The turn-based tactics genre is having a genuine golden moment. Between Star Wars Zero Company’s gritty Clone Wars-era campaign and the anticipation surrounding Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, strategy fans have more high-profile options than ever. And yet, as GameSpot recently highlighted, the tactics game truly capturing players’ hearts right now isn’t either of those big names–it’s Ex Sanguis, the newest release from indie studio Lightbulb Crew.
A Banner Year for Tactics Games
Star Wars Zero Company has become a breakout hit in its own right, earning praise for the way it builds on one of the most beloved story arcs from The Clone Wars animated series. For fans of the show, it’s a dream scenario: squad-based tactical combat set inside a storyline they already cherish.
Meanwhile, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave was widely expected to be the game that finally pulled dedicated players away from Zero Company. Nintendo’s flagship strategy franchise carries enormous weight, and many assumed the tactics conversation in 2025 would revolve around it. Instead, a darker, more distinctive contender has slipped into the conversation–and it’s turning heads.
Why Ex Sanguis Deserves Your Attention
The Othercide Connection
Ex Sanguis comes from Lightbulb Crew, the studio behind Othercide, the gothic horror tactics title that released in 2020 and earned a devoted following. While Ex Sanguis is not a direct sequel, it clearly carries the studio’s DNA. Othercide stood out for its striking monochrome-and-crimson art direction, its roguelike structure, and a timeline-based combat system that rewarded aggressive, forward-thinking play–even allowing players to sacrifice their own units to empower others.
That pedigree matters. Lightbulb Crew proved with their debut that they understand what makes tactical combat feel meaningful: high-stakes decisions, consequences that linger between missions, and an atmosphere you won’t find anywhere else in the genre. Ex Sanguis appears to double down on that identity.
Standing Out in a Crowded Genre
Competing against the likes of Fire Emblem and Star Wars is no small task for an independent studio. But that may actually be Ex Sanguis’s greatest advantage. Where Zero Company leans on franchise nostalgia and Fire Emblem on decades of refinement, Lightbulb Crew offers something the giants can’t: a singular creative vision unbound by expectations. For players fatigued by familiar formulas, that freshness is exactly what makes a tactics game feel special.
Should You Play Ex Sanguis?
If you’ve been grinding through Zero Company or holding out for Fortune’s Weave, Ex Sanguis makes a compelling case to expand your backlog. It’s the kind of game that reminds us why the tactics genre thrives on variety–every year brings a new underdog worth championing, and 2025’s is unmistakably this one.
Looking to jump in? You can grab Steam gift cards and game codes at TURGAME.com at competitive prices, making it easier than ever to stock up on the year’s best strategy titles–including the blockbusters Ex Sanguis is competing with.
Source: GameSpot