Antihero

Text Review:
Pros:
-Great, cartoony yet dark, cute yet edgy, angular yet bulbous visuals (It's a dark, criminal underworld caricature of Victorian/ Dickensian London)
-Good, regal, Victorian-inspired music (Fits with the setting and visuals as it shifts from serious to industrious and playful although usually it's sinister)
-Great, well thought out gameplay! It actually feels strategic or at least I, in my limited understanding, can't see an obvious exploit that will win the match outright (Although getting two gangs and leveling them to max seems like a good play). It seems like every move has a counter as far as I can tell and the tech tree may cater to different play styles ("I prefer having extra moves and a strong economy to gang warfare" some may say). It plays more like a strategy game than a boardgame because luck only determines what neighbourhoods are created where as well as when and where neutral contracts and thugs spawn.
Maybes:
-The campaign mostly consists of levels where you play a multiplayer game mode against the AI (Perhaps not the most interesting excercise to play a boardgame against AI) and is maybe more of an extended tutorial but it has a couple of unique levels you can only play on the campaign and it's rare for boardgames to have a campaign!
-It's a boardgame with only two player capability which is rare
-The story is very light and does not strain itself (It's more here to give a justification to that kind of campaign) but it succeeds atmospherically and has funny neighbourhood names
Video Review:
Short Review:

Antihero is a clever turn-based strategy game developed by Tim Conkling and published by Versus Evil and tinyBuild that puts players in control of a growing criminal syndicate instead of a noble kingdom. Set within a stylized Victorian city filled with wealthy estates, bustling businesses, and shadowy alleyways, the game embraces the idea that success comes through manipulation, theft, and careful planning rather than brute force. This unusual premise immediately separates it from conventional strategy games, creating an experience that feels fresh while maintaining the tactical depth genre fans expect. Every match revolves around building influence across the city, outsmarting rival thieves, and gradually establishing dominance through calculated criminal operations.
The game's strategic mechanics are deceptively approachable. Players recruit thieves, street urchins, assassins, and other shady characters while expanding their guild's influence throughout the city. Buildings generate valuable resources, neighborhoods provide opportunities for expansion, and every captured district strengthens your growing empire. Choosing when to invest in new recruits, improve your headquarters, sabotage rivals, or seize important locations constantly presents meaningful decisions. Although the controls and basic systems are easy to understand, mastering the timing of each action and anticipating an opponent's next move requires careful planning and experience, making every victory feel well earned.
Economic management plays a major role in shaping each match. Gold serves as the foundation for expanding your organization, hiring additional operatives, purchasing upgrades, and unlocking new tactical options. Every successful burglary, captured business, or controlled district contributes to your long-term success, while denying those same opportunities to your competitors. Rather than relying purely on military strength, Antihero rewards efficient resource management and strategic positioning. This balance between economy, territorial control, and tactical encounters creates engaging matches where even small decisions can significantly affect the final outcome.
One of the game's most impressive accomplishments is how naturally it blends digital strategy mechanics with the feel of a tabletop board game. Turns progress at a comfortable pace, giving players enough time to evaluate their options without dragging the experience unnecessarily. Several different paths to victory remain viable throughout each game, whether focusing on aggressive expansion, superior income generation, covert assassinations, or disruptive sabotage. This variety encourages experimentation and prevents the gameplay from becoming repetitive, especially as players discover new combinations of upgrades and strategies across multiple matches.
The presentation perfectly complements the game's playful criminal theme. Its cartoon-inspired Victorian setting features elegant architecture, lively streets, and charming character designs that give the city a memorable personality. Despite the humorous visual style, the interface remains clean and functional, making it easy to understand unit positions, available actions, and important objectives. The soundtrack reinforces the atmosphere with compositions that evoke mystery, mischief, and adventure, helping immerse players in a world where every successful heist feels both satisfying and entertaining.
The single-player campaign provides an excellent introduction by gradually introducing mechanics instead of overwhelming newcomers. Each mission expands upon previous lessons while presenting increasingly complex situations that require more thoughtful decision-making. Alongside its tutorial function, the campaign offers lighthearted storytelling filled with witty dialogue and amusing scenarios that reinforce the game's mischievous tone. While the narrative is not especially deep, it succeeds in giving personality to the experience and provides enough motivation to keep progressing through each challenge.
Multiplayer is where Antihero truly demonstrates its longevity. Competitive matches against friends or online opponents showcase the depth of the game's mechanics, with every decision becoming increasingly important against experienced rivals. The inclusion of asynchronous multiplayer is particularly valuable, allowing players to participate in several matches simultaneously without requiring everyone to be online at the same time. Live online games, local multiplayer, AI skirmishes, and customizable rule sets further expand replay value, making it easy for players to tailor matches to their preferred level of competition.
Although Antihero excels in many areas, it is not entirely without shortcomings. Players looking for an extensive story campaign may find its narrative relatively brief, and newcomers entering multiplayer may initially struggle against veterans who understand optimal economic strategies. Some matches can become difficult to recover from after an early mistake, especially when facing skilled opponents who capitalize on every advantage. Nevertheless, these issues are relatively minor compared to the overall quality of the experience and are largely balanced by the game's excellent replayability and rewarding strategic depth.
Antihero succeeds by delivering an imaginative blend of city management, tactical planning, economic strategy, and competitive multiplayer within an original Victorian criminal setting. Its accessible mechanics welcome new players while offering enough complexity to satisfy dedicated strategy enthusiasts over dozens of hours. The combination of charming visuals, intelligent game design, flexible multiplayer options, and consistently engaging decision-making makes it one of the more distinctive strategy titles available on Steam. Anyone who enjoys thoughtful turn-based gameplay with a unique twist will likely find Antihero to be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Rating: 8/10

Came back to this yet again after well over a year. Still very charming artistically. Still very enjoyable to play. Still rather disappointing in terms of content.
I would suggest that the full price is quite excessive, (especially considering online matches are nigh impossible to find) but it is still a lovely little game with a lot of character and enough enjoyment in it's limited single player content to have coaxed me back more than once.

It's a nicely paced low energy game that lasts about 20 minutes and is entertaining.

Bought it on discount, a pretty good 5-6 hrs of campaign. Gets repetitive towards the end but it's fun if you like games like turn based tactics games like Advanced Wars

First things first. This game is dope AF. It's been a while since I played it (I played near launch a bunch then haven't since). Second, hopefully this gets to Tim Conkling, but for some reason certain keys don't register when playing (like when u click online and are prompted to make an account, I can't use the keys 'e' or 'd' for some reason). Hopefully that gets fixed, cuz I would love to jump back online again on this (if anyone is even playing). If not, that's cool too! Still an awesome game, totally worth for just the campaign and skirmishes alone!

Scouting is bugged. Does not let you chose directions so you`ll end up scouting 2 tiles instead of 3.