Developer: Solid9 Studio
Publisher: Fat Dog Games
Platform: PC, Switch
Tested on: Switch
Exorder – Review
Sibling rivalry is something that mostly happens at a young age, but sometimes this carries through to adulthood. When problems occur in a household that holds a lot of power, there will be more damage than some broken plates. Combine this story with a fast-paced turn-based strategy game and you get Exorder, a fun title for the Nintendo Switch.
Story
The country of Cerulean has been lead by the great king, father of Princess Beyla and Prince Tristan. It is a sad day when he finally passes away and leaves the crown to one of his children. After three weeks these two royals must face each other in battle to determine who is fit to take the throne. Being defeated, the brother gets an offer to lead the Vermillion order, which he gladly accepts. Now that you are the queen, you watch over your people but this doesn’t go too well. It is only a matter of time before invaders threaten the lives of the townsfolk of Cerulean. The story continues and you get an update of the current situation before and after each mission. Great narration by lovely voice actors brings you the story as smoothly as possible, making the flow perfect and keeping you hooked so you really want to continue the campaign.
Graphics
Exorder is a beautifully made title that comes to life on your screen. The graphics are a mix between nicely rendered 3D models and hand drawn characters to give off this mix of both serious but also classic vibes. What makes it stand out more is the usage of vivid colors, you’ll notice no dark tones in the game, but the enemies do have uglier color combinations, making them stand out in the crowd. Each unit has their own look and height, with tanks being very bulky, while marksmen look sleek and agile. Animations are smoothly done making combat a pleasure to watch.
Sound
If the visuals don’t completely immerse you into the world of Cerulean, the music surely will. This magnificent music sounds medieval with the right instruments being played. Combine this mood setting with sounds from nature, like birds chirping, and you get pulled straight into the game. While fighting, all the combat sounds are very impressive, people grunt, enemies yell, the sound of bows firing, swords clang against armor and the mushy impact into the soft skin of a monster is real music to your ears. By this you can say that the sound effects are greatly placed and make for a pleasant experience.
Gameplay
Exorder is a turn-based strategy game in which the player must use tactical moves and smart decisions to overcome their opponent. In the main campaign you play the story of a kingdom that needs a new ruler and after the initiation battle you are left to restore peace around the country. Most stages require you to defeat a certain commander, own all the houses, defeat all enemies or make it to a certain objective. Combat is turn-based, so each side has their available actions to do before the others may respond but there are also some mechanics to make the game play that much faster. To start with, there is no penalty on recruiting new troops, so a freshly spawned warrior can be immediately used. Scattered throughout the battlefield are placed turrets, that inflict great damage upon anyone who gets in their range and are great for weaker troops to fend off attackers.
Houses form both a way of income and a place to heal troops who spend time there. Castles and mercenary camps allow the recruitment of new warriors for your cause and healing fountains provide support for nearby troops. During fights certain characters have the ability to counter attack and this may sometimes result in the enemy committing suicide with their attack. The enemy faction has the same goal, to conquer as much as possible but also benefit from something else. The enemy can control camps that spawn free troops every once in a while, but luckily these camps can be neutralized.
Controlling the game has good and bad sides; while everything goes very well and moving around the field works quite nicely, while the grid based cursor moment allows for many faults to happen. More precisely, when navigating towards a point for movement a last moment error can occur snapping you to a grid on the other side that wastes movement. This waste occurs because you cannot select to cancel the movement once it is done. It is compensated by allowing players to multi task while moving, so it’s kind of a hit and miss.
Conclusion
If you like to play turn-based strategy games and own a Switch you might want to look into Exorder. The good flow of the story keeps you on the edge of your seat and it’s a lot of fun for even less experienced gamers. Missions are nicely balanced between types of objectives and with the many mechanics in place to keep the game going as fluently possible, it is only because of the little control snap problem that the game lost some points. For the game’s small price you get a graphical eye-pleaser with a fully voiced storyline.
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