Royal Frontier is a new roguelike strategy title by Woblyware and Ratalaika Games. Royal Frontier follows the journey of a caravan of settlers who are trying their best to cross the continent in search of a better life. Naturally, the way to the good life is filled with dangers and they need someone to look after them as they step into the Royal Frontier. This is where you step into the game as the hero who will escort these helpless people to safety. This is our review of the Nintendo Switch version of Royal Frontier in which we fight some monsters and keep the caravan rolling.
Your main goal in Royal Frontier is to escort a caravan of settlers across the Royal Frontier to the East where they want to dig up some riches. You have six unique heroes at your disposal and each of them comes with their own expertise. In the beginning, you have three heroes unlocked however as you progress in the main game and complete various tasks, you get access to the remaining three heroes as well. Once you have the full roster, you can mix and match them to create unique groups. Apart from their starting weapons, you can equip various items to make them more efficient during your trip as well.
The journey takes 45 days to complete and each icon on the map screen represents 1 day in the game. You have three randomly-generated paths during each run, and you have to choose the next step for your caravan. Depending on your choice, you either fight enemies, reach merchants, or get to meet various NPCs each with their own bonuses or dangers. Not every path allows you to change your route however at certain key points on your path, you can switch to another route as well. However, this all depends on your choices which makes it a choice-heavy game.
Once made, you have to stick to your choice and there is no going back on this. Since events are randomly chosen for each run, you are never sure what is awaiting you on the next day. While you are choosing your heroes, you can also choose three blessings for the whole team. These are limited at the start, but you can unlock better blessings by completing runs to make your future runs better and more effective.
These blessings give you various passive bonuses such as a permanent health bonus or attack bonus and such. Better blessings increase in their numbers, so they really affect the later stages of the game. Everything that you unlock in one run of the game can be used later in the game. Depending on what choices you make, the end is always with a boss fight so you can decide in advance whether you want to fight additional mini-bosses before the main boss or you just want to avoid the bigger fights and save yourself for the main boss fight.
With the maps being randomly-generated every time, you cannot predict what lies in your path but can only prepare for it. As you complete different days, you earn gold and also receive new items such as new gear for your team. These include weapons, armor, and relics. You can change their items to equip better ones as I learned it the hard way. Sticking with default gear will always get you killed in the game. Apart from the normal attacks, you can also land special attacks with your team however that uses power points and that is limited for every hero.
To maximize your attack or to deflect some of the incoming damage, you can take part in a small mini-game during combat as well. While attacking, your character will flicker white and if you press the A key at this time, you will inflict bonus damage to your enemies. While defending, your character will flicker white and if you press the A key on time yet again, you will deflect some of the incoming damage. This is crucial for survival in the game however it is really easy to learn as I was crushing it after a few tries. At the end of the battle, you will earn gold and sometimes some bonus items as well.
If you want to have a change of pace, you can try and complete 60 Challenges in the Challenges tab. These challenges test your skills in a particular aspect of the game for example you have challenges ranging from the game asking you to survive a specific number of days or surviving a specific number of days without getting a hit. Some of the challenges are more straightforward such as looting gold, defeating enemies, and more. The game has a total of 60 challenges to complete and I managed to complete a decent amount of these challenges after getting the hang of the game.
Royal Frontier looks like a simple game, but it is certainly a challenging game, and you have to carefully plan your route to ensure that you survive the game. If you just keep choosing randomly, chances are that you will not even make it through half of the journey. Strategy and choices play a vital role in survival, and this is what I really liked about Royal Frontier. During my initial runs, I was just taking it casually and for most of the runs, I was unable to reach even Day 10. However, I learned my lesson and started paying more attention to how to approach the game and how to fight the enemies, only then was I able to get past the enemies and finally complete a run. Once you make it to the end, it is really satisfying as you finally beat the boss and escort the settlers safely through the continent.
Final Verdict:
Royal Frontier is an enjoyable roguelike experience and brings both enjoyment and challenge at a balanced level. The challenge level starts to build as you progress in the game and keeps you on your toes as you try your best to protect your caravan from dangers. It is a great title for short gaming sessions and the difficulty level is not too high for it to become frustrating as well. Randomly-generated levels ensure that each run is unique, and no journey is similar to the previous one. I will highly recommend it for players who are looking for a small roguelike adventure to play on the go and if you love roguelikes, this title is right up your alley with its good gameplay and strategic path choosing tactics.
Final Score: 8.0/10
