recommended you do so if you want to get Energy. Energy is the “currency” that the player uses to upgrade their abilities. You can get energy by defeating enemies. Additionally, certain zones allow mining robots to destroy terrain obstacles that hold Energy, but the easiest way to get Energy is by completing the tasks of each zone.
Managing your tasks and moves, as well as ability cooldowns and enemy position, would seem very overwhelming in a typical strategy game. However, unlike a typical strategy game, Oakenfold allows the player to use the Timescrubber mechanic. This mechanic essentially allows the player to rewind the battle, so if too many crates get destroyed, the
player can simply rewind and try again. However, players should not abuse this mechanic as there is a limit to how far they can rewind, in a similar way to Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. You can increase your rewind limit by putting unused moves into the Timebank, which adds them to your Timescrubber points and ends your turn early. The Timescrubber mechanic is one of Oakenfold’s greatest features and rewards players for experimenting.
However, players still need to be careful because a poorly thought-out plan will have them meet Oakenfold’s other mechanic, permadeath. It wouldn’t be a roguelike without it. Still, unlike in other games of the genre, permadeath is often not a result of the game actively trying to make the experience difficult for the player but rather by the player’s actions.
In that sense, permadeath is utilized in a way that makes the player understand where they went wrong and gives them the incentive to try again. However, the experience won’t be the same in their next attempt as each zone is procedurally generated. The player must learn to handle each unique zone scenario rather than the individual zones themselves.
Besides rewarding gameplay, Oakenfold is just lovely to look at. Most of the environments are given a generally muted color palette, and this helps make enemies and points of interest stand out, which can help players keep track of what is happening in each zone. The visuals themselves also provide a bit of storytelling. The reason for the world being so muted in terms of colors is because the planet has been sucked dry of its resources and is left practically lifeless.
Overall, Oakenfold is a fantastic game that is far more forgiving than your typical strategy game. Though the player is expected to learn to manage things such as tasks, moves, and enemy position, the game never rushes and instead encourages the player to experiment and play in a way that best suits them. Though it does still punish you, the punishment doesn’t discourage you from continuing further, and you’ll soon find yourself trying new things and looking forward to your next run.
However, things that are alive or give something life are much brighter in color. We see this with Energy, which is an icy blue, and Oakenfold itself is filled with vibrant blues, oranges, and greens. The biocides are also filled with color but are instead composed of sickly greens, violent reds, and deep purples. This shows that while they are alive, they intend to harm the player.
Oakenfold is currently available on Steam. Visit our reviews section for the latest game reviews and updates.
