In Tabletop Gods, an RTS developed by Ghost Fish Games and published by Other Ocean Group, you play the role of a god vying for power. The game is currently in early access on Steam, however, with VR support and cross-platform capability it will surely gain a large player base.
A War in the Heavens
In a Tabletop Gods match, you have three rounds to achieve your goal of destroying more of your opponent’s Strongholds than they destroy of yours. Tabletop Gods features single-player Practice and Trials modes, and multi-player Head-To-Head mode. Each match lasts a total of fifteen minutes at most.
In each match, you’ll take command of the Human or Undead faction. You can also deploy a selection of mercenary troops who will fight for either faction. At the time of this article, there were only two factions and two maps available. The developer has stated they intend to add additional maps, spells, troop types and factions as they continue to work on the game.
At the start of each match, you’ll have a short amount of time to swap out spells and troops, set traps and deploy weapon towers. During the three minute round, you’ll use your slowly replenishing Mana to deploy troops onto the tabletop battlefield to attack your enemy’s Strongholds or to defend your own. You’ll also cast powerful spells to thwart your enemy’s advances or to bolster your own attacks.
When you are able to destroy your enemy’s Strongholds you gain new territory into which you’ll be able to deploy your forces and push the battle towards your opponent.
The single-player mode offers a great opportunity to learn the mechanics and develop strategies which you can use against live opponents. I would highly recommend starting here and becoming comfortable with the game before progressing into multiplayer matches unless you are already familiar with this style of game. Because the game is currently in early access mode I did find the player pool to be quite small.
Developer support for the game is outstanding, with a discord available to access and extremely responsive to feedback. It is clear that they are devoted to staying in contact with the player base and supporting the game.
The graphics in the game are designed to be supported in VR and as such are not extremely complex or intricate, with a fairly low poly count in the game. You can play on desktop or with an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive VR headset. The developers are planning to also release Tabletop Gods for use with Playstation VR which will support cross-platform play.
The music and narration in the game add an enjoyable backdrop, topping off what is overall a good gaming experience.
Conclusion
With the solid gameplay and mechanics in place, and the solid support of the developer to continue supporting and growing the game, I believe that Tabletop Gods has a bright future ahead of it. At the time of this writing, there were no negative reviews from the Steam community. The one and only gripe I could have with this game was a slight stutter when using a VR headset, which did not detract from my experience whatsoever. Overall I would rate Tabletop Gods a four out of five.
