The Witcher franchise is arguably extra well-liked now than ever, due to the live-action adaptation of the franchise hitting Netflix late final yr. The fantasy collection has already spun out into a wide selection of video games, together with Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. Shortly after that game’s preliminary launch got here the debut of Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, a standalone single-player spinoff that weaves extra of a story into the act of dueling with digital playing cards. Earlier this month, Thronebreaker made a soar to cellular with an iOS launch, and it does so in an nearly seamless manner. Whether you are a brand new fan of the franchise who needs a straightforward and entertaining option to discover extra lore or a diehard fan who needs to play the game on the go, the brand new launch of Thronebreaker may need one thing so that you can supply.
Thronebreaker‘s narrative is about earlier than the occasions of the primary The Witcher game and follows the search of Queen Meve, the chief of Lyria and Rivia. Fans get an opportunity to play as Meve, as she and her military try and take again management of the North. Along the best way, gamers additionally get to be taught extra about Meve’s compatriots and the world round her in addition to enlist a greater variety of troopers into her military.
Despite being structured round a collection of particular person card games, the world of Thronebreaker manages to be surprisingly immersive all through. Each match is bookended by some kind of narrative significance or exchanges of dialogue, and the alternatives you make as Meve can considerably affect what comes up subsequent. While the narrative of Thronebreaker is straightforward to observe whereas your machine is muted, that is positively the type of game that may profit from a great pair of headphones, because the voice performing and music assist make the world lusher. The visuals of Thronebreaker could be considered one of its strongest belongings, as all the things from the interstitials to the precise gameplay is gorgeously-executed, and is straightforward to understand from an aesthetic degree even on the dimmest of iPhones. The character and monster designs additionally really feel distinctive, but additionally like they’ll understandably have a spot within the bigger Witcher universe.
A superb a part of the game additionally entails mining varied instruments and supplies — and interacting with the villagers and troopers round them — in a manner that nearly comes throughout like a fantasy reply to Animal Crossing. These components do not translate over to a cellular launch seamlessly, as navigating across the map as Meve (which is achieved by touching your finger anyplace on the display screen) can sometimes lead you in a wildly totally different path or obscure what you are alleged to be specializing in. But as you play extra of Thronebreaker, you be taught to get accustomed to these components, and it helps make the 30-hour narrative a worthwhile enterprise.
When it involves the cardboard battles themselves, Thronebreaker‘s mechanics generally is a little hit-or-miss, however they find yourself culminating in an satisfying expertise. There is unquestionably a studying curve relating to sure components of the battles, each when it comes to getting acquainted with the roster of various playing cards and their capabilities and in really determining learn how to implement these options within the game. Entirely new gamers may really feel caught throughout a battle, particularly if a sure card must be performed in a sure row or work together with one other card so as to transfer issues ahead. Again, these issues begin to fade away when you play extra of Thronebreaker, however a participant must be prepared to place within the work.
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is not right here to revolutionize the iOS gaming panorama, however that is completely OK. Once gamers get previous the occasionally-clunky mechanics and the slight studying curve, it is an satisfying expertise in quite a lot of methods. For a worth of $10 (half of what the game prices on platforms like Steam), it won’t be essentially the most possible for purely informal followers. But if you wish to lose your self on this planet of The Witcher in a technique or one other, and are not afraid to place in some work, you’ll positively get your cash’s price. Plus, any game that unironically helps you to play playing cards towards a large monster is one thing price celebrating.
Rating: Four out of 5
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is now accessible on iOS, and it was beforehand accessible on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. An iOS assessment code was offered by the writer for the aim of this assessment, and it was reviewed on an iPhone XR.
