Oaken is a nice turn-based strategy game. It has lovely graphics, atmospheric music, a nice aesthetic and interesting mechanics. There areOaken is a nice turn-based strategy game. It has lovely graphics, atmospheric music, a nice aesthetic and interesting mechanics. There are lots of different units, buffs, enhancements and trinkets to experiment with, and an a lot of thought and effort has been spent trying to create some variety in the battles you fight in. Unfortunately, there are two big problems with this game that have caused me to move on after only 3 complete runs:
1. Each run takes about 5 hours to complete, which I found to be way too long. I ended up completing a chapter at a time and splitting my run into 3 separate gaming sessions.
2. Whilst there are a large number of units, trinkets, and upgrades to experiment with, everything is so well balanced that it really doesn't matter much how you choose to set up your army. Most of the strategy is in how you move and attack with your units on the board, and this diminishes the strategy associated with building your deck and customizing your units. This is a real shame.
I really enjoyed my first two playthroughs of Oaken as I learned all the novel quirks of the game. Unfortunately I found my third playthrough a bit tedious (even though I was using a newly unlocked character). Your experience with Oaken might be better than mine. The game is quite different to other turn-based strategy games I have played and is still worth a try if you enjoy this genre.… Expand
