Para Bellum

I went looking for depth and found a concept with real promise buried under an unfinished foundation. Para Bellum by NullCloneGames is a real-time strategy puzzle game set in a fantasy universe where you assault castles and fortifications, composing your army before each engagement and then managing unit abilities on the fly during the assault itself. The army-composition phase acts as a puzzle layer before the action even starts, forcing you to think about unit synergies before a single wall gets breached. Each unit carries its own special ability, and the game stacks three difficulty tiers per level, so the ceiling for tight play exists even if the floor feels approachable. The microcontrol emphasis is the most interesting design choice here. This is not a base-builder or a resource-juggling grand strategy. Think closer to a real-time tactics game where formation changes mid-assault can mean the difference between a clean capture and a wipe. For players who enjoy puzzle-first setup phases, the pre-battle composition screen has a satisfying logic to it: you are essentially solving a loadout problem before the chaos starts. The fantasy setting, described as a continent-spanning conflict against the Denatar Empire, gives the levels a loose narrative frame without demanding heavy lore investment. Here is where I have to be straight with you, though. Steam's own store page flags that the last developer update was over five years ago. The Early Access launch in October 2020 included one story chapter with five levels and a handful of cutscenes. The roadmap promised additional story chapters and expanding polish, but there is no evidence that content ever arrived. No meaningful community discussion, no patch notes trail, no active Discord that I could verify. For a strategy title, the absence of post-launch balancing and content delivery is not a minor footnote, it is the whole conversation. Unit variety, AI behavior, and level count all remain at what appears to be the state of the original Early Access drop. The core loop, army-building followed by real-time castle assault with ability-driven units, is a legitimately interesting hook for tactics fans who enjoy single-session puzzle challenges rather than long-campaign commitment. If the game had been completed and polished, it could sit comfortably alongside compact real-time tactics titles. As it stands, you are buying an unfinished proof of concept from a solo or small studio that went quiet before delivering on its stated plans. There is no mod ecosystem, no multiplayer, and no sign of ongoing development to justify treating this as a long-term investment. Buy this only if you understand the risk profile clearly: five levels, a promising microcontrol framework, and zero guarantee of anything beyond what is already on the disc.

Diego · Scout Team

Strategy & simulation

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