These Doomed Isles is an exceedingly moreish fusion of Civilization-style board game strategy, and roguish deck-building, and it has been in Early Access since last year.
During that time players have had a chance to build an island empire under the guidance of the three gods that launched with the game: Cernunnos, Plutus, and Acan.
Now, developer Triplevision Games is getting ready to unleash a fourth playable character into the mix, a Japanese god called Inari – and Rogueliker was given an exclusive first look.
My Early Access impressions can be found here, wherein I cover the broader game after playing with Cernunnos and then Inari. Before that, however, you can scroll down for a more distilled overview of the new god and what she brings to the game.
Who is Inari and what does she bring to the table?
Inari is the fourth god in These Doomed Isles and part of the first major content update. She joins the three existing gods, but shakes things up with a bespoke deck that introduces new magic powers and a range of units.
You’ll need to utilise the whole deck if you’re going to survive the three new bosses that are out to get you: Haradashi, Shuten-dōji, and Kuchisake-onna (pictured below, but not to scale). Inari brings new gameplay mechanics to the fore, including a deadly plague and a variety of thematic military units that relate to Japan’s late Sengoku period.
In keeping with her traditional role in Japanese culture, where Inari is best-known as the god of rice cultivation and prosperity, this new playable god is all about building an economy around rice, a resource that can be utilised in a number of ways as the game progresses.
Inari brings roughly 70 new cards to the game, which represents a huge injection of content. Included in that number are Nengu cards, which get more expensive the more you play them, and Dojo Training cards to increase the strength of your samurai units – because of course you get to play around with samurai!
Inari needs a deft touch and her more nuanced mechanics require a tactical rethink. The expectation is that by the time players have unlocked her, they will have already mastered the basics. Doing so will help you make use of the many unique buildings that have joined the game, with huge castles, tea rooms, theatres, and of course dojos.
When does Inari join These Doomed Isles?
And so we get the announcement, where we can reveal that Inari is joining the pantheon of gods in These Doomed Isles on April 4th, as part of a huge free content update.
These Doomed Isles is available on PC Steam via Early Access. If you’d like to know more about this ambitious fusion of survival city-building and turn-based strategy, head over to Steam or check out my hands-on impressions. Before you do either of those things: check out the new trailer below!
