I bet you didn’t know you were jonesing for a new game that combines some of the best elements of indie roguelike gameplay and The Oregon Trail! That’s right. The Oregon Trail. If you’re old like some of us, you remember dying of dysentery on that black and green screen over and over again. And now it’s time to relive those memories (but with less squirrels) in Royal Frontier, the new fantasy turn based / timing based roguelike from developer Woblyware and publisher Ratalaika Games.
In Royal Frontier, you play a group of caravan guards trying to keep a covered wagon safe as it wanders through a perilous fantasy-based landscape. Your journey takes place over 45 days and 3 maps until you reach safety on the other side of the continent. You know, kind of like The Oregon Trail. There’s not really any plot to speak of in the game either, putting the focus squarely on gameplay.
While it might seem derivative at first, Royal Frontier is its own beast. You choose from three pathways for your wagon, each filled with randomized perils and rewards. At the end of each map (and sometimes in the middle) is a boss you will also have to defeat, and on your first couple of playthroughs, that seems pretty impossible. Fortunately, this is also a roguelike and you won’t starve to death on your trek either. Each square with an enemy token contains a turn-based fight and there are towns, treasures, stores, and random events thrown in as well.
Combat is a bit unexpected however. This is a turn-based affair where you choose your action like a standard JRPG and enemies attack you. However, there are also quick time events (QTEs) that allow you to make perfect hits and perfect blocks. Every character and enemy has a QTE thrown in so that you can maximize your attacks and your defenses. Unfortunately, they’re incredibly irritating to pull off in a turn-based game, and it’s not because they’re difficult.
The QTEs are really easy to perform, but having to time button presses with every single attack and defense in order to survive is really, spectacularly irritating. And when you cast a fireball (the most effective early spell), slamming the A button until you max out the bar inside 5 seconds is gruelling and entirely unnecessary, not to mention not fun. There are a handful of these type of actions thrown in to Royal Kingdom but unfortunately, you have to do them all the time because they’re all attached to useful actions. It’s a poor design choice in what is otherwise a fairly entertaining light roguelike.
Speaking of roguelikes, Royal Frontier has a grind but it’s a bit different than the standard. Once you die enough times you gain the experience to unlock new playable characters and new and more powerful perks for your characters. Perks apply to the whole party so choosing the right ones is key for survival. Well, at least it would be if you progressed slowly but after around 4-5 loops the difficulty curve drops fairly rapidly, especially if you’ve been maxing out those QTEs and the game becomes a chill casual affair.
Using powerful perks and better characters has you blowing through enemies like popcorn and even with the issues with health and magic it’s not a problem to survive. Those health issues are a bit weird too and it almost feels like Royal Frontier is more of a board game converted to a video game than a video game itself because of them. In short, you are limited in how much you can heal, you only have one healer (if you choose to bring him and you have to at first), and you only have limited opportunities to heal or recover magic points. This can’t be done between battles except at villages either, so you’re relegated to attempting to heal during battle while you’re getting pummelled by enemies. It’s an awkward system that feels like it could have used more refinement.
On the other hand, if the health issues were ironed out, the game would be such a breeze that there would be no point in playing it anyway, and the difficulty curve flattens so much that the point becomes moot after a handful of sessions. All this is a shame because the core gameplay of Royal Frontier is actually quite fun. The overall design is great, the concepts are fun, but it’s the little things like the challenge and the QTEs that really bog the game down. The six playable characters really don’t add enough variety either and chances are good that once you’ve managed to beat the game you won’t be coming back to it.
Royal Frontier is a neat game, a meshing of board game concepts, roguelike gameplay, and vintage wagon train exploration. It’s visually simplistic but the style works and the music is forgettable but fine. But once you spend some time with the game, it feels more like a mobile port than a stand-alone game and some of the design choices feel off, almost like an early access game that has the potential to hit its stride but hasn’t gotten there yet. Fortunately, the game is only $7 so you’re not out a lot of cash, and it is fun to play so at the low price point, some of the issues are forgivable. Not all, but enough that Royal Frontier is at least fun to play, so if it seems up your alley, be sure to check it out! Plus, who doesn’t love a good wagon ride?
This review was based on a digital copy of Royal Frontier provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and played equally on both. Royal Frontier is also available PS4, Xbox One and PC on Steam.