Band of Crusaders

About this game

In medieval Europe, sins give rise to demonic amalgamations. Heresy and fear slowly consume the entire realm. As Grandmaster of a knightly order, you are called to lead a crusade against this unholy menace. Gather your Brothers, strengthen your camp, and confront the Archdemons in fierce battles to reclaim the land from darkness.

Band of Crusaders immerses you in a dark medieval fantasy where your leadership determines the fate of Europe.



Experience a dynamic, tactical combat system enhanced by slow-motion mechanics. Victory hinges on character synergies, smart use of abilities, and unit positioning. The consequences of combat are significant, as every hit could lead to the permanent death of a crusader. Engagements will pull you into deep, stat-driven, party-based combat with a variety of maps offering different tactical opportunities.




Manage and develop a roster of up to 20 crusader knights while navigating scarce resources in a ravaged landscape. Develop your camp to support recruitment, healing, repairs, training, and more. Each crusader brings novelty to your camp with their own backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses as well as the ability to synergize with their Brothers. The upgradable buildings offer intricate interactions that are designed to foster experimentation and strategic campaign progression.




Progress your crusaders through attributes and abilities with skill trees encouraging versatile multi-role builds. Select equipment to support your combat strategy and improve upon it throughout your campaign. Without fixed character classes, abilities are universal and connect directly with crusaders’ weapons. Players can utilize a mix of active, passive, and semi-active abilities to craft their own playstyle.




The world changes over time, driven by a wide range of emergent player and NPC interactions. Your progress is influenced by a simulated invasion of demonic forces, triggering reactions from human factions. This relentless onslaught culminates in epic boss battles where the player has the power to emerge victorious; a savior of humanity. On this path, your gameplay will be influenced by world conditions, such as the saturation of demonic forces, changing seasons, and a day-night cycle.




You will have to face not only human enemies but also demonic creatures inspired by biblical descriptions and European folklore. Each of the enemy families has its strengths and weaknesses, encouraging the player to strategize and adjust their combat tactics.




We are Virtual Alchemy, a small indie developer based in Poland, rooted in Europe's rich medieval history. Band of Crusaders is our love letter to games that we personally enjoy playing. At heart, we believe in the freedom of player expression. We aim to create intellectually challenging games that each have their own unique and compelling identity.

Latest news

• Announcements·23 Jul 2026Official

  Chronicle of the Crusade #5: Events

  The road to salvation is long, and not every challenge can be solved with a sword.While battles are at the heart of Band of Crusaders, much of your Crusade will be shaped by the decisions you make outside of combat. Today, we'd like to introduce another important system that helps create these stories: Events.EventsEvents are dynamic encounters that can occur throughout your campaign. They represent the countless situations your Order may face while travelling across the land, from disputes among your Crusaders and encounters with strangers, to opportunities, moral dilemmas, and discoveries hidden off the beaten path.While you can plan exactly when to undertake quests, Events are dynamic and react to the state of your campaign. The Crusaders in your company, your resources, your reputation, the terrain you're travelling through, the time of day, and even previous Events can all influence which situations may arise.As a result, each playthrough will have various modifiers resulting in more diverse and unpredictable gameplay.The Right Men at the Right TimeThe composition of your Order plays a major role in determining which Events become available and how they can be resolved.A former Hunter may notice signs of activity deep within a forest. A Road Warden might recognize an ambush before it unfolds. A Zealot—hinting at our upcoming Faith mechanic— may push for a harsher solution when dealing with suspected heretics, while a less faithful Crusader could argue for mercy.In some cases, simply having a particular Crusader in your company can unlock entirely new opportunities. In others, their skills, injuries, experience, or personal traits may change the choices available to you.The men travelling with your Order are not merely soldiers. They are often the reason an Event occurs in the first place.Choices and ConsequencesEvery Event presents several choices, and while some options are always available, others may only appear when specific conditions are met.For example, ...
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• Announcements·24 Apr 2026Official

  Sneak Peek at Emergent Storytelling during Second Wind Games Showcase

  ⚔️ Sneak Peek at Emergent Storytelling during Second Wind Games ShowcaseWe’re excited to be featured in Second Wind Games Showcase, where Tom - one of our game designers shares insights into how we’re expanding the narrative layer of the game bringing more depth, choice, and storytelling into your experience.If you’re curious about how the world of Band of Crusaders is taking shape, this is something you won’t want to miss.🎥 Watch HERE
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• Announcements·15 Apr 2026Official

