Gideon’s Perspective
Back in 2022, I reviewed a game called Telepath Tactics: Liberated. It was an excellent tactics RPG in the vein of Fire Emblem. I loved the combat to such an extent that I was able to enjoy the fact that it was a linear game, rather than a procedural sandbox in the vein of X-COM or Battle Brothers, which I prefer. Yet, I had deeply wished to have that combat system in such a setting anyway.
Together in Battle is almost exactly that. It’s set in the same world as Telepath Tactics with the same combat system, but it’s much less on rails. You engage in numerous procedural arena battles with a roster of ever-changing characters, alongside scripted story elements and random events.
You can find a video version of this review on YouTube!
The characters you recruit aren’t just stat blocks. They have varying personalities and quirks that affect their morale and how they interact with each other at camp. It feels similar to something like Wildermyth, where at least a part of the story is created while you play. You can even create a bunch of characters beforehand and have them show up organically to be recruited during a playthrough. I really enjoyed that.
| Gideon’s Bias | Together in Battle Information |
|---|---|
| Review Copy Used: Yes | Publisher: Sinister Design |
| Hours Played: 30+ | Type: Full Game |
| Reviewed On: PC | Platforms: PC |
| Fan of Genre: Yes | Genre: Turn-Based Tactical RPG |
| Mode Played: Challenging | Price: $19.99 |
Kinetic Combat
The combat in Together in Battle is very focused on positioning and using the environment to your advantage. That can mean several things, from standing in tall grass for a defensive bonus, taking the high ground, or simply shoving enemies into water. It could also mean simply covering your flanks. Attacks from the side or behind deal extra damage, so you always have to keep your flanks in mind.
There are several difficulties to choose from, with detailed explanations of what they do. Furthermore, there is a completely custom difficulty where you can dig down and modify minute aspects of the difficulty, which is brilliant. I mostly played on the middling difficulty, challenging, and in roguelike mode which prevented me from save scumming.
I gotta say, that one of the most impressive aspects of Together in Battle is the AI. While some scripted battles attempt to overwhelm you, most arena battles place the enemy team on even ground with you. Both teams have the same number of combatants, and the enemy uses the same classes you have access to.
Together in Battle challenges you not with handicaps in the AI’s favor, but with actual tactics. The enemy teams will capitalize on every advantage possible. They target your soft-skinned psy casters in your back line. They will flank you, throw you in water, and otherwise use every tactic available to you, which I found very impressive.
There is a bunch of class variety too, from swordsmen and spearmen to characters that can throw people around with telekinesis. Each class has a niche, and you can outfit your teams in a huge variety of compositions.
That said, no AI can truly match a player, so there are a few extra things that you have to worry about. Two that I like, and one that I don’t. Firstly, there are chests on the battlefield, and if you destroy them, you can pick up the loot. Free loot is extremely useful, and the allure of it can affect your tactics.
Secondly, it’s not always enough to simply win a fight. Characters heal slowly, and if you don’t have enough solid fighters warming the bench, you may be forced to use wounded characters in your next fight. On the difficulty I played on, a character reduced to zero HP could also die. So it wasn’t just about winning but winning as safely as possible. The AI doesn’t have to worry about future battles; you do.
Finally, there is a soft time limit on arena matches. If you take too long, you start hemorrhaging prize money. This aspect I didn’t like that much, simply because it hamstrung a lot of tactics that were great in Telepath Tactics, such as using chokepoints. Heck, I could rarely find a use for the Engineer Class in Together in Battle, simply because stalling with blockades seemed far less effective due to the time constraints.
Overall, however, the stellar combat system from Telepath Tactics continues to shine in Together in Battle.
Gladiatorial Management
As I mentioned before, you have to try to keep your gladiator’s HP as high as possible because recovery times can be lengthy, and infirmary visits cost money. However, you also have to manage your time and income. Gladiators have wages, and having a large roster means you can participate in more battles at full strength, but every two weeks, you have to pay up.
Furthermore, you need to outfit your characters individually with weapons, armor, and items. Good gear gives you a huge edge in battle, but can become very costly, especially since weapons break over time. I love having that type of granular control.
Each day, you have two timeslots, and some actions, such as fighting in the arena, use both. Other actions, such as visiting the shop or recruiting characters, only use one. There is a careful balance at play between fighting in the arena, which gives you the money you need to pay your gladiator’s wages, and doing things such as shopping, training, and going to the infirmary.
There are also side jobs you can do, but some of them also present danger. Sending out your characters to work as guards and explorers can result in combat. However, you also eventually gain the ability to collect cards and take part in a card game mini-game called Psy Clash, so Gwent lovers rejoice. It’s a fun and safe way to try to earn some extra money.
Choosing when to let your characters rest and when to put them to work, be it in the arena or otherwise, is a crucial part of the strategy. Especially because there are a handful of random battles that can happen and catch you off guard, it’s a lot of fun to manage.
Plot Hooks
There are two sides to the story in Together in Battle. The first of which is that there is one. There is a main plot, and while it has some deviations, you are on that ride one way or another. The writing is well done, I just don’t personally care, I don’t play these types of games for a scripted story.
However, the second side is that of your characters. They interact with each other, form friendships, and mourn each other if someone dies. Some of their personality quirks lead to certain camp actions being more or less effective. One character might actually enjoy cleaning the camp, while others might teach each other. A blacksmith could repair your gear organically. It all depends on their moods, personalities, and wellness, an injured character is more likely to just sleep.
It’s that kind of organic storytelling that I appreciate, and it’s the kind that makes me care about the characters and feel the pain of loss if one dies. Some of the dialogue gets a bit repetitive, but it honestly does a pretty brilliant job of taking completely unscripted characters and breathing life into them.
My biggest issue with the plot elements, however, is somewhat self-inflicted. I chose to play Roguelike mode, which meant I often got myself into an unwinnable situation and had to start over. That’s fine. But it is over multiple playthroughs that the scripted combats, as few as they are, can become grating, even the random events. For example, you never know when your camp might become attacked by bandits, but it will be the same exact battle anytime it does happen.
In the end, Together in Battle does exactly what I hoped for in this type of game. It makes me care about the characters as more than a stat sheet and gives me an organic way of generating a story that is unique to my playthrough.
Like Telepath Tactics before it, Together in Battle also features a custom campaign system where you can create your own. It’s not something I’ll ever have time for, but as I poked around, I found that it is extremely deep and detailed. You could definitely make your own story-driven campaign within Together In Battle, and that’s pretty cool.
Verdict
Together in Battle is a great game that builds on the solid foundation set by its predecessor, Telepath Tactics. The combat is a fantastic take on the tactics genre that’s both simple to understand and difficult to master. Managing your wages and gladiatorial team is a strong part of the strategy that fits well with the combat, as you’re incentivized not only to win but to win well in order to protect your characters.
The combat portions are chased with neat camp interactions for some organic storytelling, a fun card game, and scripted plot segments. There’s a ton of classes to play with as well, with numerous ways you could build out your roster, a variety that very much reminds me of the good old days of Final Fantasy Tactics.
Together in Battle has a couple of rough spots on an otherwise exceptionally solid tactics game. It’s a great example of a developer taking an existing system that already worked great and building on it with a new idea. Not every game needs to reinvent the wheel; in fact, a lot of them probably shouldn’t. Together in Battle is a poster child for why building upon one’s past can be a great thing.
