[Demo][PC] Astralis: Dawnblades - heroic fantasy tactical RPG, looking for feedback

Hi everyone,

I'm Benoit from Studio Gravenoire, a small self-funded French indie studio of three people. We are currently working on Astralis: Dawnblades, a heroic fantasy tactical RPG for PC, built with Godot.

The game has a public Steam demo, and I am posting here mainly to get developer/player feedback on the first impression of the demo rather than to drop a link and disappear.

Steam demo:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4233920/Astralis__Dawnblades/

What is Astralis: Dawnblades?

Astralis: Dawnblades is a single-player tactical RPG where you lead the Dawnblades, an independent mercenary company.

The core loop is:

• prepare your squads at the stronghold;

• assign recruits, equipment and roles;

• choose expeditions on node-based maps;

• survive turn-based tactical battles;

• bring back loot and resources;

• craft, improve and reorganize your company before the next run.

The game is not designed as a pure roguelike. The idea is closer to a long-term RPG progression loop built around squad management, risk/reward expeditions, crafting and tactical combat.

Combat and MATB

Combat is turn-based and built around party roles, skills, cooldowns, resistances, buffs/debuffs and team synergies.

There is also an optional system called MATB. When enabled, characters act when their charge bar fills, and musical tension creates timing windows that can boost physical or magical attacks. It is meant to add pressure and rhythm for players who want it, while keeping a more classic turn-based pace available when disabled.

What kind of feedback would help us most?

If anyone has time to try the demo, we are especially interested in feedback on:

1. Is the opening of the demo clear enough?

2. Does the stronghold -> expedition -> combat -> loot/craft loop make sense quickly?

3. Are the tactical battles readable?

4. Does the UI give enough information without becoming too heavy?

5. Does the MATB layer feel interesting, confusing, or unnecessary?

6. Is the risk/reward of pushing deeper into an expedition understandable?

7. At what point did you feel engaged, or at what point did you start to lose interest?

A bit of context

We are a very small team, and Astralis is built with Godot. The game is currently in development, with a public demo available on Steam. We know that first impressions matter a lot, so feedback on clarity, pacing and onboarding is especially valuable to us right now.

Quick info:

• Title: Astralis: Dawnblades

• Studio: Studio Gravenoire

• Engine: Godot

• Genre: tactical RPG / heroic fantasy / squad management

• Platform: PC / Steam

• State: in development

• Demo: available on Steam

• Languages currently supported on Steam: French, English, Spanish, Italian

• Target release: 2026

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to try the demo or comment on the presentation.