Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia, by developers Happinet and Matrix and publisher Happinet, is a strategy based game that originally came out in 2020 on the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 (Check Out Our PS4 Review!), but now it is getting a PC version that is being released on Steam, May 11th. You get to choose one of six kingdoms in this world and play as the leader in order to unite the land. Each land has its own unique power as well as its own terrain and with strengths and weaknesses so be sure to choose wisely. Do you have the strategy required to conquer the other kingdoms that defy you? There is only one way to find out in this tactical RPG.
When you start the game, you are brought through a cutscene where you are told the story of Runersia. The Rune god gave its people the power of mana making them stronger than any normal man, with this power they gained knowledge and eventually discovered the ability to summon ancient creatures to fight for them under their command. After the intro cutscene is over you are brought to a map that shows the six nations, going through each one you are told about the leader as well as information about the nation and the power they possess. Five of the six nations hold the power of one of the Brigandines, which are five mana stones gifted to them by the Rune God. The sixth nation does not hold the power of a Brigandine, but instead relies on the power and strength of their bloodline.
After you choose which of the nations you want to represent, you are brought to another cutscene that tells you more of the history and motives of the nation you chose, the story is very in depth and each character and nation is unique. The gameplay has two main phases, the Organization Phase and the Battle Phase. In the organization phase you see the strategy map where you can find items, move troops, recruit monsters, and complete other similar actions. The battle phase is on a hex grid, you can bring up to three knights each of which can have up to six monsters but have limited command points to use on the monsters. The visuals are very well made with an aesthetic art style and the music is well placed creating a sense of adventure when needed as well as a sense of suspense in combat.
While the game features nice visuals and a suspenseful plot there isn’t a lot of gameplay especially in the beginning, and since there is a lot of information thrown at you all at once and it can be overwhelming. The game is very word heavy, as it takes twenty minutes before you are introduced to any gameplay and are taught how to fight and defend your bases, and after that you are brought into more visual novel-like cutscenes. I enjoy a good and well developed story game like this but it feels a bit unbalanced at times. On top of that it does not explain the gameplay very well, it gives you pages of explanation on how the phases work but it can be confusing especially at the start where there is so much to try and understand at once. Overall the game is fun and well developed in its story but is a bit unbalanced between the story and the actual gameplay.
Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is a tactical role-playing game where you fight to unite the world and defeat the other nations that stand in your way. The game itself features an extensive plot with adventure and suspense as well as an interesting mechanic of summoning monsters to fight along with soldiers in your battles. While the story is good there is a bit lacking on the gameplay side of things, there is not a lot of actual gameplay in the beginning and while that is fine in many cases this one just felt unbalanced between all of the story and text. I am giving this game a 7 out of 10 rating because it is an interesting story with well developed characters but is lacking in it’s balance and gameplay.
Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia is available for PC via Steam.
I enjoy a wide variety of games from intricate survival/adventure games to simple platformers. I am also a sucker for a good story game.
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