Harebrained Schemes launch a charm offensive from the off with its turn-based tactical adventure, The Lamplighters League. Does it have more than good looks to offer though? GameWatcher previews the game to see if it can be a rogues gallery to be proud of.

From the moment The Lamplighters League begins, it showcases its unique style. The game’s cartoonish 1930s adventure serial aesthetic exudes a captivating flair, and the creative twist on this classic concept is visually engaging.

In this alternate 1930s pulp adventure, the world’s noble and heroic figures have vanished, leaving a motley crew of scoundrels, rogues, and misfits to combat the forces of The Banished Court. This familiar narrative of villains thrust into heroic roles has produced many compelling stories in various media, such as Rio Bravo, Assault on Precinct 13, and the more contemporary example, The Suicide Squad.

The introductory cutscene of The Lamplighters League boasts impressive quality. Although not as detailed, the art direction in the game’s cutscenes exhibits a touch of Pixar-like flair. This charm also extends into the isometric game environments, ensuring a visually appealing consistency with respect to the overall theme.

Each character’s skills can be used to keep things quiet

Playing The Lamplighters League is intriguing. While many isometric squad-based strategy games draw comparisons to XCOM, this title delves deeper into the genre. Much like Firaxis’ utilization of B-movie nostalgia to drive the drama of alien invasions, Harebrained Schemes employs the charm of 1930s pulp adventures to propel a familiar story reminiscent of Indiana Jones’ thrilling escapades.

The distinctive feature of The Lamplighters League is its blend of turn-based and real-time gameplay. While it somewhat resembles the approach taken in the Wasteland series, Harebrained Schemes’ game maintains a more focused scope. Players can use the D-pad or WASD keys to manually direct agents in real time, allowing for precise control over their movements.

The opening tutorial mission sees hardy bruiser and femme fatale Ingrid teaming with fleet-footed thief Lateef to infiltrate a building inhabited by the infamous Banished Court.

Each character’s skillset is emphasized, showcasing the game’s potential for team balancing. Lateef can stealthily enter enemies’ areas of perception without arousing suspicion, allowing for close-quarters takedowns. In contrast, Ingrid can charge in, overpowering and incapacitating two foes simultaneously with sheer brute force. Every character possesses a unique skillset, and your task is to determine which abilities are best suited for the mission at hand.

Naturally, avoiding enemies isn’t always possible, and that’s when combat comes into play, transitioning into turn-based battles. This aspect will feel familiar to fans of games like XCOM, Jagged Alliance, and Phoenix Point. Players can utilize overwatch, a range of abilities governed by action points, and occasionally face the frustration of missing seemingly easy shots. What stands out here is the squad happens to be a bunch of utter gits, and they don’t mind fighting dirty to gain an advantage. It adds some spice to combat, and directly feeds into the personalities of the characters you get to choose from.

You move freely until combat kicks in. Then it’s turn-based

Background stories are great for context, but leave a little clear ground in gameplay to allow the player to express the minutiae of those personalities. That is a joy to behold. It’s probably the best way to evoke the inspiration of The Lamplighters League. Giving your agency weight doesn’t contradict the way the characters have been written. It just enhances it as long as you’re able to keep it all in the context of the pulp 30s adventures The Lamplighters League resides in.

The characters are also pretty likable outside your actions. They’re the idealized version of antiheroes and perfectly in keeping with the pulp stylings Harebrained Schemes utilizes.

It can’t all be sunshine and rainbows of course. So while I was impressed with The Lamplighters League as a strategy game, the natural comparisons to sub-genre mates bring critique to the table. I’ve lost count of the games trying to nail this gameplay style that ends up fumbling at the finish line in some way. There’s a bit of a fumble here in how straightforward a lot of it feels despite extra mechanical layers. Nuance, I suppose, is the problem. A lack of it means that a wider range of styles and options doesn’t necessarily mean a deeper, more complex experience. Add in the need for a wider context to how the game might evolve and there are a lot of unknowns still out there.

Now that could absolutely change as the full game progresses, but early doors, that’s the hole in the armor of The Lamplighters League. Hopefully, that early charm keeps us invested until the point things properly click. I think this is one of the better examples of the strategy genre in recent times, but it’s definitely still in the balance at this stage.

Most Anticipated Moment: taking a squad of goons out quietly by utilizing your agents’ particular skills.