Iron Tower Studio Announces Dungeon Rats

With their latest Steam update for The Age of Decadence, the folks at Iron Tower Studio have officially announced their AoD dungeon crawler spinoff, titled Dungeon Rats. The title will offer the players the chance to control up to four party members in tactical combat in a prison mine, and it will include a series of changes from the original to accomodate the new combat focus. More details from the announcement:

Dungeon Rats, named after the 7th Heavy Armored Division of the Imperial Guards, is a turn-based, party-based dungeon crawler set in the same world as Age of Decadence. This is an RPG focused almost exclusively on squad level tactical combat for players who enjoy turn-based games in general, and AoD's combat systems in particular. If fighting your way out of a prison mine - and frequently dying in the attempt - is your idea of a good time, you've come to the right place.

Starting out as a new prisoner at the bottom of the gangs-ruled prison hierarchy, and of the prison itself, you must fight to survive and develop your combat skills, acquiring better weapons and equipment as you go. Recruit allies to your struggle or carry on as a lone wolf, and kill anyone foolish enough to stand in your way.

Notable changes from The Age of Decadence:
  • Party-based - the most frequently requested feature
  • Flanking and other strategic bonuses. Positioning matters a lot.
  • Manual placement of your characters before a fight
  • Charisma determines the number and quality of your party members
  • Skill points are split between the party members: more people means fewer skills points per person and slower level ups.
  • 10 possible companions, not all of them human (maximum party size is 4).
  • New weapons, armor, and creatures
  • 3 difficulty levels: Nice Guy, Tough Bastard, Murderous Psychopath


Dungeon Rats is apparently entering the "final stages of development", but no release window has been announced as of yet. A number of screenshots are available in the announcement post and on the game's official website, showcasing something that looks very close to The Age of Decadence in terms of overall art style and fidelity.