Lost Frontier is a Turn-Based Strategy game produced by Mika Mobile (which also created games like Battleheart and Zombieville USA), set in a fantasy-western setting consumed by steam-punk technology and the supernatural. Can you survive with just your wit and a six-gun at your side?
Lost Frontier was first released for the iOS devices in 2016, and was later ported to PC in 2018. It features a 24 mission campaign, which follows the exploits of a trio of bounty hunters, John "6-eyes" McGraw, Wyatt "Long-Arm" Wilcox, and Doctor "Doc" Valentine, as they hunt a notorious desperado named "Undertaker" Harvey. Throughout the story, your wits will be tested as the game challenges you to master the use of 20 unique unit types. You’ll take command of a wide range of Wild West forces, from Gunslingers and Cavalry to civil-war era Cannons and Gatling Guns. Or, employ more exotic weapons like steam-powered Gyrocopters and Zeppelins, and enlist the help of dark forces like Werewolves and Necromancers. Careful and strategic use of your resources will be needed to best your merciless opponents.
To help you even the odds, take control of a "Living Legend", who acts as your commander on the battlefield, and helps to specialize your combat style. Each of nine unique Legends are available, and level up as you utilize them, steadily unlocking their full potential.
Once you’ve mastered the game, 20 challenge missions await. These are punishingly difficult battles meant to push you and your Legend’s abilities to the limit. Or, feel free to set up custom games against the AI or with your friends via hot seat multiplayer. Set up the rules, choose your legends, and let the bullets fly!
This game contains the following tropes:
- Ace Pilot: "Dutch" Quimby once Harvey gets her a Gyrocopter.
- Aloof Ally: Nadia Romanov to the heroes. She doesn't officially join the heroes, but her vampires help out in certain missions. The first time around, they're not that much of a help and merely exist to advertise their skills, but the second time, her vampire help you in a pincer attack on the Desperados, and help significantly more this time around. The third time, she introduces us to the Graveyard, which is what produces the supernatural units you've been seeing throughout the game. But on the last mission, she (and Clive) assists you in stopping Ghast once and for all.
- Anti-Air: The Gatling Gun, which can easily shred through any air or human unit, though it's not as effective against Steam Tanks, Werewolves at night, or Ghoul Hordes.
- Arbitrary Weapon Range: Riflemen, Cannons, and Necromancers cannot shoot targets that are too close. Necromancers mitigate this by being able to move and attack in one turn. And at a high enough level, Wilcox's Riflemen can attack one space away but still can't counterattack (though strangely Wyatt himself doesn't get this buff, instead having increased range and the ability to move and attack like a Necromancer).
- Big Bad: Harvey. While he does make a Deal with the Devil, he's still the driving antagonistic force that our heroes have a reason for pursuing. That is, until he's finally beaten three chapters before the last, after which the real Big Bad, Edmund Ghast takes center stage.
- Close-Range Combatant: McGraw's specialty is in Gunslingers, Cavalry, and Posses.
- Combat Medic: Valentine, being a Living Legend, is the only Doctor with an attack.
- A Commander Is You
- Counter-Attack: Like Sonja in Advance Wars, McGraw and all your close-range human units get to counter-attack before the opponent attacks them. Catch is, you get this just for McGraw at a very high level, and your units only get to do this half the time once you reach maximum level with him.
- Coup de Grâce: Given that last time Crazy Jake escaped jail after being imprisoned, McGraw takes no chances after finally cornering him and performs this. He also performs this on Ghast, given that he's a Necromancer and has been giving the group so much trouble.
- Dead All Along: Thanks to the below trope, this is what Harvey actually is.
- Deal with the Devil: Harvey makes one of these after being defeated the first time by McGraw and company.
- Easy Logistics: All you need for your units is to move them and order them to attack. There's no need to worry about ammunition, rations, or fuel (for steam vehicles).
- Enemy Mine: The heroes with Nadia Romanov (a vampire baroness), especially when Clive Hawken (a Slayer of supernatural creatures) joins the group. And when Edmund Ghast enters the picture, Clive affirms this view when she offers to help stop Ghast, since vampires cannot feed off of the undead. Romanov lets him think what he wants.
- Experience Points: All Living Legends earn this throughout the game, but only earn them after finishing a map (or when you surrender, but not before having your Legend kill off a few units first).
- Extra Turn: At a high enough level, Valentine is able to have the ability called Pistol, Stat. The catch is, he needs to end the turn by healing an allied unit or attacking an enemy unit to move again, after which he can only do what he didn't do for his first turn. Thankfully in this game, you can still heal fully healed units.
- Also at high enough levels, Romanov can get one of these after successfully killing an enemy unit with her, though this can be done only once per turn, preventing a player from chain-killing weakened enemies with her.
- Fragile Speedster: Cavalry, who are just as powerful as basic Gunslingers but have higher movement.
- Full Health Bonus: At high enough levels, Valentine's units get extra firepower while at full health.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: After you finish Story Mode with either of the three main characters, all the other Legends are then available to play in this mode, which inevitably leads to this.
- Gameplay Grading: Every story chapter and challenge mission has a maximum of three stars to earn. One star for defeating all enemies (the default win condition), one star for remaining below a certain number of casualties, and one star for finishing the battle under a specified amount of turns.
- Glass Cannon: All Riflemen, Cannons, Gatling Guns. Powerful attacks from range, but vulnerable when attacked from close range.
- The Engineer with his dynamite: it deals a lot of damage, but he can't counterattack with it.
- Zeppelins can wipe nearly every land unit (even the Gatling Gun by attacking it first), but are notoriously weak against other air units (exc. other Zeppelins, which can only attack land units) and the Gatling Gun.
