It is supposed to be a tactics RPG like Kings Bounty. But from what I have seen the combat is made to not overtax 8 year olds and the rest of the game is very short and very linear. Main focus seems to be the story. So I am not too hyped about it.

Blackguards intruiged me,too, but that seems to be even worse.

I am mostly looking forward to Divinity:Original Sin as a turn based RPG. That seems to be really good.

I've never played King's Bounty, but I have played a fair bit of Tactics RPGs so I may try a demo later and see if it appeals to me. Blackguards still looks promising, but I can understand if others find it not their cup of tea.

Ah yes, Divinity: Original Sin is on my list of "must buys". I love the design and I was very fond of DD/BD/D2/DC so I look forward to seeing what it brings to the proverbial table. I'm also excited for Wasteland 2, Tesla Effect (I'm a big, big Tex Murphy fan), Torment 2 (though that is probably not til 2015), The Witcher 3, and Cyberpunk 2077 (whenever that ever gets finished) as I am fond of Cyberpunk 2020...and a couple of other Cyberpunk P&P RPGs. There are some other games looking appealing but I will wait to see if they are worth the purchase for me when they do hit.

It's pretty similar to a "Fire Emblem" game, or an "expedition conquistador" without the exploration part : You follow a fairly linear story, where you can make some branching choices (Do you try to infiltrate that walled city that refuses to let your refugee caravan in, or do you head for the hills before the enemy army is here?) that will impact the health of your army and the loyalty (or survival) of your heroes. When a battle occurs, you choose up to 6 warrior from your heroes pool, and play a turn-based battle. Add to it a little management (Leveling your heroes, supplying and resting your people, and buying magic items all use the same -limited- ressource pool, so you will have to choose)

I like it. It's pretty brutal (The game often forces you to take position on pretty ugly choices, and will not hesitate to kill a beloved character because of it, or to describe the grim results of a "heartless but pragmatic" decision ), and the battles are simple but tense.

Things you might not like :
- No exploration : You don't move on the map, you follow a linear (somewhat branching) story
- The tactical battles are using a system quite different from those you might be used to. It heavily encourages you to weaken the stronger enemies and distribute your attacks among the entire enemy army (rather than concentrating your firepower on one guy and finishing him off before he can counterattack, which is the best tactic in most turn-based games). I find it refreshingly different, but many players find it "gamey" and hate it.
- Mostly no perma-death of your characters during the tactical game (they will be wounded and weakened for a short period of time, forcing you to "roll" your roster, but they will be back). Heroes can (and WILL) die, but it's mostly due to your decisions outside of combat. Again, I like it, but some gamers say it's "cheap"
On the forum, they talked about "mid week" for the first patch, so the drm-free version should be out soon.

So...A Song of Ice and Fire the game you mean? :P JK. I like a challenge, and I don't mind linear stories IF the story is worth the journey (which is the impression I am getting). What you've described so far does not really detour me from getting it, if anything it steels my resolve for it somewhat more. I will still probably try a demo but if it's how you describe I will likely get myself a copy when it hits GOG. :) Thanks for the info though, it does help me make a more informed decision if it's something I will enjoy.

The patch will be released today!
Wednesday (January 22nd) at 9-10 AM CST

First Patch = release of the DRM free version (according to the statements of Stoic)

http://stoicstudio.com/our-first-patch/

A little, yeah. At least for the bleak athmosphere and the casual killing of characters. You play a leader, and you must live with the people who got killed because of you.

Oh, another important detail : The game saving scheme is ironman only. It's quite logic, since assuming the consequences of your actions is the core of the game, but some players are howling bloody murder because of it. So I thought you should know.

Ah thanks, well I knew about it being ironman, but regardless thanks again. I don't see why since if a core mechanic of the game is living with choices and consequences it just makes sense that you couldn't go back. Oh well, you can please half the people most of the time, but you can't please all of the people even half of the time. :P

For me the biggest allure of the game is it having a viking theme - there are not enough of these around, so I'll definitely be picking this up some time in the future.

Yes the game has awesome looks. But from what I saw, the combat mechanics are simplistic and I didn't find anyone who could explain clearly the usefullness/mechanics of the people in your army.
What I consider lazy mechanics is really not my alley, but it seems like a really solid title that other people could enjoy greatly.
I think if it was released on day one on gog I would have bought it, but then I think I would have end up regretting it. So it's all good.

Have you had a look at the Rough Guide to Combat?

Still waiting TBS and Blackguards . They will release on today , but still there is no news :/

A great day for TBS then :)

Nice link thanks (and it's also nice to see people make clear tutos, evn if it is not worth a demo).

However, between the official site and an hour-long LP, I feel like only the story and visuals may be worth my time (which is still good to me) ; but I think the 'unknown deal' with the remaining chapters prevents me from from wanting to make the purchase right now.

Unknown deal?