Dark Deity isn't just Fire Emblem for PC. Developer Sword & Axe builds on formulas from Strategy RPG (SRPG) classics like Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, creating a compact campaign that addresses the genre’s flaws—including how easy it is to level up your characters, learn without relying on lore drops, effortlessly enjoy battles, and make mistakes with better consequences.

SRPGs are like chess. You place your characters on a grid-like map and move them based on the goals you need to meet for that particular chapter. In Dark Deity’s case, this goes beyond just defeating every enemy in the room. Maybe you need to escape in a set number of turns, release a hostage, or find treasure. Your job is to position characters with these scenarios in mind and find ways to wipe your enemies off the battlefield.  

Dark Deity starts you off with a respectable quartet of diverse party members. The four starting characters—Irving, Garrick, Alden, and Maren—excel in their respective roles, enough so that they stayed in my roster for the entire game. I quickly warmed up to Alden because of how often he could double his attacks, a luxury only offered to the speediest of units. Irving, the main character, evolved into one of my tankiest units by the end of the game, and Maren became my bread-and-butter healer.

You get loads and loads of characters, so you’re not going to get attached to each one of them. Sometimes a benchwarmer can surprise you, though. I suffered through chapters of Lincoln feeling like the most sluggish unit ever as my tank, but thankfully he got a much-needed offensive upgrade after I reclassed him.

You can also get to know your units through optional Bonding Episodes. I ended up ignoring these for a while because I didn't want to wait to play the next map, with no penalty. In Fire Emblem, supports directly affect how well your units synergize and offer significant stat boosts. Dark Deity doesn't have the same incentive. If you only care about battling your way through maps, then that’s all you need to do.

Of course, I would suggest at least reading through Bonding Episodes for your favorite characters. You don’t need to read the love story between the sarcastic archer and spunky rogue, but you’ll discover so much if you do. I read through piles of neglected dialogue before the final chapter.

In Fire Emblem, it's common for players to completely restart the entire chapter if one of their units dies. After all, permadeath makes you feel permabad, especially if the unit was one of your favorite characters. Dark Deity instead penalizes you by decreasing stats for your fallen characters, which can make you feel like you received the punishment you deserved without needing to grind through the chapter all over again. (That being said, you might still feel tempted to reset to avoid the stat punishment if you’re a min-maxer.)

Dark Deity is worth playing because its intuitive tactical gameplay gets rid of the grind you experience in other SRPGs. The story, characters, and combat systems all work together to deliver a game that feels fair and keeps you invested through a 30-hour (or so) playthrough.