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Less is more: The RTS game | Early Access Review - Thronefall
2K View2023-08-09
Thronefall is a newly released minimalist real-time strategy (RTS) game in Early Access that invites players into a world of strategy, defense, and kingdom-building. It was released just a few days ago, yet it's already garnering a significant amount of attention and is currently sitting at an overwhelmingly positive review score, which is the highest rating a Steam game can receive.
đźź©Pros
+Blend of genres offers a unique and engaging experience
+Minimalistic gameplay is easy to grasp but still offers depth
+Visuals are clean, visually pleasing, and optimized for performance
+Sessions are quick, only a few minutes to construct and successfully defend a base
🟥Cons
-Limited map count and content in its current state
đź“ťNotable points: These pros and cons are based on August 2023 Early Access build and does not accurately represent the quality of the finished product.
At its core, Thronefall employs a straightforward gameplay structure divided into day and night phases. The day phase involves constructing your base using coins earned from various structures such as farms and houses. As well as structures for troops and upgrades, and defense installations. The strategic placement of these structures is predetermined, deviating from the typical freedom seen in many strategy games. While this limitation may seem restrictive, it streamlines the gameplay and focuses the player's attention on resource management and defensive preparations.
The protagonist is under the player's direct control during battles, automatically attacking enemies while players can activate a special ability. Before the start of maps, players can select a weapon from a variety of unlockable weapon types, each with unique attacks and abilities. Additionally, perks and mutators bring an interesting layer of challenge and customization, ensuring that each playthrough can vary significantly with its positive and negative modifiers — with appropriate rewards at the end in exchange for the added challenge.
Thronefall is a minimalistic RTS game, but that doesn't imply a lack of depth and gameplay elements. I'm noticing numerous elements drawn from various genres, including the auto-attack genre, tower defense, and survival mechanics. It even incorporates the coin and upgrade system from Kingdom: Two Crowns. Furthermore, balancing economy and defense requires careful planning and resource allocation.
Thronefall effectively addresses several common pain points found in traditional strategy games. It doesn't necessitate extensive brainpower, exceptional dexterity, or intricate knowledge of game mechanics for players to excel. Instead, the game hones in on the dopamine giving aspects of RTS games, as well as other similar genres like tower defense, base building, and empire management, skipping many other aspects that can potentially cause complexity and stress.
Thronefall follows a cel-shaded art style that complements its minimalist philosophy. The clean and easy-to-interpret visuals contribute to the game's accessibility, ensuring that players can quickly identify units, structures, and threats. This approach also aids in the smooth performance of the game, which runs seamlessly without any noticeable issues, even during larger battles.
The combination of a pleasing visual design and performance optimization results in an experience that is both visually appealing and responsive, making it accessible to a broad range of players and hardware. In fact, I bet a mobile port is entirely possible and mobile devices can easily run this type of game.
Currently, Thronefall offers four distinct maps, each set in different biomes with unique layouts. The challenge lies in finding the right balance between economic growth and defensive preparation as you progress through these maps. The progression system relies on experience gained from completing maps, unlocking new content as you accumulate experience points. The whole system is straightforward, and flows with the minimalistic approach of the game very well.
Sessions are brief, requiring just a few minutes to both construct and successfully defend a base. As a result, the game doesn't demand a substantial time commitment from players. As of the current version, there’s currently more unlocks than there are maps, so players will need to repeat the maps to progress further. This is reinforced by the different quests per maps that you will need multiple runs to complete. This is surely bound to chance as the game is only in early access. I do hope it offers mod and custom map support in the future, which will basically extend the replayability of this game infinitely.
Conclusion:
Thronefall blends elements from multiple genres into a minimalist framework, delivering a strategy game that is both accessible and engaging. Its unique take on RTS gameplay, the balance between building and defense contribute to a challenging yet satisfying experience. While the current content might appear limited, the game's replayability, driven by unlocks and quest-based objectives plus combined with the game’s low price of admission at around $7 makes it a worthwhile purchase that will only get better --- as long as the developers continue updates.
Thronefall blends elements from multiple genres into a minimalist framework, delivering a strategy game that is both accessible and engaging. Its unique take on RTS gameplay, the balance between building and defense contribute to a challenging yet satisfying experience. While the current content might appear limited, the game's replayability, driven by unlocks and quest-based objectives plus combined with the game’s low price of admission at around $7 makes it a worthwhile purchase that will only get better --- as long as the developers continue updates.
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A minimalistic RTS game on all fronts | First Impressions - Thronefall
At its core, Thronefall employs a straightforward gameplay structure divided into day and night phases. The day phase involves constructing your base using coins earned from various structures such as farms and houses. As well as structures for troops and upgrades, and defense installations. The strategic placement of these structures is predetermined, deviating from the typical freedom seen in many strategy games. While this limitation may seem restrictive, it streamlines the gameplay and focuses the player's attention on resource management and defensive preparations.
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HACK, SLASH, BUILD, REPEAT - THRONEFALL IN 120 SECONDS // QUICK REVIEW
Join us in our lightning-fast 2-minute review of Thronefall, where we dive headfirst into this stripped-down strategy game! Discover how to balance your kingdom's economy, defenses, and combat strategy to fend off your enemies. See how every decision impacts your gameplay and learn tips to ensure your kingdom thrives. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more quick reviews! This video review of Mobile/ PC/ Console Game will show you some gameplay and help you to decide if you should invest your time into this game, we will discuss game mechanics, combat, progression, mechanics and f2p or p2w aspect of the game made in 2023. ❤️ HELP ME REACH 10 000 FOLLOWERS 🔔 FOLLOW FOR MORE GAME REVIEWS 🌲 LINKTREE (ALL THE LINKS):
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The perfect mix of real-time strategy and tower defense - Thronefall Quick First Impressions
SHOULD I PLAY THRONEFALL?
Play it. Thronefall is a beautiful and engaging game that brings something different to the strategy genre. It plucks out the best parts of real-time strategy titles and takes elements from tower defense games to create the perfect combination of both genres in a challenging and wildly fun experience—resulting in gameplay where I’m attacking oncoming waves of enemies and building a base full of towers and farms to survive.
Jay Hunter4K2023-08-09
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