The Lamplighter's League, announced today at the Paradox Interactive Showcase, is a turn-based squad tactics game in the vein of XCOM and Fire Emblem, combined with a pulpy, Indiana Jones-esque 1930s 1930s world reminiscent of Indiana Jones. Developer Harebrained Schemes once created the underrated Shadowrun RPG (open in new tab), a precursor to the new wave of great CRPGs that have emerged since the 2010s.

In the first trailer for The Lamplighters League, before tussling with a bunch of definitely-not-Nazis in gas masks and stormtrooper helmets, a femme fatale, a slippery rogue, and a fat mummy like Brendan Fraser types stealing ancient artifacts; Harebrained says they're "an outcast court" from "another 1930s," but I say if military boots fit, wear them; in the Lamplighters League your quirky bad squad will travel around the world to stop these bad guys, along with an Indiana Jones travel montage-style map of the world.

Harebrained Schemes showcases The Lamplighters League's emphasis on stealth and trickery. Most combat scenarios seem to allow for quiet infiltration, and the stealth system allows players to "sneak past enemies in real-time infiltration gameplay, quickly and quietly reap stragglers, and position [their] squads to take advantage of combat."

The mix of real-time stealth and positioning before combat and turn-based combat reminds me of the high-level play in "Divinity: Original Sin 2" and the turn-based mode in "Pillars of Eternity: Deadfire." In these games, you have to use the stealth system to fight harder. I loved the satisfaction I got from meticulously aligning all my companions, successfully completing a perfectly set trap, and then plunging into turn-based tactics to wipe out stragglers; I have high hopes for this combat based on past experiences with Harebrained, but especially this loot shooter-ized I'm interested to see how the developers handle progression in this era of single-player RPGs.

A short sizzle reel of gameplay at the end of the trailer showcases The Lamplighters League's familiar grid-based combat screens and some pretty fascinating environments, including an overgrown jungle temple, a sparse desert base, and a noirish city shrouded in fog The Lamplighters League is scheduled for release this year, and the game is available for purchase on Steam (opens in new tab), Epic (opens in new tab), or the Microsoft Store (opens in new tab).