An unexplained catastrophe has left an entire continent trapped beneath an eternal winter. Against that frozen setting, mercenaries, corporations, and powerful figures compete for influence in Dreamsend: Wintersong, a newly announced 2.5D strategy RPG from solo developer Anthony Nguyen.
The project combines turn-based tactical combat with elaborate character kits inspired by both classic RPGs and MOBAs.
Battles will let players combine multiple abilities, passives, status effects, and environmental interactions during the same turn. Dreamsend: Wintersong is currently in development, with its Steam page now open for wishlisting.
A Mercenary Story Set in an Eternal Winter
The story takes place in Veichne, a continent once known for its evergreen landscapes and mystical plant life. That changed after a mysterious calamity plunged the region into a seemingly permanent winter. More troublingly, nobody appears to remember exactly what caused the disaster.
Players follow the Doves, a mercenary group operating near Landamere City. After accepting a contract to investigate suspicious activity connected to the Violas, the group becomes involved in a much larger conflict.
The Violas are described as a dangerous organization, or corporation, expanding its influence across Veichne while serving under the rule of Saint Devonne. Desire also has a tangible role in this world, functioning as a source of both magical and political power.
The campaign is expected to unfold across 16 story chapters, following the Doves as they investigate the forgotten catastrophe and confront the forces attempting to shape Veichne’s future.
More Abilities, More Decisions Per Turn
Combat is built around familiar turn-based tactical mechanics, but Wintersong is attempting to make each unit more mechanically involved than a traditional fixed-class soldier. Characters have active abilities, quick abilities, and passive effects, creating several layers of interaction within every turn.
Quick abilities are particularly important because they can be activated without consuming a character’s turn.
This potentially allows players to prepare defenses, apply a status effect, reposition their strategy, or strengthen another action before committing to a unit’s main move. Characters can also cast multiple abilities during one turn, making ability order and resource management central parts of the combat system.
The comparison with MOBAs appears to concern the structure of individual characters. Each party member is designed around distinctive abilities, passives, equipment interactions, and battlefield functions.
Auras, summons, status combinations, and other overlapping effects should encourage players to think about how complete character kits work together instead of simply fielding one healer, one tank, and several damage dealers.
Battlegrounds will introduce their own complications. Announced mechanics include dynamic events, destructible obstacles, stage hazards, weather effects, summons, and persistent auras. These elements could alter movement routes or create new priorities while a fight is already underway, preventing encounters from becoming straightforward exchanges of attacks.
Bosses That Change During Battle
Standard encounters will be accompanied by large multiphase boss battles. Major enemies can transform visually and gain different abilities as the fight progresses, forcing the party to adjust after each phase rather than relying on one strategy from beginning to end.
Players may need to save particular abilities, equipment effects, or limited-use tools for later phases, especially when a boss introduces new attacks or changes the layout of the battlefield.
Fifteen Characters Without Restrictive Classes
The playable roster will contain 15 characters, each equipped with a unique skill set and intended battlefield niche. However, Wintersong does not appear to rely on rigid class labels to determine what those characters can do. Their eventual roles will instead emerge from their statistics, learned abilities, equipment, and the way the player develops them.
Characters can be customized through personal skill trees, stat progression, and as many as six equipment slots.
Items can provide new abilities and passives in addition to conventional numerical bonuses, allowing equipment choices to change how a character works.
Another part of progression involves unlockable facets. These are powerful perks capable of changing a character’s strengths, weaknesses, and overall play style. The idea is to preserve each party member’s individual identity while still giving players room to experiment with different builds.
That distinction could become one of the game’s most interesting qualities. Instead of recruiting interchangeable units and assigning them generic jobs, players will be developing recognizable characters whose predefined talents can be pushed in different directions.
Life Beyond the Battlefield
The campaign will not be presented solely as a sequence of tactical maps. Between missions, players can explore the Doves’ headquarters as well as nearby towns, cities, and surrounding areas. Additional locations will become accessible as the story moves forward.
This will provide opportunities to visit shops, complete side missions, search for hidden discoveries, and spend time with playable characters. Bonding activities should give the party additional development outside combat while providing more context for the individuals fighting alongside the Doves.
Visually, the game combines pixel-art characters with three-dimensional environments and camera angles, creating a style that recalls classic strategy RPGs while allowing scenes to use more elaborate locations. Screenshots released so far include train interiors, rooftop sequences, character-management menus, and large-scale boss encounters.
Release Plans
The Steam page lists the release date as to be announced, with Windows and macOS versions confirmed there. Announcement coverage has also reported a Nintendo Switch edition and a provisional launch window between late 2027 and early 2028. Below is the announcement trailer.
