When I got given this game to review a while back, I sorta just…Looked at it. I thought “Isn’t this just another strategy game?” “Does the industry really need another one?” “What is this?”; these questions, however, turned from dismissal into pure curiosity in the space of a few minutes – “What?! Why am I shooting towers at things?!” “Wait what how the heck does this control?!” “Why hasn’t this been done before?!”…
You know, I really don’t know what to label Siegecraft Commander – It’s Steam page lists it as a “Strategy Action” game, but in all honesty I’d call it more of an “Accuracy-based Semi-Strategy Action Game”; allow me to explain – Siegecraft Commander has a very unique playstyle, moreso than most games I’ve played, where you can control a range of buildings and fortifications by ‘Shooting’ them out of your main command post to expand your army in a range of transport lines and build further fortifications and armaments from there – The objective? Conquer the map with your choice of faction, either the Knights of Freemoi, a humorous bunch of warriors looking for land and riches, or the bestial Lizardmen, both of which have fully fledged single player campaigns spanning 8 missions each (16 in total) and premade maps. I do have to say this now however, the Lizardman campaign, at least from my point of view, was vastly harder than the Freemoi campaign, especially since you aren’t given a tutorial or basic tips to help you out. This isn’t a bad thing, but a small warning would be nice.
Siegecraft Commander also features an impressive local and online multiplayer mode, featuring one thing a lot of console (And PC) games are lacking in severely – Cross-Platform Multiplayer. Hell. Yes. This means that if you have a buddy over on Xbox One or PC, or on PS4, and you thought you have no hope in hell of playing against them, then you better re-assess cause boy can you! Multiplayer includes three main modes for lobbies – Custom Games, where players can define the connectivity type, turn type (Real Time or Turn-Based), Turn Time and the Map (From which there are 5 to choose from), Real Time, and Turn Based.
Adding along with Multiplayer, you’re able to also choose from one of four Commander Units, Commander Steerson (A high-and-mighty leader of the Knights of Freemoi), High Mason Yuriy (One of the Knights’ leading carpenters and constructors), Ktara Brutz (A powerful Lizardman Knight) and Sharma Llertz (A Lizardman Shaman with powerful magic) – Each Commander can be levelled up by destroying units and towers, and have unique buildings and skills associated with them, playing against their strengths and weaknesses in traditional levelling tree fashion. Each Commander has two variations, with different skills too, and points invested can always be refunded, thankfully, as well.
Visually, Siegecraft Commander looks brilliant on the standard PS4, with crisp, detailed models for each character, environment piece and building, helping them all stand out from the background and action – Aiming can be a little annoying, requiring a Worms-esque method of pulling on the sticks / mouse to fire buildings and projectiles further, but once you get used to it, the gameplay starts to hook you in, addict you, and grows on you greatly; however, this gameplay style will be, admittedly, hit or miss (Haha, projectile joke, I’m so funny…!).
Other than that though, there isn’t really all that much else to do in Siegecraft – I mean the core gameplay is fun, and would be amazing over a few games of multiplayer, but there isn’t really anything else to shake up the formula; I’d love to see some form of custom element, such as a map creator (Yes, I know, that’s asking a lot before launch!! Haha!) or Challenges to help give those who have done-it-all experience some form of post-game challenge outside of a competitive element. I’d also like to see more characters in the near future, as the limited cast of 4 Commanders is good, but could do with a little more wiggle-room!
For launch though, Siegecraft Commander rushes out the gates with a healthy amount of content that should satisfy you strategy and Worms-loving junkies for months to come, especially with that glorious Cross-Platform multiplayer! I can’t wait to see what Siegecraft Commander has in store for the near future, and will be monitoring it’s progress closely.
I would rate Siegecraft Commander an 8/10; a great, fresh take on the Strategy genre – All it needs is a little bit more content!