I won’t lie with you: I may love almost everything containing samurai, jidaigeki themes, or the Sengoku period in general, but the amount of feudal Japanese-themed games released over the years, especially when it comes to higher-budgeted titles, became so frequent, I started feeling saturated and fed up with them. Someone had to start making something a bit different with the setting for me to pay attention to, and not yet another Ghost of Tsushima, Rise of the Ronin, and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. That announcement was THQ Nordic’s brand new entry in the turn-based tactics / RPG series Expeditions, the aptly named Expeditions: Samurai.

Early representation of Martin Luther’s schism with the Catholic Church, 1520.

I won’t say I am an Expeditions veteran. I had heard of its Rome counterpart, but wasn’t aware it was a franchise, and that a brand new entry was in the works. Expeditions: Samurai is set in the late Sengoku period, where you control a crew of Europeans en route to Japan. You are basically a fictional Dutch equivalent to William Adams (the Englishman who would eventually become the first white samurai, and the Nioh protagonist), who, in this alternate reality, has never left for Japan in the first place. You will be the first European samurai, thus history’s first weeaboo.

The difference between this turn-based strategic RPG and other titles, such as the obvious point of comparison Baldur’s Gate 3, is its scope. From what I could check out in this Early Access build, Expeditions: Samurai is not as open-ended; yes, it allows you to solve situations in multiple ways, but this is a smaller game in scope, sense of scale, and sidequests. For the most part, you are tasked with one objective at a time, and have one or two additional areas to waltz through in order to complete them.

Just like in most modern CRPGs, stealth is a crucial tool. If you get spotted, the quick load key is your ally.

Despite its more limited scope, its underwhelming visuals, and the inherent jank that is almost always attached to an Early Access label (meaning that the game is still far from completion), there were two things which really impressed me about this already available chunk of what Expeditions: Samurai has to offer. The first one is its high-quality storytelling. Between the excellent writing and fantastic voice acting, it didn’t take long before I knew who everybody was in my team, their needs, strengths, inner demons, and conflicts. The story wasn’t predictable, either. Even if I could notice a few plotholes here and there, I found the overall journey (or what I could grasp from it so far) interesting enough.

But what really impressed me about Expeditions: Samurai (and please remember, this is my first Expeditions game) is its combat system. It’s not a surprise if you have played Baldur’s Gate, or any of the many turn-based games churned out by THQ Nordic over the years, but I really liked the accessibility of its mechanics, coupled with the depth and complexity of its customization.

I don’t remember the last time I saw a face this punchable.

Given how you have access to a gigantic party of characters right from the getgo, each with his/her own strengths, weaknesses, attributes and weapons of choice, I was immediately given a lot of freedom on how to complete each fight. I could set a character up as a fast cleric, healing more than one ally per turn whilst still having enough mobility to move around and get to cover by the end of it. I could have a fast ranged striker, a bulky tank, and a jack-of-all-trades to wreak havoc on enemies, giving them little time to react, if any at all.

Again, nothing out of the ordinary if you’re used to these kinds of games. But it is something a bit novel in terms of its setting and premise. Rarely do we see turn-based RPGs set in feudal Japan, as samurai stories are a perfect fit for fast-paced action titles. The only other Sengoku-era game featuring a Western protagonist, for instance, was Nioh, way back in 2017, nearly a decade ago already. So it’s not about reinventing the wheel, but at least, so far, this has impressed me by using existing ingredients to come up with something a bit different than what I’m used to.

A combat system that is easy to grasp, but incredibly deep and complex to tinker with.

A few glitches and the usual Early Access jank still permeate what is currently available from Expeditions: Samurai, don’t get me wrong, but for a game I knew little of prior to playing, announced from thin air, this impressed me. It’s shaping up to become something that won’t wow anyone in terms of scope or innovative gameplay mechanics, but will captivate a sizeable player base due to how it uses existing story and gameplay elements to come up with an experience that is just slightly different enough from everything else to still stand out. Expeditions: Samurai‘s full build is slated for a Q1 2027 release, and I’ll be looking forward to it, without a doubt.