Kristi JimenezOne trend that never grows old for me is medieval or renaissance-themed games where kings and queens rule the land. There are so many things you can do in that setting, such as the brutal world of royal intrigue or fighting against a lord who’s threatening an otherwise peaceful town. Today, I’ll be recommending you some games that’ll take you on an adventure featuring nobility!
Chess of Blades
Price: $24.99
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, & Android (Steam) (itch.io) (Google Play)
Chess of Blades is a BxB title that sees the player in the shoes of Rivian, an introvert who is told by his high-ranking father to attend an extravagant five-day festival in his place. As soon as Rivian gets there, he meets a colorful cast of characters who all catch Rivian’s attention, for better or for worse. However, when a crime is committed on the second day of festivities, Rivian finds himself stuck right in the middle. He decided it might be the best to get to know the people around him and find out what’s going, or else he might find himself at the end of someone’s sword.
Each route has a different crime that Rivian and his potential romance interest need to solve. All of them are intriguing and keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen next. There are three main routes and a secret one. So, if you’re wondering what kind of adventures these men will take Rivian on, then you might want to check out Chess of Blades.
The game does have an 18+ patch readily available if that’s something you’re interested in!
Long Live the Queen
Price: $9.99
Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux (Steam) (Hanako Games) (itch.io)
If you’ve played any game in the Princess Maker series, then Long Live the Queen is a modern version of those games. Much like in those games, you’re trying to raise the central character to be the best queen she can be or die trying.
In Long Live the Queen, you play as a fourteen-year-old girl who must step up and take the crown after her mother’s untimely death. Of course, everyone around you is also vying for the position of ruler, so they’ll do whatever it takes—even if that means killing a child.
Your goal is to make it to your coronation day. In order to do that, you need to build your stats and do events. Depending on your stats, you might just make it out of that event alive. Your stats will also dictate the path your character will go down: will you become a bloodthirsty ruler or a peaceful queen whose followers will sing praises about across generations? That’s for you to decide!
My Vow to My Liege
Price: $9.99
Platforms: Windows & Mac (Steam)
In My Vow to My Liege, you play as FuChai, the new king of Ng. However, in reality, you’re the Princess of Wu, who was forced to live as her brother after an attempt to break their ties with the Dragon God went horribly wrong, resulting in her brother’s death. While she lives a lie, she’s on a mission to finish off the Dragon God before it can claim her life and everyone else’s. Of course, there are four men who’ll be by FuChai’s side as she tries to navigate ruling a country and completing her mission.
If you’re familiar with ancient Chinese history, you’ll recognize the name FuChai, as he was the last king of the Wu kingdom. The game decides to take a few liberties by building an alternative historical story surrounding a female FuChai and the events at the time. If you like Hakuoki, games that take play in a historical setting, or even visual novels that feature gore (which this game has a lot of for an otome title), then you’ll enjoy your time with My Vow to My Liege.
Serafina’s Crown
Price: $7.99
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux (Steam) (Itch.io)
In Serafina’s Crown, you play as Odell, a spoiled and even ignorant woman who would rather spend a day with her true love than in a stuffy castle with a bunch of nobles. However, after Queen Belatrix is murdered and the throne is left empty, Odell is chosen as regent due to her neutral stance on everything. So hey, that ignorance came in handy, I guess! While she and the other nobles try to solve Belatrix’s murder, Odell needs to solve the other problems plaguing the land of Darzia or else the land will fall into chaos.
The game features a debate system. In these debates, you’ll argue with other nobles in hopes of getting your point across and winning the debate. Winning these debates allows you to get closer to the truth of what really happened with the former queen and help solve some issues going on in Darzia.
However, it won’t be easy. To gain a leg up in the debates, you’ll have to manage your stats and hang out with a noble of your choosing during free time. If you choose to hang out with someone, you’ll gain skills that are vital to winning debates, especially later in the game, where the difficulty spikes.
Speaking of spending time with people! As you would expect in a dating sim, you can also form a romantic relationship with someone. The game features GxB, GxG, and even a polyamorous relationship!
Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen
Price: $59.99
Platforms: Windows (Steam), PlayStation 4
The Utawarerumono trilogy recently appeared in English early last year with the Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth titles. The only issue was that they were the second and third games in the series, respectively. So, it’s only right for me to recommend the game that starts it all: Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen.
You play as Hakuowlo, an amnesiac man who wakes up in an unfamiliar setting. Next to him is a young girl with furry ears and a bushy tail named Eruruu. Finding no reason to leave the quaint little village he’s found himself in, he decides to live his life there with the beast tribe that inhabits it. All is well and good until a lord begins to threaten them. It’s your job to make sure that their happiness and future is secured in this tactical RPG/visual novel hybrid. If you’ve played games in either the Disgaea or Fire Emblem series, it won’t be hard to get used to the combat in Utawarerumono.
The story of Utawarerumono is one full of remarkable characters that take you on an adventure full of laugh-out-loud moments and tragedy that’ll touch you.
Anna Mirabella
