A Legionary's Life and games like it

The WhatsNext verdict

For Players who enjoy historically grounded turn-based combat, RPG choices, and high-stakes repeatable runs.: Lead a Roman soldier through the Second Punic War, balancing tactical fights and skill checks as you try to rise through the ranks—or simply survive. Tradeoff: Permadeath can erase a run’s progress, and success depends on managing combat variables and character skills.

What it does best

role-playing (rpg)
turn-based strategy (tbs)
historical
warfare

The setup

What you are walking into

A Legionary's Life lets you play as a Roman soldier during the years of the Second Punic War and beyond. Rise up through the ranks and win prestigious awards or just focus on making it home in one piece; it's up to you. This is a single-player game with RPG elements, extensive usage of attribute and skill checks, a turn-based combat system involving many variables (including morale, reach, confined space and high ground) and a touch of roguelike features. Among them, permadeath. If you are unfamiliar with the term, it means you'll have to start over if your character dies; but don't worry: the game is designed to be replayable and you'll see only a fraction of it in each run. Also, you'll be able to spend points on your next legionary based on how well your most successful characters performed.