Oaken

Oaken is a turn-based tactical RPG with deckbuilding mechanics, developed by Laki Studios and published by Goblinz Publishing. You command units across grid-based battlefields, building a card deck that dictates movement, attacks, and special abilities. The central hook is spatial: cards do not just deal damage, they push, pull, reposition, and chain effects across the board. If you have spent any time with games like Into the Breach or Gordian Quest, the core loop will feel familiar, though Oaken carves out its own identity through a naturalistic, hand-drawn aesthetic and a forest-spirit setting that genuinely has some charm. The worldbuilding leans into a kind of quiet folklore atmosphere. The art direction is one of the game's clearest strengths. Environments feel considered, and the creature designs have personality without being generic fantasy filler. The narrative framing is thin but present: you are guiding a group of Oaken units tied to the life of a sacred tree, pushing through corrupted zones. It is not a story that will reward close re-reads the way a proper CRPG would, but it does enough to give the tactical decisions some emotional weight. The writing never embarrasses itself, which for an indie strategy title in this space is genuinely worth noting. Where the game earns real attention is in its combat system. Each unit type plays differently, and building your deck around a specific unit's moveset creates satisfying short-term puzzles. Enemies telegraph their intentions, so there is always a planning phase that rewards careful thinking. The positioning mechanics are deep enough that a poorly placed unit can cascade into a full wipe, which keeps encounters tense without feeling arbitrary. That said, the mid-game introduces a noticeable difficulty plateau that tips toward attrition rather than clever design. Some encounters feel padded in a way that dilutes the tactical satisfaction the early hours promise. Build variety exists but narrows meaningfully as the game progresses, and the card pool does not stay fresh long enough to sustain a second full run without starting to feel repetitive. The mixed Steam reception (75 percent positive across 381 reviews at time of writing) reflects this split fairly accurately. Players who click with the movement-chain puzzle logic tend to enjoy the first half a lot. Players hoping for meaningful progression hooks, strong narrative payoff, or the replayability of a true roguelike deckbuilder tend to bounce off around the midpoint. As an RPG, it is light. As a strategy title with RPG trappings, it is competent and occasionally genuinely clever. Laki Studios show real craft in the art and the core combat concept; the content depth and late-game variety just do not fully match the ambition of the foundation. If you want a chill tactical experience with a beautiful aesthetic and do not need it to consume sixty hours, Oaken delivers a contained, reasonably satisfying run. If you are chasing deep build theorycrafting or a story that actually goes somewhere, you will hit the ceiling fast.

Monika · Scout Team

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