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Watch trailer on Steam ↗Happy Bastards
Clever Plays · Published by Clever Plays · Official site ↗
Content notice: This game includes fantasy violence, killing and unrealistic blood. The game also includes non-graphical sexual content, such as the player's characters going to the brothel or spending the night with an NPC, and involves consumption of alcohol or drugs by the player's characters. All of this is presented in a cartoony and humorous way.
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
Virtue? That’s for suckers. But fame? Priceless. Assemble unruly bastards into a mercenary squad and build your legend through reckless adventuring, bloody fights, lucrative looting, and dirty dealings. Choose your battles, and your allies, in this irreverent open-world tactical RPG.
Indie, RPG, Strategy · More free games
Assemble a ragtag squad of unruly bastards and navigate Kharos Station's ruins in this open-world tactical RPG from Clever Plays. Choose battles wisely, for virtue is for suckers—fame is priceless.
About this game
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About the Game
In Happy Bastards, you're a shameless opportunist with all the tactics, and none of the tact. Your goal: become stupidly famous!
Brutal fights and reckless adventuring are an excellent start, especially when your band of happy bastards handles the dangerous work while you sit back and reap the rewards.
Beyond the battlefield, every opportunity is a chance at fame. Dazzle the locals with exaggerated combat tales. Raise the dead for cheap labor. Deliver unlucky villagers to well-paying evil-doers. Bed NPCs for fun and gossip. And scam gullible monsters with lopsided deals.
When fame is the prize, everything’s fair game.
Become famous at all costs in Happy Bastards, the morally-bankrupt mercenary sandbox with tactical combat, RPG progression, and a world that reacts to your actions.
Explore a rich, hand-crafted fantasy world in real-time.
There is no pre-scripted story; you write your own by deciding where to go and what to do.
Every town, hero, and monster faction can be turned ally or foe, and reacts dynamically based on their own goals.
Chase fame through adventuring and debauchery, unlocking social opportunities and progression.
Recruit procedurally-generated mercenaries, each with their own attributes, quirks and appearance. Then train them into one of 20 classes with skill trees.
Babysit your squad in and out of combat, as your bastards argue, cause mischief, and speak their mind. Who said being the boss would be easy?
Engage in highly tactical turn-based combat on small battlefields where elevation affects movement, targeting, and combat advantage.
Master the unique systems of combat, such as the Tag-Team Swap, letting you rotate combatants mid-fight, and the Command system, a shared pool of abilities to use each round.
Survive brutal consequences like injuries, dismemberment and permadeath through unorthodox remedies like grafting and necromancy.
Interact any way you want with any NPC, including seduction and recruitment.
Capture any monster (or villager) for combat, labor, or the black market.
Every mechanic is fully transparent, with all calculations and systems exposed to the player.
Experience high replayability driven by procedural systems and emergent interactions.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Quad-core CPU
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 or AMD RX 550
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 20 GB available space
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 11
- Processor: Intel Core i7 / AMD Ryzen 7 (2.8 GHz)
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 / AMD RX 5700 XT (4 GB)
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 20 GB available space
Supported Languages
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
Combat Demo now available to play until October 5
Hey Happy Bastards!With our participation in the Tokyo Game Show Steam event, the combat demo’s availability will be extended to October 5Enjoy it for a limited time.If you want to read more about the combat demo, its features and where we stand currently with the game's development, you can read more about it in our previous update here:Have a nice one!- The Clever Plays teamRead full article on Community Announcements (Clever Plays Studio)AnnouncementsOfficial
Happy Bastards Combat Demo with DrIncompetent
Join Streamer DrIncompetent as they preview the Happy Bastards Combat Demo, which is available now to download and play on Steam!Download the Combat Demo NowJoin us in the Discord for more information and to chat with the devs and community.Read full article on Community Announcements (Clever Plays Studio)AnnouncementsOfficial
Gamescom Broadcast
Happy Bastards' combat demo will be available to play from August 26th to September 14th!Read full article on Community Announcements (Clever Plays Studio)AnnouncementsOfficial
Combat Demo available now!
Hey Happy Bastards!The combat demo is returning to Steam for the duration of Gamescom. Play it for free from August 26th to September 14th!COMBAT DEMO KEY FEATURES Although the full game will be an open-world tactical RPG, this playtest consists of a dungeon filled with traps, events, loot, and, of course, combat. Combat FeaturesDeep Tactical Turn-Based Combat - Small battlefields emphasize positioning, elevation, line of sight, control zones, shoving, and directional targeting.Command System - Support your mercenaries with powerful battlefield commands that add tactical flexibility each round.Tag-Team Swap Mechanic - Swap active mercenaries with reserve party members mid-combat to adapt your strategy on the fly.Living Characters - Mercenaries and enemies react dynamically during battle with dialogue, emotional responses, panic, and morale effects. Characters constantly comment on combat events, creating personality-driven and unpredictable encounters.Inspect Mode – Zoom in and closely examine allies and enemies directly within combat environments. Out of Combat FeaturesCharacter Generator – Even though the playable mercenaries are set for the combat demo, you can experiment with creating unique mercenaries and preview the game’s character variety.Dungeon Exploration – Explore a handcrafted dungeon layout featuring branching paths, secrets, and interactive encounters.Dynamic Events – Encounter dialogues, traps, and dilemmas that create immersive adventuring moments.Loot System – Discover gold, equipable combat charms, valuables, trophies, food, and other rewards throughout dungeons and combat. Consumables, such as potions, can be used strategically in and out of combat. Roster & Inventory Management – View character stats, XP, inventory, and equipped gear through the roster panel.What's new in the demo?Fixed a bug where the camera did not behave properly during start of combat;Minor bug fixes.WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE GAME?The team is still hard at work on the full demo a...Read full article on Community Announcements (Clever Plays Studio)AnnouncementsOfficial
The combat demo is going offline... for now.
Hey Happy Bastards!Starting today, Happy Bastards' combat demo is going offline. But don’t worry, it will come back later, with improvements.If you liked the demo and want to keep helping us steer the development of the game, we will be hosting closed playtests within our Discord community in the future. You can join our Discord server to know when these will happen.We wish to thank everyone who has played the demo and took the time to fill out the survey. Your feedback is precious.Until then. -The Clever Plays teamRead full article on Community Announcements (Clever Plays)
