Worldless, gorgeous Metroidvania with turn-based combat, is out now
Not called "wordless", despite you reading it that way just now
I watched a few hours of Worldless being played last night and didn't really register that it was turn-based. That's because it's a Metroidvania platformer and, when it is time for back-and-forth combat, you're not choosing attacks from a menu. Instead you're stringing together combos in real-time, then when your alotted attack time is over, you're parrying enemy assaults with rhythmic flair.
So, turn-based, yes, but with a twist. It's also out today.
In Worldless you play as some sort of cosmic entity, or possibly a collection of apostrophes and commas, exploring a beautiful, layered world rendered in shade of single colours. In its jumping and air-dashing, it's reminiscent of Gris or Ori. You then encounter other cosmic entities who can be fought in those turn-based fights. Lose the fight and there's no consequence, you can instantly try again; but win the fight and you absorb the enemy, in some sense, expanding your constellation of skills, in some sense.
"In some sense" because Worldless is mysterious. It's not immediately clear what you are or what you're doing or whether it's cool that you're absorbing these possibly benign beings. It looks spectacular, though, so you'll keep doing it anyway.
Katharine had a play of Worldless's demo earlier this year and was likewise impressed.
It's the turn-based battles that are arguably the main event in Worldless' demo. At the start of your turn, you'll have a set amount of time to unleash whatever combo of attacks you see fit before it's time to defend. In the demo, you have two melee options (a sword and a bow) and two magic spells (ice and lightning) at your disposal, but you'll need to weigh up the time it takes to execute each one and whether there are any enemy weaknesses you can exploit to make the most of your turn's allotted time. Some enemies might bring out a front-facing shield, for example, that you could theoretically bash away with your sword after a couple of hits, but you could also bypass it completely with the slower wind-up of your ice attack.
If that sounds like your idea of a good time, as it does mine, Worldless is on Steam now and will set you back £14.38/€18/$18. That demo is still available, too.