Dark and dramatic, Golem Gates is a mix of battle royale and playing cards, a breathtaking whirlwind of attack and defense that combines forward-thinking strategy with nonstop action. In each fight, your main objective is to protect your harbinger, or army general, while destroying the enemy harbinger or Golem Gate; you also possess cards that allow you to deploy troops, build fortresses, and use special attacks such as fireballs. The diverse array of cards at your disposal keeps the battles interesting, and the stellar graphic design immerses you in the intensely violent but also magical world of Golem. And as I will explain in this preview, the immense scale of this game really pushes the entertainment factor to the next level.
The overall ideology of Golem Gates seems to be that bigger is always better: first of all, the map is huge. Although your harbinger and supporting armies start the battle in a small corner of the map, your main goal is to find the enemy; therefore, you must scour the furthermost corners while also dividing your armies between scouting ahead and shoring up defense. In one battle, for instance, I made the mistake of leaving my harbinger unattended while directing the rest of my troops to the other side, and as a result the enemy was able to take me by surprise. Luckily, you can use a specific card to send bird scouts, which locate the enemy harbinger or Golem Gate without making you send soldiers to do so. However, these scouts are also limited and expire after a short period of time, so make sure to use them sparingly. But in addition to the size of the map, the grand scale of Golem Gates also extends to include the size of your armies. Rather than restricting you to using two or three cards at a time, like other games, you can use as many cards as you want at whatever pace you want. This results in massive armies, and you can choose to direct certain divisions to different places or leading all of them in a united charge. This really elevated the drama of the battles and created some pretty epic fight sequences. I only played the single player mode of this game, but I can only imagine the scale and power of multiplayer battles.
If you are anything like me and have always wondered what it would be like to fight in a Lord of the Rings battle, then Golem Gates is your next game. Although it does trade complexity for simplicity in some aspects, such as eliminating research time and combination builds, it allows for faster-paced action and a more immersive, enjoyable experience. I personally loved coming home from a long, busy day and de-stressing by completely obliterating the enemy harbinger with my colossal army and magical attacks, and I commend the developers for ensuring that the graphics are devoid of any glitches. There is something intensely sweet about causing total destruction, and Golem Gates succeeds in giving you that experience over and over again.
Definite buy!
Take a Look at the Golem Gates Trailer:
Golem Gates is a collaborative project developed by Laser Guided Games and Hollow Earth Inc. Laser Guided Games is made up of veterans from Epic Games who have worked on blockbuster game franchises such as Gears of War and Unreal Tournament. The Hollow Earth team specializes in art design and story development with past experience working on blockbuster Marvel films Spider-Man: Homecoming and Iron Man, as well as the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther, in addition to the Transformers movie franchise.
Golem Gates is available for purchase now via Steam Early Access for Windows PC for a discounted price of $17.99 (Until Feb. 19). The complete game emerges from Early Access on March 28, 2018.
From the moment I first played Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy on the original Xbox, I have always had an avid curiosity and enthusiasm for video games. I admire their ability to immerse us in completely different worlds, and I am always eager to see how they integrate the newest breakthroughs in digital technology to make virtual reality feel real. I am currently a senior at UC Berkeley, but when I'm not studying I always make time to play Xbox One with my younger brother.
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