𝐻𝑒𝓇𝑒’𝓈 𝒶𝓃 𝒾𝒹𝑒𝒶, 𝓁𝑒𝓉’𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑔𝒾𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒶𝒹𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒𝓈…
Every dark fantasy game needs a succinct hub area, right? In Strength & Sorcery, the hub will be transformed by your success in the castle dungeons – so your skills will have to be sharpened, over and over until the village is rebuilt once more.
Spend your hard-earned coins to buy, unlock, and upgrade buildings or villagers while expanding your roster for future runs. Despite beginning as an apprentice or scoundrel, as you clear levels you can gain access to warriors, rogues, and wizards – eventually rising to powerful archmagi and champions. The scale of your greatness is boundless, it’s only up to you, or your party if you choose to play with others, to put the work in.
Under the careful gaze of the castle, the hub area sits on a cliff edge – perfect for multiplayer lobby shenanigans! Fear not - this space can be enjoyed solo too.
You can visit several distinct areas in the village straight off the bat; noticeably, you’ll always be greeted first at the campfire by Thatcher the Elder – one of the wisest folks you’ll meet on your adventures to restore the village.
After you get acquainted, you’ll realise you can request many of the main upgrades through him. He is an experienced thatcher, after all, with many stories to tell. Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll hear about them. He can seem a little eerie and strange at first, but you can trust he always has the village’s best interests at heart.
There are more inhabitants of this village than meets the eye – the Merchant, the Blacksmith, Runa the Orphan – but they deserve a proper introduction in a different post. For now, we will continue to explore the area before us.
The campfire is cosy, yes, but don’t let its warmth fool you, for there are a number of cold and damp places in the castle dungeons that are waiting for you. When you start your adventure, the village may be meagre and full of ruins. Of course, you can rebuild with hard work, but while you begin anew, it’s oddly relaxing to stroll around the dilapidated structures that once made up a thriving community. I guess Thatcher the Elder must have seen many places like this rise and fall…
Of course, we couldn’t end our introductory tour of the hub area without giving a special mention to The Monument To Those Who Never Returned. Here, you can view statistics of your past runs, trials, and tribulations within the castle walls. Those iterations may not have returned, but the knowledge and penance (or items you sent back with Runa) will remain with you in future challenges.
It’s also a lovely area to sit and have a ponder, rest, strategy meeting, while gazing at the stars above. But there you have it, this is a hub that is a place of solace for solo adventurers, yet can be as chaotic and freeing as you want with companions – that is what Strength & Sorcery brings about.
