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Tapestry
Time to start weaving
Grand strategy games are typically slow, deliberate affairs that demand patience, a genre that often feels more suited to solo play. But what about a game that takes those same mechanics and adds multiplayer into the mix? That gives you Tapestry, a turn-based strategy title where you compete against three other factions, all presented in a painted art style with delightfully jerky character animations.
Similar to many war-focused strategy games, you command an army with ambitions of total domination. In this title, there are four factions to pick from: a rebel group skilled in traps and ranged combat, an empire composed of swift, powerful warriors from across the sea, an undead horde, or a tactical set of knights armed with catapults and cavalry.
At the beginning of a round, you have sets of banners that must be placed at designated points in the sequence of events. These banners allow you to carry out specific actions, but once placed, those moves are locked in from the start. This is a clever solution to the problem of players taking too long to decide their next move. Combat is then resolved through dice rolls, with each faction having its own unique set of dice, complete with strengths and weaknesses.
You can influence these rolls through items and other means, so it’s not purely based on luck, and your pre-match planning also plays a significant role. You can also chat with your opponents, enabling you to form alliances or attempt to deceive your enemies. These conversations are private and one-on-one, but everyone else can see when you’re talking, making you question who you can trust.
Perhaps my favorite feature is the game’s cinematic mode. This is more of a “check in on your troops” kind of experience, where you essentially zoom into the battlefield to see what your units are doing. The goal is to make you more attached to them before some inevitably meet their end. For me personally, I just appreciate how peaceful it feels amid the implied chaos of war. Tapestry has a very tactile aesthetic, as though the individual soldiers were hand-painted.
At the conclusion of a match, the game’s title comes into play, as every move you made is woven into a charming little tapestry documenting how that particular game unfolded. It’s delightful! And as you read all of this, Tapestry is currently running a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, so you can help bring it to life if it catches your interest. If not, you can always add it to your wishlist on Steam in the meantime.