Our friends at Sidereal Studio have been generous enough to grant me a copy of Quinterra to review. An informative, brief interview with the development team has been reposted. Sadly, time was a major issue and at least a few of the questions I posed have been addressed below.
1: Can you please explain the game for us?
Quinterra is a roguelite strategy game that features turn-based battles on a hexagonal tile grid that is procedurally generated. As you set off aboard your airship, you will recruit an army that is essential in helping you win an expedition.
2 How have you mixed strategy genres?
Quinterra combines features seen in table tops, card games, and roguelikes to present an experience unlike any other. Units have abilities you’re used to seeing in card games, while the battles themselves take place on a dynamic table top inspired board. Progression in Quinterra features the fun elements showcased in deckbuilders and incorporates them into a player choice inspired expedition system similar to that of strategy roguelikes.
3: What title/titles have inspired the team in creating Quinterra?
Hearthstone, Faeria, Slay the Spire and Magic: The Gathering.
4: What do you feel is unique about your game?
Quinterra offers different layers of strategic depth in combat with a unique drafting mechanic. This drafting mechanic allows you to extract elemental energies from the tiles on the board that can then be utilized to dynamically equip your army. Once a tile is drafted, it then falls off of the map which allows players to enact terrain based strategies as well.
5: What is innovative within Quinterra?
Quinterra is innovative because we seek to break new ground by incorporating unique dynamic systems into a strategy game. While we are certainly inspired by other strategy games, we strive to set ourselves apart with tile destruction, drafting, and multi-faceted combat. These systems enable the player to have board layout control and enact synergistic combos in combat.
6: Who does your game appeal to?
Quinterra is made for strategy gamers who want a turn-based experience that has meaningful depth and player choice at its core.
7: Will Quinterra appeal to both hardcore and novice strategy gamers?
Quinterra has a definite learning curve. Players must first learn to master the drafting mechanic and how to traverse through tile elements appropriately. Upon learning the ins and outs of drafting, the possibilities are limitless with setting up synergies to help you win battles.
The tutorial is extremely thorough.
8: How easy/ difficult / intuitive is the game to get playing?
Quinterra starts you off with a small loadout and will gradually ramp you up along an expedition. You start out with a tutorial that covers all of the essential features of Quinterra. Upon tutorial completion you will set off on your first expedition as the Lycans where you will gather units, equipment, and gold to further build your army as you progress. The further along an expedition progresses the more options and choices are enabled for the player with more army assets to juggle.
9: For the average gamer, how many hours of play do you feel it offers?
Quinterra’s early access launch has a target of providing at least 25 hours of content. 4 playable species, over 100 obtainable units, 200 equipment, and procedurally generated expedition layouts present multiple possibilities from one expedition to the next.
10: How long has development for the game been?
Development of Quinterra began in February 2019.
Contributors: Channing Burell, Christopher Allen, Justin Dickerman-Stewart, Bradley Hill, Cameron Craig, Daniel Morales, Ed Mattinian, Joshua Morris
I wish Channing and all the team at Sidereal Studio great success with their impressive entry into the strategy games arena. From the meticulous sound design to its unified art direction, deep storytelling, and flow of gameplay, I want to see more fully-realized content like this exist in our world.
About Sidereal Studio
Sidereal Studio was founded in February 2019 by Channing Burell, Christopher Allen, and Weekend Pandas LLC with a target in mind of creating games that provide unique and compelling experiences for gamers. At Sidereal Studio we take an approach to game development that utilizes rapid interactive prototyping to ensure we end up with the best possible experience for our players through original mechanics and designs. We are a group of developers with over 25 years of experience who specialize in development with the Unreal Engine.