  Chronicle of the Crusade #4: Level Modifiers

  In Band of Crusaders, combat is a crucial element. Today, we’re unraveling another important layer you’ll face: Level Modifiers. Understanding what they are and preparing in advance will be vital to your Crusade’s victory.Level ModifiersBefore entering combat, you’ll have a chance to prepare for each encounter. You’ll be presented with key information such as the number and types of enemies, as well as details about the battlefield. These details are determined by a set of mechanics we call Level Modifiers.In a world where nothing is given, knowing your battleground is key to victory. Carefully studying and understanding Level Modifiers can give you an edge in the upcoming battle.Level Modifiers can be broken down into four categories: Time of Day, Biome, Terrain Modifiers and Weather. In the screenshot above, you can see two examples:Night TimeVillageTime of DayThere are two possible Time of Day conditions:Day Time – no impactNight Time – all units receive a “darkness” statusFor humanoid units (not only Crusaders, but also Bandits and Cultists), this lowers hit chance. Abominations, on the other hand, gain an increased chance to land critical strikes.This doesn’t mean you can only fight during the day. Many maps include light sources that remove the “darkness” status. You can also create your own light sources using fire-based skills that generate burning effects. This opens up tactical choices in both team composition and character positioning.BiomeThe biome determines the map where combat takes place, each with its own unique design and atmosphere. The biomes in Band of Crusaders are:FieldsBroadleaf ForestConifer ForestVillageSwampEach environment also has a Chaos variant, meaning there are 10 different biomes to fight in.Terrain ModifiersEach biome can randomly include unique Terrain Modifiers. Here are a few examples:Traps (Forest biomes) – randomly generated bear traps that are dangerous to all non-flying units. You can use them against enemies or accidentally...
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• Announcements·11 Feb 2026Official

  Chronicle of the Crusade #3: Bandits

  In Band of Crusaders, Abominations are ravaging Europe—but they aren’t the only threat on your path. Humanity, weakened by cultists and the influence of corruption, has been pushed beyond its breaking point. Many have fallen into despair, abandoning any sense of civility.Let’s explore how Bandits work in our game.Bandits explainedBandits are an enemy NPC faction that will attack the player, trading caravans, and even militia patrols—if they deem them weak enough. This does not mean they are allied with Cultists or Abominations. On the contrary, Bandits themselves often become prey for those threats. Abominations and Cultists will attack Bandits just as readily as they attack the player.Mechanically, Bandits are similar to Crusaders. They leverage the same three base attributes that convert into combat statistics, and they use the same types of armour and weapons. Just like Crusaders, they can possess both active and passive skills.In battle, Bandits feel different from Abominations. Since Bandits use the same equipment system, they also benefit from the same unique weapon-type bonuses:Maces deal increased damage to armour.Swords deal increased damage to health. Crossbows have higher base weapon damage but, unlike other weapons, do not scale with Strength (just like in real life).Bows deal lower damage to armour but higher damage to health.Polearms gain increased attack speed when damaging enemies from more than 2 meters away.Axes deal additional damage on critical strikes.Bandit TypesFighting Bandits early on can be a viable strategy to gather better gear for your Crusade—but choose your targets carefully. There are various Bandit groups you may encounter in the game:Cattle Thieves – Common folk armed with whatever was available, wearing ragged clothing.Poachers – Armed with ranged weapons, specializing in harassment from a distance. (We’ve heard your feedback and are adjusting them to be as exciting as they should be.) Raubritters – Once noble, now fallen from grac...
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• Announcements·31 Dec 2025Official

  🎉 Wrapping Up an Incredible Year — Thank You, Crusaders! ⚔️

  As the year comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to every single one of you who has supported Band of Crusaders. Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or just joined the adventure, your passion, feedback, and encouragement mean the world to us.This year has been huge for our team:🛡️ We ran a major playtest — your feedback helped us shape key systems and improve the core gameplay loop. 🎮 We released an early demo so more of you could get hands-on with Band of Crusaders and experience the journey for yourselves. 🎥 Our trailer was featured by IGN three times! A surreal milestone for us. 🔥 We’ve surpassed 100,000 wishlists on Steam, and we couldn’t be more grateful (or amazed!) by how many of you there are. 🌍 We went to Gamescom, where we were able to showcase Band of Crusaders to top press and news outlets. 🚀 We launched our Kickstarter pre-launch page — and already over 230 of you have followed it! Your excitement fuels us every day.But above all…💖 Our community has grown into something truly special. You share theories, send us bugs (thank you!), and constantly push us to make the game better. Band of Crusaders is becoming what it is because of you — your support, your patience, your honesty, and your love for deep, strategic gameplay.We can’t wait to show you what we’re working on next in the new year. There’s so much more to come — and we’re incredibly grateful to have you on this journey with us.From all of us on the team: Thank you, Crusaders. Onward to an amazing new year together! 🏰✨
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