Rising Lords (Switch)

by Mikhail Jan 28, 2024 | 1 Votes | 24 Played | 0 Reviews

9 rate

Genres:

Strategy

Graphics:

Labels:

Turn Based , Medieval Age , Grand Strategy

Platforms:

Publishers:

Deck13 Rising Lords is a 4x strategy game where you play as a lord managing your realm. Expand your domains and take on rival lords, bandits, and revolts. Be treated to a fantastic and tactical card-based combat system; you could dominate the entire continent. Play Now Similar Games

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Summary Plotline Gameplay Graphics/Sound Conclusion

Summary

We’ve reviewed Rising Lords before - it’s essentially a medieval strategy game where you play the role of a young lord thrust into the treacherous world of medieval politics. Just last week, the devs at Deck13 launched it on the Nintendo Switch; this review will focus on the experience of playing the stylized strategy title on the portable platform.

As someone who can’t get enough of medieval games like Europa Universalis IV, Crusader Kings, and Bannerlord, playing Rising Lords on the Switch was something I looked forward to. Yet, I met with some trepidation: strategy games on the console predominantly suffer from various issues. Plus, playing it via a couple of joycons with the cursor subbing in for a mouse does not always provide the optimal experience. I’d rather play my strategy games on a PC, thank you.

Thankfully, Rising Lords (Switch) is a well-optimized beauty and delivers a rather intuitive gameplay experience. With loads of modes, straightforward controls, and a decent amount of depth, should you give Rising Lords a shot? Before you decide, let’s check out what it has to offer:

Plotline

Running a realm isn’t easy, especially if you’re a young lord thrust into action due to the various circumstances the world brought upon you. As the young lord Tankred of Tannheim, you will guide your realm to prosperity, navigating the various troubles and issues in the land of Aubelin. The tutorial covers most of the story, although you can start a campaign with your settings or go for the rich story mode. Don’t expect a Game of Thrones-esque story or a sandbox akin to Crusader Kings. Nevertheless, Rising Lords provides a well-made story and random events (like a bear terrorizing the populace) you would undoubtedly want to see through til the end.

Gameplay

As someone who has dove into other strategy games, Rising Lords felt a little less comprehensive, yet its beautiful stylized visuals and overall feel deliver a certain level of depth that makes the entire experience feel quite immersive. In a way, it’s more straightforward than its peers, like Civilization and Crusader Kings.

In Rising Lords, you’re presented with a rather large map with hexagonal tiles. With your peasants, you can build farms, harvest resources, and create new structures depending on what the tile contains. For example, a tile with forests will let you harvest wood, while those with mines and fertile fields will let you obtain specific resources. Thanks to the game's robust economic system, there’s a significant degree of control over what you can build and stock up with. This comes into play when raising up your military, especially when you start going to war.

Speaking of war, the turn-based battles are Rising Lords’ bread and butter. There are several kinds of units you can recruit, from the weaker levied peasants, regular swordsmen and spearmen, archers, and, of course, the lethal knights. These fighters each have their own respective strengths and weaknesses and have advantages depending on the terrain. For example, mounted knights are more lethal on open ground, while archers have buffs when placed on hilly terrain. There’s also a card mechanic wherein you can use drawn cards per turn, granting you buffs and enhancing your combat capabilities. For example, you can use a ladder card so your troops can get over forts more efficiently.

Much like the overworld, the battles are turn-based, and positioning your troops correctly is vital. Although you’ll initially take on weak bandit peasant rabble at first, you will end up battling more organized armies levied by other nobles. Outside of war, the game plays like your everyday medieval city builder; you can construct fortifications, create economic buildings, and upgrade existing structures. In addition, you can purchase items from passing merchants, especially when you need to increase your stockpiles. You can also enhance your military leaders capabilities through a robust skill tree.

Overall, playing Rising Lords on the Nintendo Switch feels intuitive and relatively easy. Whereas other strategy games have trouble making the controls and entire experience seamless, Rising Lords gets this done without any issues. The joycon and touchscreen controls are excellent, and although the text is relatively small, you can easily navigate across menus. The cursor is responsive; you can easily select elements within the playing area without issues. The game also employs a radial menu, so you can select buildings and upgrades relatively quickly.

Graphics/Sound

Presentation is where Rising Lords is a notch above its peers. It presents a stylized medieval art aesthetic - playing the game feels like reading a storybook. The same can be said about the voice acting and music. Moreover, the game runs relatively smoothly on the Nintendo Switch - there are no framerate issues or lag. The only thing I can criticize is the minuscule text sizes, which are more of an annoyance.

Conclusion

Overall, Rising Lords on the Nintendo Switch is a fantastic port. It delivers an in-depth strategic experience to your fingertips, capable of giving you numerous hours of city-building, realm expansion, battles, and diplomacy. So, should you take up the mantle of your house and lead your realm to glory? We highly recommend doing so in Rising Lords on the Switch.

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by Mikhail Jan 28, 2024

Rising Lords is a 4x strategy game where you play as a lord managing your realm. Expand your domains and take on rival lords, bandits, and revolts. Be treated to a fantastic and tactical card-based combat system; you could dominate the entire continent.