Band of Crusadersis a medieval strategy RPG set in a fantastical 1350 A.D. Europe. Stepping into the shoes of a Grandmaster, players must lead a knightly order against invading demonic forces and those would see the chaos as opportunity. It’s the first title from Polish studio Virtual Alchemy, which also describes it as a love letter to personal games they enjoy.Band of Crusaders’devscited many inspirations, including some potentially unexpectedclassic RPGslikeStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. AlthoughBand of Crusaders' European folklore vibes might bring games likeThe Witcherto mind, this wasn’t a direct influence.
While this is still likely a good thing,Band of Crusadersalso seeks to forge its own identity and utilize lesser-used mechanics of the past.Band of Crusadersuses real-time tactical combat, for example, which is much less common today. Game Rant recently sat down withBand of Crusaders' CEO Dominik Sypnicki and art director Kamil Mickiewicz to learn more about the title.
Band Of Crusaders' Classic RPG Inspirations
When asked aboutBand of Crusaders' gaming inspirations, Mickiewicz explained they focused on games they loved as kids. This includesHeroes of Might and Magic 3, which Mickiewicz pointed out has similarities toBand of Crusaders’campaign map.Band of Crusadersfeatures a fully-simulated overworld map where players move crusaders and events unfold in real-time. While Mickiewicz addedBand of Crusaders' RTS map plays out more likeMount & Blade:BannerlordorWartales, Mickiewicz hopes it may also bring back memories of playingHeroes of Might and Magicgames.Heroes of Might and Magicalso inspiredBand of Crusaders' music as another point of connection, with Mickiewicz explaining how creating authentic medieval music with real instruments and Latin vocalists was important:
We have a very similar take on music in our campaign map because we emphasize male vocals a lot, and our music is, to a large degree, recorded live. We quickly understood that we wanted to strike this very genuine medieval tone, so live recording would be super crucial for us.
Band of Crusaders' Real-Time Combat And KOTOR Inspirations
WhileHeroes of Might and Magicis not necessarily that far a stretch, some players might be surprised to learn thatBioWare’s classic RPGStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicwas also a big inspiration forBand of Crusaders. Although acknowledging it is not that similar overall, Mickiewicz saidBand of Crusadersis “very much” likeKnights of the Old Republicin terms of its Real Time with Pause (RTP) combat system, which features time-slow mechanics without full pause. This also reveals more about its origins, as Mickiewicz said:
Actually, the story of our development was that it was supposed to be a game likeKnights of the Old Republic- of full pause under your space bar - orPillars of Eternity. We were looking at those titles as inspirations. Since we technically did this with something called time dilation, we asked for the early prototype, which was this method.
Fans of early BioWare RPGs likeKnights of the Republicmay recall it usedReal Time with Pause mechanics,wherein players can pause combat to queue up combat decisions. The effect was a mix of turn-based in a real-time combat environment, albeit with full pause. Later BioWare games likeDragon Age: Originsalso use RTP, something Sypnicki added is another title players have comparedBand of Crusadersto, as well asDiabloandBaldur’s Gate 2, and adding it’s “super cool” fans are drawing individual comparisons.
