Lost Frontier

Dusty badlands, supernatural horrors, and ramshackle war machines collide in Lost Frontier, a compact turn-based strategy game with a strong fantasy-western identity. The campaign follows a mercenary outfit pursuing a dangerous outlaw across the Outlands, where ordinary gunslingers fight alongside zeppelins, necromancers, and werewolves. Its mood lands somewhere between a pulpy frontier adventure and a hard-edged tactical war game: colorful on the surface, but unforgiving when poor positioning costs a unit. Rather than relying on cinematic spectacle, it builds its appeal around clean tactical decisions and an unusual setting.

Battles play out on grid-based maps where every movement, attack, and purchase needs careful consideration. You command roughly 20 unit types, combining familiar frontier forces such as cavalry, cannons, and Gatling guns with steam-powered aircraft and occult allies that bring very different strengths to the field. Limited resources force you to weigh reinforcements against long-term plans, while terrain, unit range, and counterattacks make rushing ahead a quick route to disaster. A Living Legend acts as your battlefield commander, and choosing one of nine heroes shapes your approach through specialized perks; a sharpshooter-focused leader, for example, makes a ranged army far more dangerous as missions progress.

Lost Frontier stands out because it treats its weird-west premise as more than visual decoration: its strange mix of military technology and dark magic directly expands the tactical roster. The 24-mission story offers a substantial central campaign, while 20 tougher challenge maps give experienced players demanding puzzles after the credits. Custom matches against AI and hot-seat multiplayer also make it easy to test different Legends, armies, and rules with friends. Fans of Advance Wars-style strategy who want a leaner, more rugged alternative will feel at home, and newcomers can enjoy its readable unit roles before tackling its harsher late-game encounters.