I recently got a chance to play around an hour of Monarchy on the PlayStation 5 Pro, thanks to a review copy provided by Brain Seal.
You can check out my gameplay video below:
You can also find my first impressions of Monarchy below:
Pros:
- Beautiful 2D graphics
- Three vastly different campaign levels.
- Local co-op.
Cons:
- Lack of texts and tutorials.
Overall:
Monarchy is a side-scrolling real-time strategy game where you play as a king or queen. Your goal is to build up a base by recruiting and gathering resources.
The visual of Monarchy jumps out to you immediately, with its beautiful landscape. The game especially looks spectacular seeing the reflecting in the body of water and seeing the passage of time in an open field.
It also features a minimalist approach as there is no text whatsoever in the level. While this design looks great visually, it does result in gameplay issues as some of the elements aren’t explained well in the tutorial level. In fact, the game doesn’t explain anything outside of the basics.
This means that you will have to learn most of the mechanics through trial and error. The problem is that Monarchy is a roguelike where dying means you have to start the level all over again.
If you have a friend, then the experience can be much more manageable since the game features local cooperative play. Otherwise, Monarchy can be a frustrating experience.
If you can overcome the difficulty due to the lack of tutorials and the game’s roguelike nature, then Monarchy can be a lot of fun, especially with its varied levels with different objectives.