- Werewolves are pretty damn powerful in terms of attack (they can even heavily damage a Steam Tank) and defense…at night. By day, they're as vulnerable as an unarmed human and have no attack capabilities.
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Good Bad Bugs: Sometimes, when leaving a game via Save and Exit, upon continuing a game, all Perks by all players are set to "Off". Somewhat irritating, but when playing the challenge maps, where your opponent is at Level 40 by default, this can possibly give you an edge. - Heal Thyself: At high enough levels, while playing as Valentine, Doctors can heal themselves for a fraction of the amount they've healed another unit.
- He Knows About Timed Hits: Wilcox provides the basics of the game mechanics in the first few missions. It's also a Forced Tutorial.
- Hero Unit: Your Living Legend is essentially this, coupled with Character Levels that give more and more abilities. While your Legend can be "killed" in battle, they can be redeployed at a Saloon like any other unit, but for a flat $15000, regardless of cost reductions your Legend provides.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: Dutch, after seeing what Harvey has become, though she had to be captured first by McGraw and company after she led them away from him. She assists alongside Clive in the final battle against Harvey, but she then leaves after the battle. Wilcox asks if they should chase her down, but Valentine says that while she isn't exactly innocent, her criminal days are over. Besides, he's getting too old for this business.
- Instant-Win Condition: Averted. There's no main base to capture, and your Hero Unit can be redeployed at a cost.
- In-Universe Game Clock: The game's turns alternate between "Day" and "Night", odd-numbered Rounds in the former and even-numbered Rounds in the latter. This affects Werewolves' modes, Vampires' strength, and (at a high enough level) Clive's and Ghast's Round-ly profits.
- Kill Streak: At a high enough level, Ghast's attack gets stronger (2%) with each kill, which is reset upon death.
- Long-Range Fighter: Wilcox's specialty is in long-range units like Riflemen, Cannons, and Gatling Guns. While Necromancers also qualify, they get boosted instead under Ghast.
- Mad Engineer: Crazy Jake.
- The Medic: Doctors and Chuck Wagons. Valentine's specialty is with these, and at a high enough level, buildings you own (aside from giving more funds than normal) will heal like Chuck Wagons, as well as provide extra defense on units adjacent to these units.
- The Man Behind the Man: Edmund Ghast to Harvey.
- Mêlée à Trois: During the two missions where wild Werewolves are encountered, it's usually this between them (in green), you (in red), and the Desperados (in blue). The kicker is, in the first one, the gang is between you and the Werewolves, though you get to run into some and the Desperados are big enough to wipe out the green team, though by then they should be manageable to you. The second time, it's you who's between the gang and Werewolves, who have been lured by dead animals set up by "Dutch". It still technically qualifies as the Werewolves will attack the blue troops if given the chance (but they have to get past yours first).
- Mook Commander: Clive Hawken gets to grant adjacent units defensive and offensive buffs once he reaches a high enough level.
- Necromancer: They serve as ranged attackers that can attack and move in the same turn unlike other long range units. In addition, if they kill a human unit, it returns as a Ghoul. Killing a Posse this way brings forth a Ghoul Horde. Unlike other supernatural units, they don't resist human attacks. Edmund Ghast, the real Big Bad, is one of these, and he plans to turn the entire frontier into his undead army.
- Never My Fault: After finally being cornered by McGraw and company in Chapter 21, Harvey blames all the death in the Frontier on them chasing him. While the trio don't deny they've done those things, they rebuke his argument in that he sent those men (those his gang killed and his own) to their deaths. Earlier in the game, the first time you meet Dutch, she pins his loss of sanity on them, despite him being a wanted man that justifies his being pursued.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Thanks to chasing down Harvey, with heavy casualties from both sides (Harvey with his rampage, McGraw and company by chasing him and his gang down), Edmund Ghast has managed to raise a lot of Ghouls, and goes after the heroes because they've proved capable of taking them out.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Vampires can Life Drain enemy human units and fly in bat form, but can only attack human units, and are weaker in the day than in the night, though not as bad as the Werewolf gets it.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: Werewolves are expensive yet very powerful, fast, and sturdy units…while it's nighttime. By day, they turn into ordinary defenseless humans, and can only move three squares.
- Our Zombies Are Different: Ghouls. Unlike every other unit, their attack power remains constant no matter the damage they sustain, making them a threat until they're completely destroyed. In addition, aside from bring deployed in a Graveyard, they can be created after a Necromancer kills a human unit (Necromancers can kill other units too, but no Ghouls will spawn in that case).
- Randomized Damage Attack: At a high enough level, Crazy Jake's forces overall get this.
- Recycled In Space: Lost Frontier is Nintendo Wars IN THE WILD WEST WITH Steampunk AND SUPERNATURAL MONSTERS!
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here/Not What I Signed on For: After realizing that Harvey has been ordering his gang to attack town For the Evulz rather than for profit, some of his members did this as well as "Dutch", though out of loyalty she lures McGraw and company away from Harvey first.
- Short-Range Long-Range Weapon: Revolvers wielded by most human units (and the Slayer's crossbow) only have a range of one space. Justified given the setting.
- Tank Goodness: Steam Tanks, which are very resistant to all attacks save for explosives and a Werewolf's claws.
- The Smurfette Principle: There are only two female Living Legends: "Dutch" and Romanov.
- Turn-Based Strategy: Under the same vein as Nintendo Wars.
- Vampire Hunter: Clive Hawken, whom McGraw and company approach for help after a couple of chapters fighting Ghouls and Necromancers. He and his Slayers have an attack and defense bonus against supernatural creatures, and he's at odds with Romanov when she offers her assistance.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: After finally putting a stop to Harvey's rampage, McGraw and company are finally heading back east to collect their bounty, Dutch slips away while they buried their dead and they decide not to follow, but on their way back, the real Big Bad shows up to try and eliminate them.
