The Waylanders (v1.10)

A disastrous audience with the Tuatha de Danaan sends a wounded warrior tumbling through centuries, turning a Celtic fantasy adventure into a time-spanning party-based RPG. The Waylanders begins in mythic Gallaecia, where humans, goblins, werewolves, Mourians, and divine powers share an uneasy political landscape. Magic corruption, succession wars, and clashes between old beliefs give the setting a darker edge than its colorful fantasy presentation initially suggests. Later jumps to medieval Spain widen the scope, letting consequences and relationships echo across radically different eras.

Combat plays as a real-time-with-pause tactical system built around a controllable party of companions. Positioning matters because characters can combine into combat formations, changing their attacks, defenses, and battlefield roles; a shield wall can protect fragile allies, while aggressive patterns help focus damage or control crowds. Conversations, faction decisions, companion approval, romances, and character backgrounds shape how the story unfolds, with choices often defining alliances rather than simply identifying a good or evil path. Exploration sends the party through settlements, ruins, wilderness zones, and supernatural threats, while level-ups, equipment, abilities, and party composition offer the usual CRPG room for experimentation.

Its strongest feature is the setting’s unusual mix of Celtic mythology and Iberian history, a welcome alternative to another generic medieval kingdom. The formation mechanic gives fights a distinct identity and asks players to think about squad structure instead of only individual builds, even if the system can feel less immediately readable than the combat in genre giants. Writing focuses heavily on companions and political loyalties, so players who enjoy talking through difficult choices will get more from it than those seeking nonstop dungeon combat. Fans of Dragon Age: Origins, Baldur’s Gate-style party management, or time-travel fantasy should find plenty to appreciate, while newcomers should be ready for a dense world, tactical pauses, and some old-school RPG complexity.