Explore new lands. Conquer and build upon them. Advance your civilization. Defend your kingdom from rivals. These are the core tenets of so many great strategy games, 4X games in particular, but they are often played out across sprawling play spaces. Well, here’s a game that takes some of the key elements of games like Civilization, makes things much more compact, and sprinkles in elements of deckbuilders, roguelikes, and… Tetris? Drop Duchy has just revealed its release date, but while you wait, you can try it right now thanks to its newly expanded Steam demo.
On an almost daily basis, we see some radical, genre-mashing games arrive on Steam, but this is one of the most intriguing I’ve seen so far this year. Drop Duchy has the look and feel of an elaborate strategy game, and still requires plenty of tactical decision making. However, it presents this experience as a Tertris-style turn-based puzzle game where different combinations of blocks must slot together to create your kingdom.
As well as being different shapes, each block consists of different terrains or building types that will give you specific resources or bonuses. Fitting them all together into a cohesive, rectangular realm, however, is only the beginning of the challenge. Whenever your blocks create a complete horizontal line across the board, you’ll be rewarded bonuses, currency, and materials, so make sure you’re filling in gaps and building your kingdom up evenly. Plus, if you can skilfully align blocks of a related nature, such as placing a wood clearer next to forest tiles, then you’ll boost the amount of resources you get.
Those resources will be put to good use – namely, raising an army to defend your kingdom’s castle from rival factions. Tiles can be overrun with enemies, and you’ll need to lead your army into battle to reclaim that territory. You also need to use them to defend your castle, should those enemy forces find themselves right outside the gates.
Drop Duchy is also a deckbuilder – completing levels will give you the chance to collect new cards, which in turn give you new blocks that could be placed on the board. This is how your kingdom will evolve and become stronger as your time with the game increases. The game’s roguelite element comes in the form of every level presenting your blocks in random orders and configurations, so you never know exactly what you’re going to find and how a run will begin.
When the game fully launches, there will be three different factions for you to play through – The Duchy, The Republic, and The Order – each with bespoke questlines and rewards. The first iteration of Drop Duchy’s demo only featured The Duchy, but it has just expanded to include The Republic, alongside several new cards. Developer Sleepy Mill Studio has also today revealed when the full launch is arriving.
Drop Duchy will be released on Steam on Monday, May 5, but as mentioned, you can play its free Steam demo right now. To learn more about the game or to download the demo, head to its store page here.
For some similar experiences that’ll put your skills to the test, why not check out some of the best card games and the best city building games on PC right now.
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