The Reigns series has been around for a while now, and for their fifth entry, Nerial has chosen to base their latest adventure on the Chinese epic, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. Reigns: Three Kingdoms, is ultimately, more Reigns, but it has a few tricks up its sleeves to push the series further.
Gameplay and Story
I haven’t played the series since the original release back in 2016, but Reigns: Three Kingdoms retains the core mechanics for the most part. You interact with the inhabitants of different provinces of the Three Kingdoms and listen to their problems, deliver judgment, and offer advice. Their problems can be as simple as seeking romantic advice to straight up confessing crimes. You only have two options to choose from, and Reigns has that Tinder swipe feature that translates well to the controller for the most part.
You’ll take on quests that require you to gather intel for one faction, strategize with a famed general, or even do mundane tasks around a camp. All of these actions are limited to just the two choices you make during each encounter. While this might sound a bit simplistic, it isn’t thanks to a management system highlighted by four icons at the top of your screen that represent different elements of the populace. All of these need to be balanced, and if one fills up or is depleted entirely, you’ll lose and be reborn as some relative to the last character.
During your run, you’ll also interact with several known figures from The Three Kingdoms, and if you’re familiar with the literature, or even the countless games based on the setting, it’s a lot of fun seeing warlords of the era like Cao Cao and Zhang Jiao asking for your help.
This brings me to the major addition to the series, and that’s the combat. During your run, you’ll recruit different characters represented by cards. They have attack and health values, and some of them even have special moves. The actual combat isn’t that complex, and you take turns first clearing out units, and then their inventory. It’s a nice distraction from the otherwise addictive choice-based decision-making loop.
Ideally, this is a game that you’d enjoy more on a mobile phone, and make snappy decisions on a touch-screen, similar to how you’d swipe on a dating application. I played it using a controller, on the Steam Deck’s touch-screen, and with a keyboard and mouse, and the controller felt just right at the end.
Graphics and Audio
The art style is familiar to previous entries and each character is rendered with a lot of details that give their portrait personality. There are light animations, and depending on where you lean when it comes to the decision, you’ll often see them react with changes to their portraits. The backgrounds are colorful, and the overall presentation is easy on the eyes making it the perfect game for long sessions.
I recommend this for a portable experience, and while it doesn’t have the “Steam Deck” verification tag, it runs flawlessly on the device.
Feedback
This is the fifth entry in the series, and they’ve practically perfected the formula by now and I don’t have any specific feedback to add here. The combat can feel a bit dull at times, and there’s some repetition, but overall, this is a snappy, and polished experience that you can jump in and out of.
Verdict
Reigns: Three Kingdoms is another engaging entry in the series of making decisions, both big and small. The Three Kingdoms setting is perfect for this style of game, and seeing famous figures rendered in Reigns’ signature art style is a treat for returning fans and new. With clever writing, and snappy gameplay, Reigns: Three Kingdoms is hard to put down.
