Reigns (2016) - Genius in the Details

Mobile gaming used to be quite the fascinating frontier of unique indie development. With a less sensitive touch screen input, a different method of displaying information in order to obscure nothing, and one of the largest install bases of all time. 

However, that era is long gone. With gacha games being the only real money makers, and everything else is just other forms of skinnerbox development. 

So games that were created in the hay day of mobile development were quick to move back to traditional consoles or PC. The same goes for Reigns.

A simple, sweet little game with incredible execution that was fairly priced as the bite sized thirty minute experience that it is. The game is based off of the dating app Tinder, utilising its left or right choice based interaction as the entirety of the gameplay. 

The player assumes the role of the king, being presented with various crises, offers, warnings and decisions. By leaning right or left, you can view which of the four stats will be affected, and by how much. But you must intuit based on the nature of the situation, whether it will be a positive effect or negative one. 

It is a game of modulation. Keeping within the bounds, as topping as stat leads to a game over, just as emptying it does. Each stat is designed to boil down the complexities of a nation down into four simple symbols. Religion, people, army and money. By making intelligent choices you must keep all four of these stats in equilibrium, a virtual balancing act that makes up the majority of the gameplay. 

The partial honesty of the stats is quite ingenious. It is specified what will be affected, and whether by a little or by a lot. But the gambling required to ascertain any information more precise than that is what really makes the decisions interesting. You are unable to mindlessly swipe, as you could end up accidentally killing yourself within just two or three turns. 

Additionally, the stats aren’t given to the player in plain numbers. Another small quiet detail that absolutely makes the game function. By having to ascertain the amount based on the small visual, you are piling on additional risk with every choice. 

Overall this leads to a strong mechanical core to the game. It displays a clear confidence and proficiency in game design that many titles lack. It may be bereft of greater depth for its mechanics to apply, but that is just a product of it being cognizant of its place. As a single mobile game, it’s light repeatable gameplay loop is a boon rather than a drawback. There is no baggage between gameplay sessions. A full life can be explored in just five to ten minutes at most, allowing for quick accessible gameplay. 

And all of this is in addition to the adorable narrative justifications. I already gave the general concept, but a lot of the games charm amounts from the varying situations. Characters can reappear and even develop these tiny plot lines from run to run and even within a single segment as well. As mentioned before, you are mechanically incentives to actually engage with each piece of story present in the offers presented to you. Meaning that the care given to every small line of dialogue, recurring character motivations and schemes, and even external and internal crises can be properly appreciated. 

I think the game knows exactly what it is and plays to its strengths. In fact the only elements I feel the need to offer negative critique on are the ones that reach for higher ambitions, and end up falling short because of it. 

Small sections of gameplay have you battling enemies or exploring a dungeon with the same controls as the main game. But since the choices provided are not part of the general structure, they end up being quite hollow in comparison. They don’t affect your stats until the very end with either a run ending death when losing or a bonus upon victory. 

So each choice might have some sort of problem solving needed, such as the combat’s little positioning mechanic or the trap filled rooms in the dungeon. But neither feel quite connected to the game as a whole, and the simple controls which were incredibly effective in the main game feel like an unnecessary limitation here. 

They do not pop up enough to affect the whole experience in too substantial a way, but it’s still interesting to consider why they don’t work as well.

Overall I found quite a delightful hour of fun in Reigns. I feel no need to explore it further, regardless of its slow checklist of a progression system. It is a relic of a time long past, and a market which could once again become the breeding ground of bite sized experiments if not for the increasing monetisation potential of widespread unregulated gambling. 

Reigns utilises its small form factor and on the go playerbase to create an interesting experience. Reminiscent of many larger resource management styled games, stripped down to the bare essentials with incredible mastery. 

4/5