Patient gamers that take the time to explore what Sengoku has to offer will be threated to a character orientated grand strategy along the same vein of Crusder Kings. Set during the warring period of Japanese history (1460s in this case) players ill take on the role of noble as they find the path to victory.
In typical grand strategy fashion this path will involve plenty of deadly conflicts and cunning dicplomacy to bring others under your rule. Ultimately you’ll conquer the fuedal lands of Japan to become Shogun. How much of a challenge this will be is entirely up to you with players able to choose their starting lord from all the Japanese lands, altering your strategy and difficultly significantly.
The biggest let down of Sengoku is the start of the game which is void of sufficient tutorials to let you hone in on the core mechanics. This makes Sengoku not an option for fresh grand strategy fans, limiting it the veterans with both the time and patience to uncover the mechanics at play. One such mechanic you’ll have to wrap your head around is the honour system, which ties in perfectly with the game setting.
Honour is the heart and soul of Sengoku and is built up over time within the game for various honour worthy actions be it gaining titles, adding money to the Emperor coffers or a number of religious actions. Low honour can be just as deadly as any enemy faction with your own troops willing to abandon you if it falls too low.
For what it lacks in guidance Sengoku makes up for through the depth of schemes that players can engage in. From ninjas, inheritances of land and hostages it all feels very authentic to the era.
This works well when the AI works as intended although it does faulter from time to time, an unfortunate common occurence in most grand strategy games, especially when Paradox is involved. Other diplmoacy mechanics are fairly light and combat is equally so with a focus on basic rock-paper-scissors dynamic with numbers of units playing a key role.
Summary:
- Become Shogun of Japan one step at a time.
- Plot and scheme your way to power.
- Manage your honour to prvent your own underlings from turning against you.
- Over 350 Japanese provinces waiting to be fought over.
- A tricky but rewarding adventure in fuedel Japan.
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Review Platform: PC
