Seattle-based game developer Harebrained Schemes (Battletech, Shadowrun: Dragonfall) just announced its next project, The Lamplighters League and the Tower at the End of the World.
LL is a turn-based strategy game set in an alternate 1932. An apocalypse cult, the Banished Court, has fought its way to the cusp of world domination, which leaves a team of unlikely anti-heroes — the player’s characters — as the only thing left in the Court’s way.
“The forces of evil are so close to victory… The best of the best are dead,” said game director Chris Rogers in an announcement trailer. “So you’ll need the best of the worst — thieves, scoundrels, cutthroats, and traitors — to stop them.”
Harebrained Schemes was founded in 2011 by Jordan Weisman and Mitch Gitelman, who previously worked together on the Crimson Skies franchise. (Like Lamplighters League, Crimson Skies is also set in an alternate-history 1930s.) Harebrained was acquired by Swedish games publisher Paradox Interactive in 2018, shortly after the two companies partnered for the release of the 2018 PC strategy game BattleTech.
Lamplighters League puts the player in control of a small number of unique units in grid-based combat, as you pursue the Banished Court throughout the world in an attempt to prevent it from seizing the source of magic itself. You play as a cast of misfits and criminals, like a bank robber, a hitman, a “disconcertingly cheerful” assassin, and an occultist, each of whom brings a particular assortment of passive abilities and active skills.
Much like Harebrained’s Shadowrun trilogy, LL appears to be an attempt to recapture the feel of playing a pulp-fiction tabletop RPG. Like most tabletop RPGs, you’re not in charge of an elite cadre of soldiers; you’re barely in control of a bunch of weirdos who must somehow learn how to work together.
Further, each fight in LL has an “infiltration phase,” where you can slowly sneak up on your targets before the start of open hostilities. This enables you to take out isolated opponents, scout the area, and stack the deck in your favor as much as possible before the fight goes loud.
Lamplighters League is directed by Chris Rogers, Harebrained’s studio lead, with Gitelman as executive producer. Jordan Weisman quietly left Harebrained late last year and is currently CEO of no-code game dev platform Endless Adventures.
Harebrained made its announcement as part of a larger Paradox Announcement Show, which also included news on a a sequel to its realistic city builder Cities: Skylines and expansions for both Crusader Kings III and Europa Universalis IV. Paradox will also publish Mechabellum, a new robot-combat game from new developer Game River, on Steam Early Access in May.
The Lamplighters League is planned for release on Steam, the Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, and the Xbox Game Pass later this year.
