Stolen Realm

Stolen Realm is a simultaneous turn-based tactical dungeon crawling looter with action RPG elements, developed and published by Burst2Flame Entertainment. After a period in Early Access, the game officially launched on March 8, 2024. It successfully blends the deep customization and loot grind of an ARPG with the strategic, grid-based combat of classic tactics games, all presented in a distinctive high-fantasy, low-poly aesthetic.

Innovative Simultaneous Combat

The most defining feature of Stolen Realm is its simultaneous turn-based combat system. Unlike traditional tactical RPGs where players wait for the opponent to finish their full turn, in Stolen Realm:

• Action at Once: All heroes and all enemies take their actions (movements and attacks) at the same time.

• Fast Paced: This design minimizes downtime, transforming what can often be a slow, methodical pace into a faster, more dynamic experience that maintains deep tactical depth.

• Hex-Grid Strategy: Battles take place on hex-based battlefields, where positioning is critical due to environmental hazards like exploding barrels, movable crates, and battle shrines that grant special effects.

The game supports both solo play (where the player controls up to six heroes) and online co-op for up to six players, with enemy encounters scaling automatically based on the number of heroes involved.

Deep, Classless Customization

Stolen Realm offers a highly flexible and open approach to character building, reminiscent of classic tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons:

• Classless System: While the game features starting archetypes (like Warrior, Mage, or Monk), there are no rigid class restrictions. Players are free to draw skills from a pool of over 300 abilities across 10 distinct skill trees. This allows for the creation of unique, multi-class champions, such as a "spell-slinging assassin" or a "shadow-infused knight."

• Loot and Builds: Character power is heavily influenced by loot. Players can find and customize over 700 unique items, many of which possess mythic properties that fundamentally change gameplay. For example, wielding "Abbadon the Soul Crusher" may allow you to raise fallen enemies as skeletal allies.

• D&D-like Events: Character progression is further influenced by random D&D-like events encountered during dungeon crawls. These events involve attribute-based dice rolls that can have permanent positive or negative effects on the character's stats or abilities.

Procedural Adventures

The game focuses purely on the "good stuff" of RPGs—the fighting, the building, and the loot—by eschewing traditional filler content.

• Procedural Maps: Each expedition is a procedurally generated adventure. Between battles on the world map, players choose their path by selecting nodes that lead to story events, shops, resource gathering areas, or treasure rooms, maintaining a high level of replayability.

• Enemy Modifications: To ensure variety, enemies can spawn with unique Enemy Modifications, making standard creatures behave differently in every encounter.

Stolen Realm caters to players who enjoy crafting overpowered builds and executing complex tactical maneuvers without the typical waiting time associated with turn-based strategy.