Reptilian Rising

Reptilian Rising is a deep tactics experience that’s exciting on a turn-to-turn basis but struggles with its structural approach.

For those looking for a silly, casual game that can handle the overly campy vibes, Reptilian Rising might scratch the tabletop nostalgia itch. For others, the strange story and sometimes repetitive gameplay might not be a smash hit.

Saving the world from aggressive invaders requires the recruitment of personalities from different periods of our history. And yet, that's not enough. The ideas and mechanics are quite good, but some of the components and poor technical condition hurt the game.

Undeniably unique, using figures from history as units in your fights against your scaly adversaries, it suffers from quite a bit of jank and glacial pacing

Reptilian Rising proves that a game doesn’t need to reinvent a genre to stand out. With a simple idea carried forward consistently, it delivers an experience that is light, ironic, and surprisingly solid. Not everything works perfectly, but when it embraces exactly what it is it hits the mark.

If you’re okay with a bit of jank, there’s a lot to love here. The gameplay is thoughtful and cohesive, and the variety of heroes pulled from different eras really does carry the game far. Putting the smack down on lizards with the likes of Spartacus, Maid Marion, a female version of Blade and several other heroes from different timelines is an entertaining setting for a tactics game that is a joy to puzzle out.

Fun retro-infused roguelite turn-based strategy RPG through the ages