Falconers' Gate

Falconers' Gate is a medieval action RPG with tactical combat, set in a fictional version of 11th-century Normandy. In this alternate history, a comet crashes into St. Martin’s Church in L’Aigle on October 14, 1066, as William the Conqueror prepares to fight the Anglo-Saxons at Hastings. The comet’s arrival unleashes a struggle for control of Falconers Gate and threatens to change the course of history. You play as the Comet’s Chosen One, a Falconer leading a company through a war that devastates the region.

The world of Normandy

The game’s historical setting includes places such as the Forest of Écouves and the plains of the Pays d’Auge. Fantasy elements are introduced progressively rather than appearing throughout the entire game; they also account for features such as Strategic View and third-person view.

Directional combat

Player combat uses directional combos. Attacking in a direction launches a side attack and three variations, and you can change your attack direction at any time. Armor can reduce injuries or, if thick enough, block enemy strikes completely. Damage varies by strike type—slashing, blunt-force or piercing—and by the protection materials: fabric, quilted, mesh or plates.

Each body part has its own hitbox and health points. Losing an arm prevents you from using the equipment associated with it, but you can keep fighting with what you carry in your other hand, or flee, as long as your chest and head remain intact. You also need your legs to keep fighting or escape.

Lead your company

Battles take place in realistic environments and range from 1v1 to 5v5, with each player leading 40 to 100 warriors. You can recruit up to three groups of 20 to 47 combatants, forming a company of 60 to 100. Recruits come from towns or villages as urban or rural militia, or can be hired as mercenaries. Units grow and evolve over time and through the encounters they take part in.

Each group has its own formations and abilities. The roster includes spearmen, pikemen, swordsmen, axemen and javelinmen. Spearmen can form a shield wall, while swordsmen can gather around and follow you in battle. Archers and javelinmen use ballistic projectiles: arrows can hit one another in flight and break against heavy armor.

You can build your company around soldiers who specialize in one kind of weapon or combine different weapon skills. Each of your three squads has its own skills and experience. Squad skill trees can offer linear branches with large bonuses, or choices between nodes with different effects.

Infantry and cavalry

Infantry holds the field through numbers, formations and methodical advances. Cavalry focuses on charges while avoiding lance walls. Archers support your forces: you can order them to fire from off the map or take a fixed position, where they plant arrows in the ground so they can shoot faster.

Combat-unit skills include passive benefits such as extra health or stamina, as well as active abilities used in battle. These include charging at a slow or full speed, alongside other abilities with different effects and uses.

Tactical skills

Falconers are stronger than average soldiers but cannot take on an army alone. Your main practical skill, Falconers’ View, gives you an immediate tactical view of the battlefield so you can reposition your troops in a few clicks. Other skills include area buffs and debuffs, as well as special strike combos.

Your skill tree, like the similar tree available to your Sergeants, asks you to choose between specializing in a skill, unlocking several skills, improving a broad range of characteristics or excelling at one type of buff.