It’s an Xbox treat

Reward programs like PlayStation Plus and Games With Gold are great because they usually get you access to decent games on a monthly basis. But often, the titles are either too old or nothing spectacular. June however was great for Xbox Owners because they got free access to Massive Chalice, a turn-based strategy RPG hybrid that only just launched for Xbox One and PC.

A little background first, you are an immortal ruler who must guide a kingdom and prevent it falling into ruin at the hands of a demonic force, The Cadence. You are guided by a mysterious Massive Chalice which will awaken to save the kingdom in about 300 years, but until then you must help the noble houses of the realm defend their lands.

The game has two parts. Turn-based combat and upgrades that can be compared directly to XCOM Enemy Unknown along with a complex personality and marital system used to merge and continue bloodlines.

The combat has three basic classes; Melee, ranged and a sort of mage/alchemist who can do a bit of both. Combat will see you move across vast maps looking to catch enemies off guard while ensuring no one in your five-man party gets caught. Even though combat is pretty easy to get into, it takes a while to learn how most enemies will react and to figure out what combination of sub classes and abilities work best for you.

As for the world, sometimes decades pass without any significant activity but a lot of events will completely throw you off your game. Heroes will age and die, uprisings might call for punishments for heroes that step out of line leading to further consequences and of course the age old system of procreation. You will also need to marry off your heroes to one another to ensure their bloodlines continue, but at the same time you must take into consideration their personalities, which will affect what offsprings they will likely produce, they can range from courageous heroes to scared, asthmatic nitwits.

Combinations are endless, but more often than not you will end up with an army of inbred champions ready to give their lives for their house? It’s a fun light-hearted strategy game that will provide endless hours of fun and is definitely a treat for XCOM fans.