First Look at Reigns

You are the young king. Rule your kingdom as you wish. But, be careful for ruling may not be as easy as it seems. Long live the king, or will he?

Reigns, a new indie game, has been released on steam this August at the low price of £1.99. Developed by Nerial and published by Devolver Digital this multiple choice enables you to rule your own kingdom and see to your unique fate as the consequence of your decisions.
A lot of gaming Youtubers such as Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, and WeaselZone have been playing Reigns and I, as a Youtube addict, have been watching all the episodes.

After purchasing the game on steam, I finally have the pleasure to experience Reigns first-hand.

What is Reigns?

The main concept of the game is to keep the four aspects of your Kingdom (religion, people, army, money) balanced so that your reign can be long and prosperous. Let the bar drop too low, or raise too high, and your reign as king will end.
Managing and decision-making is key. The interesting thing is that there are multiple endings available which are all affected by the choices you make during the game.

Since I watched some ‘lets play’s’ I was able to jump straight in without much delay and attempt managing my rule to please my kingdom.

The appearance

The card game style is pretty unique, the minimalistic art style featured throughout. The characters are pretty cute-looking with their little 2D faces and tiny eyes. This makes the game aesthetic, definitely adding to character and charm.
The music in the game also really adds to the atmosphere. Pretty chill and not too invasive, it fits well with the game and its archaic content.
The sound effects were also well-chosen, I particularly liked the clicking sound that followed after each swipe of a card.

The gameplay

To play you must choose between two answers in reply to each question you are given. Chose the left or right decision by clicking on either side. The game then proceeds to providing you with more questions, offers, and statements. The decisions you make affect how your Kingdom develops, and how long you live. By making choices you unlock achievements, fulfill objectives and discover your fate as king.

I started off as King Gerald, reigning an average sixteen years in power. Sadly, I let my army down and died at the steps of my throne after an attack on my kingdom. Each death means you will begin as a new king. This forms a timeline which is also a very interesting and aesthetic way of displaying game progress and history.

As you continue with the game you discover more cards which provide you with new, interesting decisions to make. Each death can also be seen as an achievement, as you discover new endings to the story.
The game offers you cryptic tasks and objectives to complete, such as “try the blue one”, which you complete and discover the meaning of through decision-making in the game.
The first achievement I completed was “Meet the doctor” which I did by making the decision of letting myself be introduced to a ‘bit of a magician’.

Some decisions you make can have a long-lasting effect on your gameplay which can last through the reign of more than one king.
For example, the first long lasting effect I received was “Theocracy”. This meant that I couldn’t say no to the propositions church, but I no longer had to worry about money.
As you play you acquire titles that are placed after your name, the first you receive might be “The young” as you reign for at least five years.
You can also acquire other titles such as “The creepy” or “The wise”,etc, depending on your choices. This causes you to become “Henry the wise”, for example.

My opinion

I’ve become pretty addicted to the game as it provides you the opportunity to discover new outcomes each time you play.
Each turn you play can vary greatly with fun surprises and mini games such as duels, where you can unlock new moves to battle the characters as you reign.
Lose yourself in the dungeon, begin a crusade, and find the frozen blood to continue your reign as king.

So far, I achieved a high score of 71 years in reign. Let’s see how well you can do.