Super Sol Standard - Demo impressions

 

Super Sol Standard is one of those games that you discover by chance, because somehow you've come across an image of it on social networks, or you've seen a fortuitous tweet if you're a follower of turn-based tactical RPGs. The truth is that, in the world of independent developers, there is an added difficulty: if designing a good video game requires talent and patience, to this we must add that the advertising budget is not usually very high, precisely. That's why I love to give a chance to many indie games, because there are real gems that should be, at least, worthy of a deep look.

So, I have discovered an indie game created with love and reminiscent of the best era of the 16 bits, and that has two components that build an agile and fun gameplay: an obvious support in the mechanics of Fire Emblen along with a unique recreation of board games.

Basically, Super Sol Standard -which is not going to win a better name, by the way- is a turn-based tactical RPG in a series of scenarios that propose us to fulfill certain objectives. The campaign mode is not yet available, and in the demo we can only access the tutorial and four well-designed maps of different sizes.

"The inspiration in the Fire Emblem saga is evident, as it picks up some of its usual mechanics. Even so, it manages to differentiate itself enough with some very interesting additions."

As I said, each map has a different main objective, and for that reason it is important to decide which units we take with us to the battlefield; these can be 4 or 6, depending on the size of the map. The interesting thing is that each character has its specific role and unique abilities that greatly enhance the synergy between them. Each unit has an armor, and this will be the first to deplete until the enemy starts to damage our health points. And while armor can be recovered between turns using the "guard" option, health is only recoverable with potions that can be found in the chests scattered around the stage. It is a system similar to that seen in King Arthur Knight's Tale that works very well.

Once in combat, I found two points that differentiate Super Sol Standard from many similar tactical RPGs. For example, there are some squares on each map that give us benefits or decreases to our attack, defense or luck if we place one of our units on them. Using these spaces is essential to obtain a tactical advantage in battle, as well as knowing how to bring enemies as close as possible to these squares.

On the other hand, there is a component of randomness in each confrontation that is decided by the "luck" attribute of each character. Once we attack -or defend-, a dice roll is initiated depending on that attribute that can cancel an enemy attack, add an additional attack to our unit or, simply, cancel our own or the opponent's turn. I loved the elegance of this mechanism, and how this causes some tension in the player.

Finally, the graphic design of Super Sol Standard reminded me of the best SNES games, with sprites characteristic of those times and nice animations.

There is still some time left to know the scope of this project, but it already shows flashes of quality. The best I can say about Super Sol Standard is that it has a demo available on Steam; try it yourself. It's a game that deserves a chance.