We are the Caretakers is a new turn-based tactical game from Heart Shaped Games. The early access was released on 22 April 2021 on Steam, coinciding with Earth Day. It will also be released on Xbox later in the year. 10% of the revenue from the game sales will go towards the Wildlife Conservation Network’s Rhino Recovery fund, which really ties into the game’s stance on animal conservation. This review was done on the version .39 early access. It’s been awhile since I’ve played a tactical turn-based game, so let’s dive into it.
We are the Caretakers is set in an “afro-futurist” world where your character, The Conductor, has just taken over control of the Caretakers who seem to be ensuring the safety of the animals called Rauns from poachers. There are currently 2 game modes in the early access – The story mode, which provides some backstory to the Caretakers with 3 eras to play through and the survival mode which is a slightly faster paced mode with randomised maps for replayability. Given that it’s an early access game, more eras will be added to the game at a later date, which is a good thing as you can probably clear the story in about 3 hours. (I took longer so that I could experience the game more for this review). That said, the story is quite interesting and without giving away spoilers, after the 1st era, things get pretty intriguing.
You start We are the Caretakers on the HQ screen which allows you to customise your teams, go to the Atrium and recruit new members or just begin the next mission. When starting out, you’ll probably just go into the mission as you don’t have much resources to do anything else.
In the game proper, you will be on a real time map of the mission sector. Here you will have a few objectives to complete. Some of them are optional but will reward you with more resources at the end of the mission.
You basically go around scouting new sectors, pick up resources, disarm traps, visit or take over settlements and battle with poachers. There will be more things to do in the later eras. The main drawing point of this part of the game would be the battles you have with the poachers. This happens in rounds with each character taking a turn to do a particular action. The goal here is to “finish” your opponents or make them flee. To do that, you need to either get their stamina or will to 0 after which they will be in the critical condition where you can use your various finishers to take them out of the battle.
There are a few different classes you can include in your squad, each with their strengths and weaknesses. You’ll want to have a mix to have a balanced squad to handle most situations. If you’re feeling adventurous you could try to create a squad full of the same class to focus on a particular attack. For example, a full Guard squad to counter-attack and rush opponents quickly to bring their stamina down. To hell with healing, just hulk smash! The squad set up is totally up to you.
Besides the Guard class that focuses on stamina attacks and protection, you also have the Healer, which as the name suggests, heals the squad. Then there’s the Diplomat, which can use skills to hurt the enemies willpower or increase your squad’s willpower. You also have the Sniper, which can stun the enemy as well as do high damage to stamina. Your Conductor himself/herself can partake in the battle. They are a unique class with abilities unlike there other classes. My favourite is the Barrage which does stamina damage to all the enemies.
In terms of the finishers, each class has a couple available to them when the poacher is in the critical state. These finishers are important as they can determine the rewards and actions you can take once the mission ends. The Guard is able to do the shakedown finisher which causes the opponent to flee with a chance to drop loot. The Diplomat can outright recruit the finished enemy to your cause. Most classes have the Detain finisher, which captures the downed opponent for you to decide later what to do with them.
Winning battles will reward you with experience and reputation and by the end of the mission, some of your squad members should be able to level up. Once you complete the main objectives of the mission, you will return to HQ where you can now check the Atrium for Visitors and new recruits, adjust and level up your team or go ahead to the next mission.
I would suggest that you have a quick look at the technology tree to upgrade your tech with the research points earned before jumping into the next mission. The tech ranges from quality of life improvements such as faster healing and scouting, to upgrades to your squads armor or population.
Beside the tech tree, you should also take a look at your Teams screen to add any new recruits or level up your members. After a few levels, your classes can upgrade to a more advanced version with new skills and abilities. The Healer has the choice of changing to Medic, Vet or Mystic.
During my playthrough of the game, I encountered a few bugs, however, as it’s still an early access game, this is to be expected. One that really stood out was the lack of sound effects during battles. I’m not sure if it was my settings as I couldn’t find much settings to tweak within the game. There’s definitely sound effects as seen in the game trailer however it was nowhere to be heard in game. The other issue I encountered was pathing/navigation issues on the real-time map. This is probably a product of the randomised survival mode where there can be instances where your squad gets stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Overall, having last played turn-based strategy games possibly in the early 2000s, I’m not too sure about We are the Caretakers in the current gaming climate. It feels really slow compared to the current meta of MOBAs and Battle Royales. I suppose if you are really into the turn-based strategy segment, you could give this game a shot as the early access looks promising.
This review is written by Gene Yeo.
