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In light of there currently being a medieval game sale on Steam I decided to check out Sovereign Tower's demo. It's a tactical point-and-click game where you run a kingdom while trying to balance the somewhat fragile egos of the knights and nobles that surround you. I'd heard many a great thing about it from friends and I can gladly say that the demo lived up to expectations.
The premise of Sovereign Tower is kind of like Dispatch meets The Sword in the Stone: you play as a wandering leper who gets anointed as the "True Sovereign" after opening up the doors to an ancient tower that everyone else thought was locked for good.
No one really questions your right to rule at first, as everyone quickly falls into their job roles as if they were all just twiddling their thumbs for the last few decades waiting for someone to tell them what to do. There's Arlin your helpful advisor, Carina the blacksmith, the Lady of the Tower, and the gossiping Alwena, all of whom you can rely on for help.
Article continues belowBut the stars of the show are without a doubt all the knights you recruit into your service. With them by your side Sovereign Tower actually starts to feel like you're playing a medieval version of Dispatch as you learn their strengths and weaknesses, sending them on missions across the realm to level them up and gain your trust, and you can even flirt with them, if you get close enough. I encountered the following knights during the demo:
- Angelica: a timid, but strong knight that works well with everyday people.
- Goberto: super strong, he may be a sandwich short of a full picnic, but he's got a good heart.
- Gwendan: a good all-rounder even if his obsession with himself borders on insufferable.
- Ursula: goth knight, enough said.
- Gideon: emo knight, has a lot to say but is good in a fight.
With this band of knights at my disposal I made quick work of all the problems and jobs which came my way, which is good because the laundry list of a ruler really is never-ending.
I'd start everyday by repairing my knights' armour at the blacksmith or stocking up on supplies at the witch Belladonna's shop. Then I'd head over the main hall for my morning audiences with the people of Brizh.
Here I'd talk to commoners complaining about festivals, nobles who are unsure of whether I'll make a good ruler, and the odd assassin (luckily they're never very skilled). This is where you make decisions about how the kingdom will run, but for some decisions you'll need to dip into your coin reserves or have a minimum reputation level with commoners, nobility, or scholars.
I spent a lot of time punishing the nobility for any reason I could while trying to set up better commerce for the common folk, because why the hell not, but my playthrough was quickly overshadowed by the scary Dragon Knight.
This behemoth of a man came stomping into my tower one day and demanded a match up between us two. As I, a tiny little guy, had no chance going up against this mountain I set to work strengthening my alliances and beefing up my knights. He came back a few days later to make good on the challenge but luckily by that point I had suited all my knights up with shiny new armour, swords, and some smelly goat cheese that buffs the strength and wit of any knight that carries it.
It was a close one but my knights managed to come out on top, just. And what was my reward? Another audience with the scary Dragon Knight where he thanked me for the fight (I didn't do anything, but ok, I guess), and handed over his great great great (you get the idea) grandson, Arron for me to train into a 'proper' knight. Great, I get the feeling that I'll be seeing way more of this guy.
Unfortunately, the demo ended there. While you can go back in and use the power of a mysterious demon who resides in the tower's dungeons to rewind time and try to do things differently, the full game isn't set to release until August. So in the meantime I guess I'm stuck replaying the first week or so of ruling a kingdom, I guess it'll be good practice ahead of the full release.
