Preview: The Lamplighters League's Pulp Backdrop Blends Beautifully With Its Fantastic Tactical Combat
From its first moments, The Lamplighters League and the Tower At the End of the World hits you over the head with style. With its ripping saxophone-led soundtrack and misfit cast of characters, the upcoming tactical strategy game from the team t Harebrained Schemes makes a strong first impression.
Back at GDC 2023, I had the chance to watch the developers play some of the pulp adventure game, and I came away pretty impressed. I love tactical, turn-based combat games myself — games like XCOM and The Banner Saga series are, well, banner games in my mind. The Lamplighters League takes what's great about those games, as well as the studio's own lessons from the wildly popular Shadowrun series, and creates a satisfying mix of stealth and combat.
After going hands on with the first tutorial mission, I can honestly say I'm pretty hooked on what Hairbrained Schemes is laying down here. Taking control of two agents, Ingrid and the sneaky Lateef, I was set on the path of rendezvousing with a courier carrying a package for the mysterious L.
However, in true pulp adventure fashion, it's not that simple as the courier was met with stabby end, leaving our two agents needing to recover the package from a mysterious group of gas-masked soldiers. What sets The Lamplighters League apart from other tactical combat games in the genre (other than it's pulpy, long name) is the blend of real time and turn-based action. Each encounter begins with an Infiltration mode where you can scout out the terrain, uncover secrets and plan your route to the eventual battle to come.
It's also where so much of the character building between Ingrid, Lateef and eventually the lock-picking Eddie happens as the group talks about their motivations, the situation
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