Reigns

While not random, the swipes feel.... inconsequential and repetitive. The novelty soon wears off and all that is left is the chore of balancing and finishing. The rush of tinder swiping soon gives way to an empty feeling of yearning for more. Better and real connections that truly sate the empty hunger within every one of us. Oh, yeah, the game is all of the above too.

Anniversary update wiped my save. Very cool.

Very hard for me to give a positive score to this one but I'll tell you this - it may look quite enticing to play through this game in one or a couple of sittings, but please take your time with Reigns. Otherwise, the repetitiveness and RNG-induced frustration will kill you, trust me. Especially the latter. That being said, some things I enjoyed: - The black and absurd humor - Game rewarding you with new events, characters and cards from time to time, for that sweet dopamine hit - Ways of dying being one of the collectables and mechanics of this game (still haven't figured them all out) - The simplicity of it all: it's either swiping left or right to choose your action and move on with the story If you're ready for a game that will do everything in its power to discourage you from going forward due to intentionally bad and absurd RNG (think Darkest Dungeon but you can see it from a mile away and there's absolutely nothing you can do to prevent it), then go for it.

Reigns is what happens when Tinder, medieval politics and an extremely unsafe workplace join forces. You play as a succession of kings who must respond to every royal problem by swiping a card left or right. Each decision affects the Church, the people, the army and the treasury. Allow any one of them to become too weak or too powerful and your reign ends—usually violently, embarrassingly or both. It sounds almost too simple, but there is considerably more hiding beneath the oversized cards and minimalist artwork. The good: -- The basic idea is excellent. Every problem has only two possible answers, but you are rarely given enough information to predict all the consequences. Helping the peasants might empty your treasury. Supporting the army might annoy the Church. Refusing to pet a dog might initiate a chain of events that reshapes the kingdom. Standard monarchy stuff. -- It is very easy to learn. There are no complicated controls, enormous technology trees or forty-minute tutorials explaining grain production. You read a card, consider the likely consequences and swipe. -- The writing is consistently funny. Reigns does not take its medieval setting too seriously. Advisors, priests, generals, doctors, animals and assorted lunatics regularly appear with strange requests. The humor is usually brief and understated, which suits a game built around conversations lasting only a few sentences. -- Failure is part of the entertainment. Death is not really a punishment. Each dead monarch is replaced by another, while previously triggered events, discovered characters and unlocked cards remain part of the larger story. Some reigns last decades. Others end after a few years because you accidentally gave either the army or the clergy enough power to remove you. -- There is more progression than initially appears. New cards, characters, objectives and storylines gradually enter the deck. Completing royal challenges opens additional possibilities, so the game is not merely an endless sequence of unrelated random questions. -- The presentation is simple but effective. The artwork is clean, distinctive and immediately readable. It looks like a mobile game because that is clearly part of its design, but it is a polished and attractive one. -- It works well in short sessions. You can play for ten minutes, ruin the lives of several thousand fictional citizens and leave feeling productive. It is particularly suitable for those moments when you want to play something but do not want to remember seventeen keyboard shortcuts and the diplomatic situation of Eastern Europe. The bad: -- The decisions can be deliberately vague. The game indicates which groups will be affected, but not always whether their meters will rise or fall, nor by how much. This creates tension early on, but it can also make some deaths feel arbitrary rather than deserved. -- Repetition eventually becomes noticeable. You will encounter familiar cards during later reigns. New content continues to appear, but not quickly enough to prevent stretches in which you are swiping through situations you have already seen several times. -- Memory gradually replaces strategy. At first, you make decisions by interpreting the request and considering the political consequences. Later, you often choose an answer because you remember that the other one caused your head to become detached from the rest of your administrative apparatus. -- Balancing the four meters can feel restrictive. Sometimes the most interesting or funniest answer is obviously dangerous, so you select the boring option simply because the treasury is nearly empty. That is arguably the entire point of ruling a kingdom, but it can still limit experimentation. -- Completion requires patience. Reaching the main conclusion and unlocking most of the content involves repeating many reigns, meeting particular characters and triggering specific event chains. Players who only want a few casual runs will probably enjoy themselves. Players determined to see everything may eventually begin treating medieval government like spreadsheet management. Overall: Reigns takes one extremely simple mechanic and stretches it much further than expected. It is clever, funny and surprisingly addictive, even though repetition and occasionally unclear consequences prevent it from remaining equally enjoyable forever. Best played in smaller sessions rather than during one enormous royal marathon. Recommended for: -- Fans of choice-driven games -- Achievement hunters with some patience -- People who enjoy dark humor -- Aspiring monarchs who consider “not being executed this year” a successful political platform Not recommended for: -- Players looking for deep traditional strategy -- Anyone who needs every consequence explained in advance -- Kings with an intense fear of being overthrown by chickens, priests or their own treasury Final verdict: Recommended. A smart little game about maintaining political balance, uncovering strange storylines and discovering approximately how many different ways one man can die while wearing a crown.

Есть в этой игре какой-то шарм, однако всё это вышло из под контроля и разработчик наклепал целую кучу. Игры хватает на часов может 5 или меньше. Далее уже начинает репетатив и гринд достижений, выбивание концовок.

I was 20 cards away from all cards achievements but they decide to add more (which is good) and to reset all progress (now I am ALL cards away)

Fun at the start, but you soon realise that this game is just a massive waste of time. Some of the decisions make no sense as to why they affect certain stats. It gets easier when you unlock the ability to see how your decisions will affect the stats, but that only last so long and sometimes your ♥♥♥♥♥♥ no matter what. Don't recommend this game.

You make a choice left or right but it doesn't really make sense on how it will effect your country. There is a real lack of control while you play that makes me feel like I am wasting my time trying to play.

shít poopcuum