The DioField Chronicle is a refreshing, controller-focused hero-based RTS with no base building. Selecting Hard mode is a necessity, as the default difficulty is far too easy, and even Hard will not provide an outright challenge for most players. On a Steam Deck (or I imagine, the Switch as well), this problem is negated, and this becomes an excellent game for playing on the couch next to your partner or killing time at the airport. While I ended up falling in love with the pause and play style of gameplay, a few lingering issues held the game back for me.

The scenario, written by Yuu Oshima, who previously worked on Fire Emblem Awakening as well as Fire Emblem Conquest, starts out promising before diving into some ethically very strange territory. Without giving away too much, it becomes difficult to stomach some of the things your characters say and do, without much comeuppance to balance the issue out. While the ending is fairly interesting, it ends right when you'd want the game to actually start. That said, many side quests and side characters provide interesting mini scenarios, so it's not all bad. These side characters were often far more interesting than the main cast, and the game does a good job incorporating their commentary into missions as well, which was fun & pleasant.

My other issue is with character progression. It doesn't feel complete, with skill trees taking too long to progress for the length of the game. Many useless skills as well.

Give the demo a shot. If it seems like something you'd like, pick it up on sale. It never really changes much from that demo gameplay, so you won't be too surprised either way.