Release Date: 11/08/2016
Played On: Droid / Win
Available On: Droid / iOS / Lin / Mac / Win
Time Played: 3h 18m on Win / a bunch more on Droid
Progress: Ruled for a couple of milennia (still playing)
Developer: Nerial
Publisher: Devolver Digital
When I started writing these posts about games, I knew I'd be looking at a bunch of older titles that may not be all that relevant anymore. This was never meant to be a blog about the cutting edge new releases, but I didn't think I'd be writing about a game so close to the release of its sequel. I almost figured I'd wait until I'd played the next version, but this game is so damn good, I couldn't help myself.
Truth time: I've done a bit of internet dating before in the real world, but it was before Tinder came along so I've never done the whole swipe left/right thing until I played Reigns. In fact the only reason I know about the Tinder relationships is because every review ever has to mention it; so now I've mentioned it as well.
However, it never would have occurred to me that this method of game control could be so compelling. I've played Reigns on PC and on my Android phone, with the latter actually being the superior way to play. There's something about playing an entire game with simple thumb flicks that's satisfyingly quick and rewarding. It's this kind of innovation that really makes me smile when I'm playing a mobile game, and here it's more than just a gimmick.
The whole game is played through reading cards that appear on the screen with a proposition or a question, and you're tasked with swiping left or right to respond. The decisions are often binary options between affirmatives and negatives, but at times there are actual choices that aren't so black and white, which brings Reigns into its own class.
It's an RPG where you play the ruler of a feudal kingdom and try to survive as long as you can while balancing different elements of power. The cards you're faced with are mostly your subjects and influential people you rule over, who each have their own agenda. Will you appease the church and make everyone worship their god? Or allow your people to practice pagan rituals and wage war? The answer is, both… if you want to live.
There are four main meters at the top of the screen that represent the church, the population, the army, and the economy. Each has to be balanced in such a way that none of them become too powerful or too weak. For example, if the army gets too strong they might stage a coup and dethrone you, but let them get too weak and your enemies will take the advantage and overrun your lands.
At first the balancing act is compelling and difficult as you try and make wise decisions that won't piss too many people off. After a century of ruling or so, the gameplay of it becomes a bit more obvious and you start making decisions for the best outcome, instead of what might be morally right or wrong. It doesn't diminish the challenge of ruling your kingdom, but it does break a bit of the fourth wall, making it difficult to really get into the role-playing side.
Maybe I do want to give a bunch of money to the starving peasants, but their bar is almost full and the near-empty church bar will get a boost if I sped the cash on a church instead. Of course, it would add exponential complexities to the game if there were actual morality involved, but if there was anything wrong with Reigns, it would be the transparency of its systems.
Thankfully though, there's enough variety to keep it interesting and obfuscate the challenges of balancing each bar. Now and then you'll activate a condition that will persist for some time, like a holy crusade that brings a regular tick of money into the economy. These change the landscape of the game enough to change your decision making process, as it often comes with a buff in some areas, and perhaps even a nerf to some others.
Additionally, there are times when a character might show up and offer you the options of going on a quest or playing a game. In these sections there's the possibility of combat, which still uses the swipe left and right interface, but it's all about choosing when to attack and when to defend. The combat system doesn't make a lot of sense to me and I find I'm often just swiping away until I win or lose, with no idea how I got there. It's probably one of the weakest parts of the game, so it's nice that it doesn't come up a whole lot.
Where Reigns really shines is in its repeating characters that you meet and unlock along the way. As time passes from one ruler to the next, certain events and decisions will add more characters and scenarios to your available deck. It helps keep the game fresh each time you start a new generation, while letting you get to know the characters who've been around since the beginning.
Each character has some fairly obvious motivations that will help shape your kingdom as you give them more or less power. For instance, there's a witch who wants to do some funky voodoo style things to help the peasants, but of course the church guy doesn't want her to be given any power as she threatens the church's influence. The result being that whoever you side with will end up bringing their own unique benefits and disadvantages to the kingdom.
I guess this brings me back to the main flaw of the game, which is the overruling objective of keeping each bar in the middle. Using the previous example, it doesn't really matter if you want to side with the witch or the church; what really matters is which bar is full enough to take the hit from the downside to each decision.
It means that a lot of the time, ruling in Reigns comes down to flip-flopping between decisions to try and keep everyone happy at the same time. Even though it's not a game killer, the reason I keep thinking about it in-game is because you really need to focus on balancing the bars if you want to survive a long time.
Unfortunately all of this means that if you want to succeed and unlock more content, you need to forget about making decisions based on the dilemmas presented to you, and focus on the outcomes instead. It reduces some pretty interesting scenarios to a basic numbers game, which is a shame, but hopefully something that's improved in the upcoming sequel.
The coolest thing about Reigns is getting to know the characters and interacting with the simple interface. Throughout the game you're shown how much care has been taken with the design and overall presentation, and it really elevates it to greater heights.
It's the kind of game that I'll be recommending to everyone looking for something cool to play on their mobile phone. I often whip it out while I'm waiting around for an order or in line somewhere, as there's something super fun about ruling a kingdom with the simple swipe of the thumb. Sometimes it's over as soon as it began, but every now and then you get on a roll and rule for decades with un wavering power… until those damned bankers get too much money and leave you lying in the dirt.