It’s not often that I open an article by waxing lyrical about a game’s presentation and aesthetic, but Ex Sanguis, the new tactics game from Lightbulb Crew, is a slick-looking tactics game from a studio with a penchant for striking visuals. The studio’s follow-up to Othercide represents the elevation of an already polished craft, and overall the game makes a strong first impression.
It’s also an elegantly designed tactical roguelite, and while it is in Early Access, the core already appears to be quite polished. From the cutscenes to the in-game level design and character animations, this is the work of a studio that clearly knows what it is doing. So, it looks good; now let’s dig into how it works…
What is Ex Sanguis?
It’s also not often that a studio goes with Latin for a video game title, but in this instance, it’s a clever play on words that means “bloodless”, which is very apt in a game about a world starved of blood and that is trapped in societal stasis. It’s your job to bleed your enemies into the world around you, and restore the memories of a lost civilisation.
In terms of gameplay, Ex Sanguis is an XCOM-like, with its grid-based environments and turn-based combat. There are, however, a number of key differences, differences which I think make this one to watch.
I think one of the most interesting things about Ex Sanguis is how it manages turn-based combat. The action is mapped out on a timeline at the top of the screen, and if you use too many action points, you push your next turn further down the timeline. This creates an interesting tension, but I think it also forces you to think differently about your tools and move away from old tactical routines.
Bloody turn-based tactics
It has been a year since I interviewed the Ex Sanguis devs, and now that I’ve finally had a chance to play it for myself, I can really appreciate what they’re trying to do with the game, and why its points of difference stop it from being just another XCOM clone.
The timeline is a big part of the game’s identity, as are the striking visuals, but I was also impressed by the complexity of the different attacks that are available to your main playable characters. There’s a lot to take in at times, but I did find the information I needed was readily available if I looked for it.
At times, your attacks feed into the timeline, too, but it’s more than a proxy for “overwatch”, a turn-based tactics staple these days where you pop out of cover during your opponent’s turn to attack. Ex Sanguis lets you do this and then some, planning your next steps to a pleasing extent and even setting traps via overlapping attacks.
After the combat is over, there are unlocks to work through, and there’s a campaign map to give your overall mission some structure. What’s more, to hold it all together, the developers have delivered a polished user interface, and even the menus are interesting – for example, on the mission screen, more difficult levels are placed further from your position.
I need to play further to see more of the most powerful abilities in action, but based on my first look at the game, Ex Sanguis has arrived in Early Access in really good shape.
Ex Sanguis Roadmap
While Ex Sanguis has launched with a decent amount of content and a roadmap that takes us through the rest of this year and into 2027, there is going to be a lot to add and even more to balance.
At launch, players will find two biomes – The Desert and The City – one main boss and two mini-bosses. There appear to be three Stillae variants to utilise in combat, with more than a dozen traits to choose from, and even more abilities to use in battle.
Lightbulb Crew made a wise decision in holding the game back a bit, I think, as this has given the team time to apply polish, ready for its Early Access launch. With a solid base now in place, and with new enemies, bosses, biomes, and more due in the next few months, Ex Sanguis looks set to grow into something bloody good indeed!
Ex Sanguis is out now in Steam Early Access on PC (Win). I played the game via access kindly shared by the game’s publisher, Firesquid.
