2019-04-01 PC Gamer

D

eveloped by two brothers, Chris and

Manu Fernholz,Rising Lordsis a

turn-based strategy game with a

medieval twist. The Fernholz brothers

have a history in developing pen-and-paper and

board games, and some aspects of that type of

design have made their way into this, their first big

videogame venture. It’s an intriguing project, and

the brothers’ mission is to, in their words, shake up

existing game genres and infuse them with new

ideas. Well, you can’t fault their ambition.

You’re dealt a hand at the beginning of a

battle and these can be used on your

knights to apply buffs and other effects.

Use a card called First Strike on a

soldier and the next time they’re attacked,

they strike first. Another card, Shields Up,

ensures a target only takes five per cent

damage from the next ranged attack.

Then there’s Formation, which grants a

unit a +3 bonus to a stat called Retaliation,

which determines the likelihood of a

counter-attack. The game’s fusion of

turn-based strategy, CCGs, and board

games is confidently done, although the

build I’m playing is bare-bones compared

to what’s being touted for the final game.

The social division of the time period

will apparently play into the strategy and

systems, letting you, for example, throw

untrained serfs into battle as cannon

fodder – but at the risk of causing a revolt

in your cities. You’ll collect taxes, forge

weapons, build strongholds and raise

armies. The brothers are also promising

resource gathering, diplomacy, treason,

tax, and managing production, which

sounds phenomenally ambitious for such

a small team.

CAMPAIGN FOR DAYS

Rising Lords will feature a singleplayer

story and multiplayer for up to four

people, which can either be a quick match

or a campaign that lasts several days. It

has hints of grand strategy games such as

Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis,

but a relatively minimalist interface, and

that slick, fast-paced card-based combat,

mean it could be a much more

immediately accessible way to role-play as

a feudal medieval lord. I also like that I’ll

have the chance to play as a tyrant or a

benevolent ruler. Rising Lords is still a way

off, and more pre-release alphas are

planned to fine-tune its systems, but it

has a lot of potential.

Andy Kelly

YOU’LL COLLECT

TAXES, BUILD

STRONGHOLDS AND

RAISE ARMIES

PLAYED

IT

Medieval turn-based strategy

inspired by board games

RISING LORDS

I’m immediately struck by how nice Rising

Lords looks and feels. It’s like a medieval

tapestry come to life, with bold, chunky

art and smooth animation. I’m playing an

early alpha version of the battle system

and I’m commanding a group of knights,

squashing a peasant uprising. It’s a fairly

typical 4X turn-based strategy game, with

terrain affecting your troops’ movement

speed and other factors – but the addition

of cards makes things more interesting.

Rising Lords

PREVIEW

RELEASE

Release 2019

DEVELOPER

Argonwood

PUBLISHER

In-house

LINK

http://www.argonwood.com

NEED TO KNOW

Life was harder before

we evolved legs.