If I had a dollar for every game where you assemble historical figures to fight genocidal reptilian hordes… Well, I’d have one dollar. Reptilian Rising is bizarre, highly amusing, and dripping in 80’s tabletop nostalgia. Beneath the plastic chaos, though, is a proper turn-based tactical roguelite that sunk its hooks into me fast.
Pure 80’s Tabletop Nostalgia
At its core, Reptilian Rising is about pushing miniatures around a board, and its art direction sells it completely. From the chunky figurines to the handcrafted dioramas and its board-game style mission map, everything feels engineered to tap into ‘80s and ‘90s tabletop nostalgia. Even the UI leans into loud neon and faux‑arcade fonts.
The miniatures themselves are a delight. You get a brief look at them, still boxed in their packaging, as you unlock them. It is clear this game knows exactly who it is for and how to hook them in, all without taking itself too seriously.
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Time-Travelling T-Rex Tyranny
Speaking of the un-serious, let’s talk Reptilian Rising’s premise. You command a ragtag crew of historical action-figure icons — Cleopatra, Einstein, Churchill, and more — as they battle a time-travelling army of genocidal dinosaurs… I mean, who’s to say that Churchill and Cleopatra WOULDN’T have banded together to face such an existential threat to humanity?
Turn-based and set on a tabletop, the goal for each mission is to seize a number of ‘time gates’ that the reptiles use to spawn reinforcements from. Capture them, and you can summon your own heroes by consuming ‘time energy’.
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Tactical Depth Beneath the Toybox
Bizarre and amusing Reptilian Rising might be, but there’s plenty of strategic depth at play, too. Characters span four classes — scout, warrior, elite, and heavy — each with their own strengths, weaknesses, stats, and synergies that encourage clever team-building.
There’s also plenty more on the board to keep you occupied, such as destroying the obsidian cubes that act as the reptilians’ energy conduits.
The demo was surprisingly punishing, even easy mode ramps up fast, with reactive enemy counters punishing sloppy positioning. But thanks to Reptilian Rising’s roguelite structure, failed efforts are still rewarded.
Between missions, you can spend gold on permanent buffs for your hero classes and use obsidian to unlock ‘time tech’, like extra hero lives.
Final Thoughts
The premise of Reptilian Rising could have easily fallen flat; a toy Einstein battling gun‑toting dinosaurs? It’s the stuff of fever dreams! Thankfully, the absurdity is an amusing, nostalgia-fuelled wrapper, around the beginnings of a deep turn-based tactics game. The demo’s strategic meat, roguelite hooks and tabletop charm had me glued. If the full release of Reptilian Rising can build on this foundation, it could be a real gem.
A copy of Reptilian Rising was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this preview.
