Speaking of gifted developers, Double Fine have carved their own little niche thanks to brilliantly hilarious writing, memorable character/world design - and a general sense of charm that connotes Tim Burton's finest older work, whilst retaining enough of their own individuality to make it their own. Like Invisible Inc., Massive Chalice is their take on the XCOM formula, placing troops in specific places and springing your attack when they're all in position - although the identifying factor that takes over involves running a small continent of neighbouring islands. You'll have to match up your best male and female warriors to create family lines that can be used in the ongoing battle against the Cadence; an mysterious alien force trying to take over the land . Don't resign everyone to the home life though, or you'll have nobody active in the field. It creates a very unique pendulum swing of utility, where after coming to rely on a certain fighter in your ranks, they might be better served fostering a family than staying on fighting or getting too old to, well, 'perform'. It takes on a pretty bleak Game of Thrones-ian edge when suddenly you're forcing barely legal couples to shack up for the sake of providing more bodies to aid the war effort, and although Double Fine's signature humour keeps things light enough, there's a real feeling of impending doom across every playtime. Oh, and the game plays out across 300 in-game years, meaning although your own omnipotent 'character' doesn't age, instead your forces are all going to die multiple times over - so you have to plan for the future at every turn. Best get to it, then.
