Swords Of Bane is a cracking strategy game that’s been lost in the mists of time. The 48K version came with only one available map, but the 128K version allowed for a further two to be played on.
The game is turn based, and a squad of medieval foot soldiers are moved around a map to defend themselves against a much larger demonic force. The soldiers are purchased at the start with more powerful troops costing proportionally more, and the available resources decreases and number of enemies increase as the levels get harder.
With only limited ranged attacks, the game does not allow much in the way of cunning strategies. Winning battles is very much down to attrition and grinding down the enemy faster than yourself. There are different species of demons with different abilities, which adds some flavour rather than just grinding the stats. When the big boss shows up to be defeated, and you’ve not got any fully healthy soldiers left, the game gets tense.
The graphics and presentation aren’t great but do the job. The main letdown is the nasty interface which only lets your troops be moved in sequence, so getting your formation just right before the first demons show up is a lot more effort than it should be.
