Developer: 40 Giants Entertainment
Publisher: 1C Publishing
Platform: Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tested on: Switch
Reverie Knights Tactics – Review
It’s been a while since we last saw a halfway decent turn-based tactics title on the Switch. It’s a bit of a shame as we love the genre. While we’re eagerly waiting for Advance Wars to arrive, however, newcomer 40 Giants Entertainment is stepping up to fill the void with Reverie Knights Tactics. Is this story-driven fantasy title what we’ve been craving or is picking it up a tactical error? Read on to find out.
Story
A rather intriguing opening cutscene sets the stage for Reverie Knights Tactics’ story campaign. We learn about the war that has been raging between the Elves and the Goblinoids. The interesting thing here is that although these races are usually depicted as having a specific moral alignment, with the Elves typically considered the ‘good guys’ and the Goblinoids as ‘bad’, Reverie Knights Tactics actually strays away from the beaten path. It’s not a straight-up reversal of the usual depiction, but both sides are shown to do bad things. This opening scene makes for a fairly good bit of worldbuilding, even though the actual story centers around a specific group of characters who do not make an appearance here.
Instead, the main cast members are introduced during the gameplay tutorial: the clever protagonist Aurora and her companions: her stoic mentor Hellaron, the intrepid Brigandine, who is Aurora’s best friend, and the smug and cynical ranger Fren. This unlikely foursome forms the core around whom Reverie Knights Tactics’ campaign is built around. Aurora is a cleric of Tanna-Toh, the goddess of knowledge. She is tasked with gathering knowledge about the fallen Elven city of Lenórienn. Things kick off when Aurora is sent on an expedition to obtain new information. Our heroine finds herself in a series of events that will change the world around her forever. Of note here is that the outcome of the story is determined by the choices Aurora makes.
Graphics
The striking hand-drawn style employed in Reverie Knights Tactics adds a timeless quality to the game’s visuals. The heavy outlines and bright colors give the game a comic book feel. We were quite a fan of the expressive character portraits shown during dialogues, with Brigandine being a particular standout character. The animations are fairly simplistic, which didn’t bother us, as it meant the game wasn’t too taxing on the Switch’s hardware. The only real negative about the visuals was that the on-screen text is very small, and that it was difficult to read in handheld mode.
Sound
The game’s music strays away from the instruments that you’d expect in the soundtrack for a fantasy-themed game, instead relying on instruments like electric guitars and keyboards. This works surprisingly well despite the stylistic clash with the opening sequence, which is very Lord of the Rings-esque aesthetically. The voice performances are of varying success, with the narrator not coming across very convincingly.
Gameplay
We have a soft spot for turn-based tactical RPGs in the vein of Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem, so we were quite eager to find out whether 40 Giants Entertainment’s new IP could stand proud among the titans of the genre. We’re happy to say that for the most part, Reverie Knights Tactics can certainly hold its own: the core gameplay feels streamlined and familiar to anyone that has an affinity with similar games, but there are enough proprietary mechanics here to make the game feel unique. Reverie Knights Tactics is built around a story campaign that sees you build up a party of up to four adventurers, each with a unique skill set, and a high degree of customizability. Your warriors then take to the battlefield in a series of turn-based tactical fights on isometric maps. The game can be played in either normal mode or story mode, with the latter offering an easier version.
Although the core gameplay experience is fun and addictive, the game does suffer from pacing issues, especially in the beginning. The biggest offender here is the way the tutorial is structured: the opening level explains the basics but is designed to be unwinnable, with the game sending an endless wave of enemies, but not clarifying that you’re supposed to lose. If you’re an experienced player, chances are you’ll be playing this map defensively, unwittingly drawing out the first battle. After this fight -which turns out to be a dream- the following battles act as more classic tutorials, introducing the more unique mechanics, such as combining attacks and the glance mechanic, which allows your fighters to shrug off damage based on their position relative to their attacker. This also ties into a whole new layer of strategy that allows you to set up defensive walls by keeping your party together.
It’s through these mechanics that Reverie Knights Tactics cements itself as a fantastic turn-based tactical RPG. Each of the four main characters fulfills a specific role: Aurora is an ice mage, for example, capable of high damage output but less adept at soaking up enemy retaliation. Meanwhile, Brigandine takes on the role of a tank and is perfect to put on the frontlines. As these characters level up, you get to choose which specific skills they learn within their specialization, and further customization is available through equipment. This means that at the end of your playthrough, your character may perform the same role, but the final build may work completely differently from that of another player.
The majority of Reverie Knights Tactics is built around turn-based battles, but there is more to the game than that. Although the story campaign is quite straightforward, there is some room for exploration of the world, allowing you to find hidden treasures. This ties into Aurora’s role as a gatherer of knowledge, of course, and 40 Giants Entertainment has even found a way to integrate some puzzles into the game here. These are actually quite challenging and provide a nice little break from the action.
The campaign takes roughly 15 hours to complete, in story mode at least, which we highly suggest you select upon your first playthrough. We were caught off-guard by the difficulty level of normal mode, which handed our ass to us and it wasn’t until we played through story mode for a while, familiarizing ourselves with the game’s finer mechanics, that things clicked. Reverie Knights Tactics had a bit of a rough start, with the aforementioned pacing issues during the opening stages and the surprisingly high difficulty level of normal mode, but once we found our footing, we ended up absolutely adoring the game.
The result is a game that has a lot of replayability as you try out different weapon load-outs and skill sets. Knowing the gist of how certain battles will play out in advance also offers a distinct advantage, as it allows you to try out new strategies for victory when you return to the game at the higher difficulty level, which you’ll likely eagerly do as soon as the credits roll. This is made all the more impressive by the fact that Reverie Knights Tactics is actually 40 Giants Entertainment’s debut title, so we’re eager to see what’s next for the Brazilian developer.
Conclusion
The year has only just begun and we already have a contender for our favorite Switch title of 2022. If you can get past the rocky first two hours, you’ll find a fantastic little game that we’ll probably find ourselves returning to more than once throughout the year. Reverie Knights Tactics‘ gorgeous visuals, catchy music, and engaging story, combined with choice-driven mechanics and a high degree of customizability all come together to create a game that is an essential addition to the library of fans of the genre.
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