| Reigns: Game of Thrones | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Nerial |
| Publisher | Devolver Digital |
| Designer | François Alliot |
| Programmer | François Alliot |
| Artists |
|
| Writers |
|
| Composer | Ryan Ike |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platforms | |
| Release |
|
| Genre | Strategy |
| Mode | Single-player |
Reigns: Game of Thrones is a 2018strategy game developed by Nerial and published byDevolver Digital. The third instalment in and aspin-off from theReigns series, it is based on the television seriesGame of Thrones.Reigns: Game of Thrones was released in October 2018 forAndroid,iOS,Linux,macOS, andMicrosoft Windows. A version forNintendo Switch was released in April 2019.
Reigns: Game of Thrones plays similarly to its predecessors.[1] Described as a "swipe 'em up", the game allows the player to be one of the principals from theGame of Thrones universe, includingCersei Lannister,Jon Snow,Daenerys Targaryen,Tyrion Lannister, andSansa Stark.[2] In the game, the player is continually presented with questions regarding the ruling of their kingdom, where each has a binary choice: swipe left to accept or right to decline the proposal in question.[3] Every choice can have an impact on four factors: military strength, religious favour, domestic popularity, and state wealth.[3] Each card indicates which factors would be affected by either decision, but not how strongly or whether the effect would be positive or negative.[3] If either factor rises to its maximum or falls to its minimum, the player's character dies and is succeeded by another character.[3] The player begins the game as Daenerys Targaryen and progressively unlocks other characters throughout the gameplay.[4] With each character, the player encounters different challenges based on that character's story arc.[5] The game also includesminigames, such asjousting and tavern brawling.[5]
Before he createdReigns: Game of Thrones, François Alliot, the founder ofvideo game developer Nerial, had been a fan ofGame of Thrones since he read the original books byGeorge R. R. Martin, and had also enjoyed the eponymous TV series.[6] When he pitched the originalReigns to publisherDevolver Digital, Alliot described the game as "Tinder meetsGame of Thrones"; Devolver Digital later passed this idea on toHBO, the company behind theGame of Thrones TV series, to agree on a licensing deal.[6]
The writing behindReigns: Game of Thrones was primarily done by Alliot and his wife, Tamara.[6]Leigh Alexander, previously the writer of predecessorReigns: Her Majesty, provided the writing for the character Cersei Lannister.[6] All writing was worked out in association with HBO to ensure that it stayed true to the original material.[6] Due to the element of choice, the player is able to alter the outcome of events that arecanon in theGame of Thrones TV series.[7] To cope with the issue, the game's lore states that all events were visions of the characterMelisandre, through which the game creates a "what if?" scenario.[7]
Reigns: Game of Thrones was revealed by publisher Devolver Digital on 23 August 2018, through atrailer published onYouTube.[8][9] Coinciding with the reveal, Devolver Digital announced that game would be released on 18 October that year, forAndroid viaGoogle Play, foriOS via theApp Store, and forpersonal computers (Linux,macOS andMicrosoft Windows)[10] viaSteam.[11] Pre-orders on all three distribution services were launched alongside the announcement.[12] The game was released across all targeted platforms on the intended date.[13] A version ofReigns: Game of Thrones forNintendo Switch was released on 11 April 2019 via theNintendo eShop.[14]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | iOS: 84/100[15] NS: 74/100[16] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 7.5/10[18] |
| GameSpot | 8/10[21] |
| Nintendo Life | NS:  [17] |
| Nintendo World Report | NS: 8/10[19] |
| The Guardian | [20] |
Reigns: Game of Thrones received "generally favourable" reviews, according toreview aggregator websiteMetacritic.[15]
Pocket Gamer praised how the game used information as the main means of progression "Secrets you discover at one edge of your nascent empire might well change the way you act with people at the other. The game is littered with tiny 'eureka' moments that push the plot along and drive you towards new goals".[22]The Guardian liked howReigns adapted the series' political drama, "Appropriately for a game based onGame of Thrones, death is swift and frequent, and quickly forgotten... It’s quick-fire diplomacy, enlivened by random disasters and constant fleeting cameos from series’ gigantic cast".GameSpot enjoyed the writing, "Despite each card consisting of a few sentences at most, characters are colorful, distinct, and full of personality. And although the subject matter is often serious, and the world brutal, the game manages to maintain an air of lightheartedness throughout". While liking the mini-games,Destructoid criticized the game for being too repetitive, "most decisions you have to make repeat with each of the different rulers... Not only does this level of repetition feel punishing when playing for long periods of time, but it also restricts the game from establishing a stronger, more cohesive narrative".Nintendo Life felt the game created an authenticGame of Thrones experience, "Reigns: Game of Thrones is about as close as you’ll come to living the day-to-day life of a Westeros monarch, short of visiting the Seven Kingdoms for real".
Reigns: Game of Thrones was nominated for "Best Mobile Game" at bothThe Game Awards 2018[23][24] and theGame Developers Choice Awards,[25] and for "Mobile Game" at the15th British Academy Games Awards.[26]
