We’re excited to announce that Blades For Hire is taking part in the Choose Wisely Festival 2025 — a themed Steam festival dedicated to games where every decision shapes the story and its outcomes.

Choose Wisely Festival 2025 brings together projects built around branching narratives, meaningful choices, and strong story-driven gameplay. During the event, you’ll be able to discover hundreds of titles, catch new announcements, watch the showcase, and try out demos.

Player choice is a core pillar of Blades For Hire, but today we’d like to focus on the combat system, as its indirect-control nature has sparked some discussions.

There’s been a lot of debate about how combat works, so we’d like to offer some clarification — to explain why the system was designed the way it is.

Turn-based tactics have explored countless approaches already, and we didn’t want to simply repeat them. Instead, we found it much more interesting to experiment with indirect control.

Players naturally crave more agency, and we fully understand that. This is why we wanted to combine character progression with increased tactical influence on the battlefield — which led us to the skill system.

As mercenaries level up, they gain new skills that expand your influence: prioritizing low-health targets, stunning dangerous enemies, protecting the backline for long-term play, or rushing down opponents aggressively. These are all viable tactical options available to the player.

That’s why comparing combat to a pure auto-battler is only half-correct. If you ignore skills entirely, then regardless of gear quality, characters will rely on basic attacks — which won’t be enough in tougher encounters. Using skills becomes a necessity if you want to win.

The more actively you use the available skills — and the more skills your mercenaries unlock — the more powerful your squad becomes. This sense of growing control and battlefield mastery is exactly what our team wants players to feel. With progression, even a ragtag group can turn into a formidable force.

We also hope this system will reveal its flexibility through the random distribution of skills and classes. Each character’s skill pool is selected based on their background. If someone used to be an assassin, their skill set will reflect that — preferred position, weapon types, and combat style included.

So we encourage players to make full use of every tool available. Even without directly selecting which target a character attacks, you can meaningfully steer the flow of battle.

We talked about the playtest in more detail in one of our previous announcements.
For now, here’s a reminder of what you need to do to earn the reward:

Requirements:
- Add the game to your wishlist.
- Follow the publisher page on Steam.
- Earn the Steam achievement "Old Guard" during the playtest.

As part of the Choose Wisely Festival, we invite you to discover even more games where choices truly matter.

If you’re interested in stories of revolution, take a look at Decadent Heir. A narrative-driven adventure where every decision will echo through time as you navigate the turbulent fate of a decaying empire. Playtest sign-ups are open.

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/3261140/Decadent_Heir/

If you’d like to test yourself as a judge of a revolutionary tribunal — where every verdict can change the fate of a city and the revolution itself — then We. The Revolution is the perfect choice. Pass sentences, navigate political intrigue, and shape the future of the revolution.

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/736850/We_The_Revolution/

The Mildew Children is a dark 2D adventure mixed with visual novel elements. It tells a grim tale of a village inhabited only by children who cling to ancient, primal traditions — a surreal and unsettling journey of mystery and fate.

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/2420350/The_Mildew_Children/

Immerse yourself in the atmospheric world of Mondealy. Step into the shoes of Michael — an ordinary young man who discovers hidden paths beneath his hometown, leading to the mysterious underground kingdom of Dargatt. Explore a charming story-rich adventure full of secrets and wonder.

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/1620520/Mondealy/