Capybara Games has long been one of my favorite indie studios, but I didn't expect the team's next game to be throwing it back to a 15-year-old Nintendo DS cult classic.
Capybara stole my heart with the time-rewinding shooter Super Time Force, the suffocatingly oppressive top-down soulslike Below, and the color-matching puzzler Grindstone, which became an instant hit on Apple Arcade thanks to its moreish loop and high-octane animation. The studio is now turning its gaze to Battle Vision Network, a spiritual successor to Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, a game that first came out on the DS in 2009 before migrating to other platforms.
Echoing Grindstone's match-thirty-three energy, Battle Vision Network pits two players against each other in turn-based combat, as you both aim to deal damage using color-matched formations. Matching units vertically will attack, while horizontal formations will defend, and new unlockable units might open up further possibilities.
Capybara is also experimenting with telling a live service story this time around. Battle Vision Network is set inside an ongoing, televised space sports show. Players choose between different teams before a battle, each with their own unique traits and home planets. At the end of an in-game season, Capy will supposedly tally up each team's results to decide what happens next in the narrative. Think Helldivers 2's galactic war, but competitive.
"Teams spend a season vying for the Champion title and the player community decides who takes the crown," the Steam page description explains. "Win a match with the Rag Tags team? That win shapes the stats, outcome, and narrative events of the season for everyone."
Battle Vision Network is coming sometime in 2025 to PC and mobile via Netflix Games.
While we wait, check out everything that was announced at Summer Game Fest.
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure had me curious at its reveal, but its clever puzzles and gorgeous art sold me so hard I've been thinking about it for months
"Hallucinogens, fax machines, parapsychology, and TV guides": One of the decade's best detective games is getting a sequel - and the demo is already here
