Boot up a fresh save of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim right now and there’s every chance you’ll still be at it come 2036. That isn’t a gag about scope creep — it’s a plain description of how long a game lasts when its entire existence has been spent inspiring somebody else’s dragons.
Skyrim has become the title you always keep on standby. Fresh mods arrive for it weekly, and total conversions can transform it into something else entirely, frequently with barely any effort required from you.
Even so, Skyrim remains a modern open-world RPG at its core. There’s an entirely different craving it leaves untouched — and Steam is the place to satisfy that one.
A turn-based RPG wearing 1992 as a costume
Tuoni reaches back toward an older Ultima aesthetic while lifting motifs from Skyrim along the way. Combat plays out in turns, and the sell is retro PC gaming run through a modern filter.
The world you wander draws on Finnish folklore, with your route pointed toward Tuoni itself — the land of the dead that lends the game its name. Every bit of it is procedurally generated. The fighting aims to be “tactical and unforgiving.”
Classes aren’t a thing here. Wander wherever you like as you pursue the quest.
Two modes, and one of them holds a grudge
Progress in Adventure mode is preserved through checkpoints. Traditional mode takes a different view: die once and you’re back at square one.
Scanlines are switched on out of the box, though the CRT filter can be turned off if squinting isn’t your idea of fun. Its presence is a deliberate part of the look, there to conjure up classic PC RPGs.
The studio’s own description
This is the way Old Dog sums the project up: “A turn-based Roguelike RPG set in a mythic northern wilderness. Explore procedurally generated lands, battle eerie folkloric creatures, and craft powerful builds on your journey to the land of the dead. Experiment with diverse playstyles in a richly tactical, old-school-inspired adventure.”
You can play the demo — the game itself is another matter
Tuoni currently sits under a “coming soon” tag with no date attached. Its demo arrived in late July and can be downloaded today.
Old Dog puts the demo at “1-3 hours” of content, and don’t expect your progress to travel: “This demo is a customized package of content that roughly translates to Act 1 of the full game. Existing Demo content will be extended and possibly altered in the full game.”
Feedback on this build is being gathered by the team, who direct players to their Discord server. Which means whatever you play today is a build you’re actually invited to grumble about — a step beyond what most demos bother with.