This game was provided free from the developer and PiratePR. Thank you!
After years and years of humans trashing the planet, now the planet is fighting back. Oakenfold is a turn-based, roguelike, strategy game set in a dark future where the Earth has grown tired of our shit. Play across a procedurally-generated path and save your supplies. You see exactly how each monster will attack, so use your abilities wisely to kill, move them out of the way, or even have them attack each other. With new upgrades and abilities to craft, a gorgeous visual display, and an undo/redo turn system, Oakenfold will keep you on your toes trying to survive. If you enjoy Into the Breach, you will feel right at home here.
Based on the type of game this is, I didn't expect performance to be an issue, and I was right! In the game and menu to pick your path, Oakenfold will run at around 60 FPS and a 11W - 13W drain. This results in around 3 to 3.5 hours of gameplay at a smooth 60. I was delighted to see this, but there are 2 parts where performance seems to dip down.
This occurs in the main menu and the mindset selection screen. With the main menu, the drain goes up to around 17-18W. At the mindset selection screen, each of the 3 choices give different readouts. Scientific gives around 14W drain, Agile gives about 17W, and for some reason, Survival hits hardest with a slowdown to 55-56 FPS and drain that can go up to 24W. I did have the opportunity to discuss this with the developer behind Oakenfold who attributes this to the high quality textures and will be looking into it!
While I do enjoy the game, it is sorely lacking one pretty big thing, controller support. I don't mind games being played without controller support as we can use Steam Input to re-map and fix things, but not for this game. The lack of controller support, and lack of documentation for keybindings, means I am not sure what keys to map. This means when playing, you need to use the right thumbstick or trackpad with the right trigger to select things, which can be quite cumbersome in this type of game.
I did also talk with the developer about this and they will be looking into support. I have also extended any way I can assist as I do believe this is a great game hindered by something that can be solved easily compared to deeper logical issues.
Oakenfold is an addicting turn-based roguelike that brings back those golden memories of Into the Breach, but with some unique mechanics and a welcome facelift. On the Steam Deck, it runs really well during the gameplay, but can't fill that same feeling outside of it. Though I am hopeful and much more confident these will be addressed after discussing with the developer directly! If these can be fixed, this would easily be a Best on Deck game!
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
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Oakenfold is a wonderful turn-based strategy roguelike, but some small dips and lack of controller support keep it from reaching its full potential on the Steam Deck.
