Fire Emblem Engage's difficulty cracked my brain open like an egg

techradar.com:

My army advances through an over-the-top anime castle. In the shadow of its looming sandstone walls, the forces of good make their stand against the machinations of the evil Fell Dragon. Our mission is simple: defend the gate. I’ve got permadeath enabled, so every move counts in this turn-based tactical RPG. I agonize over every decision, trying to predict my enemies’ movements. My pegasus rider stays clear of enemy archers, lest she is shot down. Vander, my tough-as-nails Great Knight, holds the vanguard while my archers and mages take refuge behind a line of unbending steel. 

Despite my solid formation, the enemy is slick and maneuvers to flank me. I adapt as best I can, completely engrossed in Fire Emblem: Engage’s elegant combat systems. My slow, steady and strategic approach pays off as we finally lay the enemy leader low, completing the mission. At this point, however, I realize something’s not quite right. I look up from my Nintendo Switch. It’s 1 am. 

No Fire Emblem has been this effective at triggering my voracious “one more turn” hunger since Fire Emblem 7, the first title of the series to grace Western shores back in 2003. In those days, gorgeous sprites did battle on 2D plains, and permadeath was compulsory. In almost every aspect, Engage is a powerful and conscious effort to evoke the nail-biting tactical demands of “classic” Fire Emblem. 

It stands contrary to the gentler approach of its predecessor: Fire Emblem Three Houses, which paired the series’ turn-based combat with a relaxed anime-academy simulation experience. Fire Emblem Engage returns to the grit and ruthlessness at the heart of the tactical series.

Features old and new help to reinforce Fire Emblem’s challenging turn-based battles. The weapon