If you’ve been missing deep, historical, isometric tactical RPGs in which every decision carries serious consequences, the Danish developers at Campfire Cabal and publisher THQ Nordic have some exciting news for you. The cult classic Expeditions series is returning — and heading straight to the Far East.

Expeditions: Samurai is set to launch on Steam Early Access on 7 August 2026. At its core, it’s a classic party-based role-playing game featuring turn-based combat, an immersive narrative, a focus on a squad of characters and domain development. Breaking down the genre formula in simple terms, the game feels like a hybrid of the previous entry in the series, Expeditions: Rome, combined with the brutal tactics of Jagged Alliance 3 and the stealth elements of Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. This creates a unique blend of pirate aesthetics, samurai honor and the real politics of feudal Japan.

The Danish studio Campfire Cabal is responsible for developing the game. Although it’s a new name, the team consists of veterans from Logic Artists. They are the ones who brought us the previous installments: Conquistador, Viking, and Rome. Drawing on all their past experience under the THQ Nordic umbrella, the team has made the game even more ambitious.

In terms of its spirit and mechanics, Samurai draws on several popular titles. It borrowed its core tactics, turn-based combat, and a strong emphasis on story from the Rome series. It inherited deep tactical gameplay, realistic combat injuries, and squad management from Jagged Alliance 3. Meanwhile, Shadow Tactics contributed the game’s feudal Japanese atmosphere and sophisticated stealth mechanics.

As the title suggests, the game Expeditions: Samurai is set in Japan (and no, it’s not that other game about the 67^(th) expedition). It is the year 1600, and you are a Dutch privateer setting sail for Japan on orders from the English queen. She wants to establish trade routes with the local population and has specifically entrusted this task to you. Of course, nothing goes right on the journey. Your entire crew is tired and irritable from having to ration their food and water.

To make matters worse, your ship is attacked before it even reaches its destination. When you finally disembark in Japan, it becomes clear that you are not welcome. How you handle this situation is entirely up to you.

You take on the role of a newly appointed captain named Flynn — or a pair of twins if you’re playing in co-op mode. To the locals and monarchs, you appear to be savages and outsiders, while the Catholic Jesuit missions view the Dutch as dangerous heretics.

You must find your way in this foreign country with its unknown challenges and political intrigues. You will also have to lead your diverse team of eight companions, each with their own personalities and backstories. Every decision you make affects not only you, but them as well. It can influence their relationships, trust and lives. Even the most minor decision can have far-reaching consequences. Each character on your team will also level up and earn skill points. These can be used to develop four different types of skills: “Strength”, “Dexterity”, “Perception” and “Intelligence”.

Each class has its own specific skills into which you can invest points. For instance, ‘Dexterity’ increases your chance of landing a critical hit and improves your maneuverability in combat. The three skills under ‘Dexterity’ are ‘Surprise Attack’, ‘Cunning’, and ‘Manipulation’.

The gameplay in Expeditions: Samurai builds on the traditional formula of tactical role-playing games such as BG3 and significantly expands upon it with a variety of in-depth mechanics. It revolves around a blend of real-time exploration, stealth missions and complex turn-based battles, as well as managing your squad and developing your village.

As you explore, you can interact with different people, visit stores and even sneak into places you probably shouldn’t.

Typically, your party members simply follow the character you’re controlling, but you can choose to split up the party. In that case, each character will stay where they are until you move them.

Stealth is a fully-fledged third approach to solving challenges, on par with force and diplomacy. Before combat begins, your team moves in real time, allowing you to freely explore the map, hide in tall grass, track patrols’ fields of vision and set up the perfect ambush. During combat, you can set environmental objects on fire, use firecrackers and smoke and flash-bang grenades to distract or blind enemies and silently take out guards from behind. You can split up your squad: while some team members create a commotion or distract the guards with small talk on one flank, stealthy teammates can infiltrate the secured area from behind and steal the necessary documents.

The transition to combat is seamless, happening directly from stealth mode. Although turn-based battles take place on a traditional grid map with cover, the simultaneous turn system makes the gameplay feel much more dynamic. Players no longer have to wait passively for each ally to finish their turn; movement and action commands can be issued simultaneously. The combat system also actively takes weapon types and their synergies into account. For example, you can combine European firearms, such as powerful but loud muskets and slow-reloading pistols, with a traditional Japanese arsenal of katana, naginata and yari.

Significant attention has been paid to the injury system and the unit’s economy. Heroes don’t just lose health; they can also sustain real injuries, such as deep wounds, fractures, and burns. Each injury has negative effects and requires qualified medical care, medication and extended rest. Another layer of gameplay soon opens up, in which you must manage your own Japanese village, which you receive as part of your service. You will need to construct buildings, develop crafts, organize resource gathering, train people and establish a fortified base to support your squad.

This feature enables you to deploy the character with the best ‘Surprise Attack’ skill to infiltrate the area and eliminate all the unsuspecting guards. However, don’t forget to keep the rest of your party informed from time to time. If you neglect to do so and they end up too far away, they won’t be able to participate in combat if your stealth character is detected and a battle begins. This could prove fatal.

Previous installments were developed using Unity, but the developers switched to Unreal Engine 5 for Samurai. This has resulted in a much more beautiful-looking game. They opted for a realistic look rather than anime-style stylization, giving everything a sleek, historical feel. The game now features beautiful lighting, dense bamboo groves, dynamic gunpowder smoke and rainy streets. They have also replaced the usual static images with animated character portraits during dialogue.

It is also worth knowing about some of the project’s weaknesses in advance. As the game is launching in Early Access, only the first act of the story will be available on 7 August 2026. You’ll have to wait until early 2027 for the full 1.0 version, which will include 60 hours of content.

The game lacks any magic or mysticism, so if you’re into fireballs and monsters, you might find the historical setting too simple. Also, managing the village and treating injuries takes time, and this kind of management may be distracting for those who just want ‘bread and circuses’.

Expeditions: Samurai looks set to be a significant step forward for the entire series. The switch to Unreal Engine 5, smooth stealth gameplay, village building and co-op mode make this project extremely interesting. If you enjoy historical games, strategy and the atmosphere of old Japan, this game is definitely worth checking out. However, if you dislike unfinished versions and want to play through the entire story immediately, it’s better to wait for the full release in 2027. For now, the game needs a little work — and some love.