Turn-based tactics games have taken players everywhere from grimdark trenches to candy-colored fantasy kingdoms over the years, but Land of Ruins is building its world around a fog that actively works against you. Developed by anWoWo, the upcoming hex-grid strategy RPG has officially appeared on Steam ahead of its planned 2026 release, combining classic tactical combat with roguelike progression and an open world that punishes carelessness as much as it rewards curiosity.
Rather than simply recreating a familiar tactics formula, Land of Ruins builds around faction synergies, character recruitment, and a genuinely large equipment and skill pool, giving players real room to shape a squad that plays nothing like the “default” version of the same roster.
If the concept has caught your attention, you won’t have to wait until launch to see how it plays. A playtest is already open on Steam for anyone willing to request access.
More Than Just Recruiting a Roster
The basics will feel familiar to anyone who’s played a tactics RPG before. You’re still recruiting heroes and building a squad to fight with, but Land of Ruins leans heavily on how those heroes interact with each other, rather than treating any single recruit as a straightforward power upgrade.
With 24 planned characters, each carrying their own talents, skills, and faction alignment, the real work comes from figuring out which combinations actually make each other stronger. Stack the right factions together and bonuses start compounding on top of each other, while class accessories add further faction effects on top of that. Between 90 pieces of equipment and 560 talents and skills feeding into the system, there’s a genuinely large amount of room for a squad to end up looking nothing like the one you started building.
Terrain, Positioning, and a Fog That Fights Back
Like many tactics games in the genre, Land of Ruins asks players to think carefully about more than just raw stats.
Combat runs on granular systems tactics fans tend to obsess over, Action Points, Speed, Armor, Counterattacks, Evasion, and Coordinated Attacks, all factoring into how a fight actually plays out across the hex grid. Positioning carries real weight, and since enemies, resources, and quests are randomly distributed each run, no two maps ever unfold quite the same way.
The fog mechanic adds a sharper edge to that formula. Lighting a fire is the only way to see anything worth seeing, but doing so, or engaging an enemy nearby, risks drawing something far more dangerous straight toward your position. Every step becomes a small negotiation between what you need to find and how much attention you’re willing to risk.
Progress That Survives Even a Failed Run
Clearing a map is only part of the challenge. Whether a run ends in victory or defeat, every attempt earns Knowledge Scrolls, a currency that unlocks permanent upgrades and abilities carried forward into whatever run comes next.
A first playthrough is expected to run around 15 hours, but that’s clearly meant as a starting point rather than the full experience. Over time, those accumulated upgrades stack together, letting later attempts push further than the squad you originally set out with ever could.
One to Watch for Tactics Fans
Land of Ruins doesn’t try to reinvent the tactics RPG entirely. Instead, it uses familiar hex-grid fundamentals as the foundation for a roguelike where every run offers different heroes, different equipment, and different reasons to keep pushing back into the fog.
That combination of recognizable mechanics and steadily deepening squad-building could make it an appealing choice for players who enjoy strategy games that reward careful planning without becoming overwhelming.
The game is currently targeting a 2026 release on Steam. In the meantime, players can wishlist the game or request playtest access to get an early look at how its take on hex-grid tactics is shaping up.resources, and quests are all randomly distributed each run, no two maps ever unfold the same way twice.
The fog mechanic is where the tension really lives, though. You need firelight to see anything worth seeing, but lighting things up, or fighting nearby, risks dragging something far more dangerous straight toward your position. Every step becomes a negotiation between what you need to find and how much attention you’re willing to risk drawing.
Even a Failed Run Leaves You Stronger for the Next One
A first playthrough is expected to take around 15 hours, but that’s clearly just the starting point rather than the full picture. Win or lose, every run earns Knowledge Scrolls, a currency that unlocks permanent upgrades and abilities carried forward into whatever attempt comes next.
That safety net takes real weight off every loss, since a squad wiped out by the dark overlords still leaves something behind to build on. Combine that with the sheer number of hero and equipment combinations on offer, and there’s a genuine pull to keep marching back into the fog even after a run falls apart completely.
There’s still no exact date beyond that 2026 window, but between an open playtest and a system list this deep already locked in, Land of Ruins is shaping up to be one of the more ambitious hex-grid strategy RPGs on the horizon. Faction-driven squads, a fog mechanic that earns its keep, and progression that rewards you no matter how a run ends, that’s a strong foundation for anyone who misses obsessing over a good tactics build. Worth requesting playtest access for.