RANOKA is a dark fantasy tactical roguelite strategy game for PC in which players control a child necromancer named Ranoka as she climbs a massive tower filled with the dead. The experience centers on turn-based combat on a hex grid, party management, and repeated ascents through procedurally varied floors. Early Access status means the core loop of raising fallen enemies, building bonds with companions, and pushing upward remains the focus, with no multiplayer components described.
Gameplay
The central loop involves entering turn-based battles where positioning on the hex grid determines outcomes. Players command units from six classes including knights, rangers, clerics, mages, rogues, and adventurers, alongside undead options such as skeletons, zombies, and golems. Mechanics emphasize class roles, stances, reactions, flanking attacks, surface effects, traps, healing, and displacement abilities to control the flow of each encounter.
Between fights, time spent at a hideout allows roster adjustments, loadout changes, wound treatment, and decisions about which companions continue the climb. Defeated enemies sometimes join the party permanently, while artifacts collected during runs introduce run-wide changes that alter movement, combat synergies, or introduce tradeoffs. Wounds and revive timers add ongoing risk, with the possibility of permanent companion loss if conditions worsen across multiple floors.
The tower itself functions as a node-based map offering choices between combat, merchant visits, healer stops, story events, or direct boss confrontations. Progression spans more than forty floors that shift in theme from crypts and roads to plague fields, war camps, and mines. Losing a run causes a drop in floors but preserves some progress, encouraging repeated attempts with an evolved party.
Game Modes
Encounters vary beyond straightforward fights to include beacon defense, holding key ground in King of the Hill scenarios, escaping collapsing arenas, and escorting vulnerable units through hostile areas. These objectives force adaptation in unit placement and ability use, as standard damage-focused strategies may not suffice.
The roguelite structure ties all activity into repeated full climbs rather than separate standalone modes. Each attempt builds on prior failures through retained knowledge of routes and companion development, while the node map lets players select paths that prioritize story moments or resource gathering over pure combat.
Story and Setting
Ranoka begins at the tower base among corpses and gradually uncovers layers of necromancy, grief, and memory as she ascends. The narrative follows her transformation from a stubborn child into something potentially darker, with companion personalities resurfacing through bonds formed across runs. Environmental variety across floors supports this progression without relying on linear storytelling.
Is It Worth Playing?
RANOKA suits players who enjoy deliberate tactical decision-making in a roguelite framework where party composition and positioning carry heavy weight. The emphasis on raising and retaining fallen enemies creates a distinct loop of recruitment and loss management that rewards careful planning over rapid restarts. Those drawn to hex-grid combat with class synergies and artifact experimentation will find the described systems align directly with that preference. Early Access means features may expand, but the current focus on singleplayer tower climbs and undead party building provides a complete experience for the target audience without requiring external validation.
