The Banished Vault, an upcoming strategy and space exploration indie from developer Lunar Division and publisher Bithell Games, will launch on July 25th, 2023, according to a new tweet posted today. This announcement was accompanied by the first in a series of featurettes, which will explain the gameplay mechanics in detail.
The Banished Vault will be available on PC via Steam, where you can wishlist the game now. There is currently no word on plans for a console port. You can watch today’s “Introduction” featurette on the Bithell Games YouTube channel, featuring a brief overview and designer narration:
The Banished Vault’s art design is elegant, first and foremost. It is also imaginative and downright gorgeous, unusually polished for an indie game. There are some gothic elements and steampunk, with the grim attitude of Alien, where space travel is equally bleak and dangerous.
In addition to this approach, the artistry and mechanics also deliberately invoke a tabletop experience, right down to dice rolling tests. The Banished Vault feels like one of a very few games that would fully succeed in either medium, justifying its visuals and gameplay both ways.
Fans of science fiction would be enthralled by the theme alone, where players must survive the harsh environment of space by managing the ship and constructing outposts. The plot also involves a catastrophic force called The Gloom, which might bring Ad Astra to mind, and creates the urgency of a cat and mouse chase.
There are only a few twists in the gameplay loop itself, but it is layered and thematic. The style and board game presentation are also immediately compelling, and those touches of realism go a long way.
You can read more about The Banished Vault, Lunar Division, and other upcoming strategy games by checking out the rest of our news section.
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