Crown Wars: The Black Prince takes us back to the 14th century in France. The setting is all about the king of France that got kidnapped. Due to his absence, the King quickly loses his grip over the kingdom as different mercenaries and other factions are trying their best to destabilize the kingdom. The game follows (as best as it can) his historical period but with its own kind of twist. It’s a historical fantasy game where you take it upon an occult group of people, called the Order. An organization that will throw different kinds of enemies toward you like alchemists, evil soldiers, … etc. It’s up to the player to make a stand and deliver the kingdom from evil.
The game is a tactical turn-based action game that puts gameplay above all the rest. The whole story is told through different missions, cutscenes, and conversations. The game is very fast-paced and can be played in multiple ways. There are no “set in the ground” strategies that will help you win the game more easily, instead you just react to actions by flanking, vaulting, … and making it a priority not to get surrounded by the enemy troops.
“Talking about the core gameplay, it plays like any other tactical X-com-like game.”
These battles take place on different maps and each mission can be completed by achieving a series of objectives during the mission. You will have different kinds of missions, divided between main and side missions. You play the game at your own pace and focus on gearing/ leveling your team members before you take on a certain mission. Being able to control the pace, that’s a plus for me. By completing these different missions you’ll gain resources to build up your fortress of solitude. By upgrading your castle, you’ll be able to get new classes, weapons, and armor.
Talking about the core gameplay, it plays like any other tactical X-com-like game. Each character takes a couple of actions before they run out of action points and have to pass the turn to the enemy. You can move around, replace your hero to overwatch, use abilities, and even use items to prepare for an upcoming turn. Most of the time, the game plays out like any other tactical battler.
I do want to mention that I prefer a mouse & keyboard if I want to play these types of games but playing this game on the PS5, I had to use a controller. The controller isn’t bad but it doesn’t feel too intuitive, except for the camera. The controller gives you a lot of options to get a better view of the battlefield, either it’s a top-down view or a close-up view. The camera can be controlled fluently between these different camera stands.
“Maybe the A.I. needs some rework.”
The game also uses areas of effects like exploding barrels or using oil to set people on fire. It’s a great feature that takes the game to a higher level. However, it is also a feature that’ll keep you on your toes because friendly fire is a thing in this game. Even the enemies sometimes don’t give a hoot and use these areas of effects on their own team members. Then again, if it helps to win a game, let them have it! The enemies also tend to end their turn without even attacking. Maybe the A.I. needs some rework.
Technically speaking, the game is definitely not bad to watch but in some ways, I do believe that the game could have presented itself a little better. Some stuttering, sync issues between voice and movement, crashes, …etc. take a bit away from the enjoyment. Of course, these types of things can be fixed by patching the game so that I wouldn’t care too much about it. Crashes are the biggest issue but the developers made a great autosave that can mostly backtrack all of your work. So there isn’t any loss during a crash which is great. We’ll wait out the patches to get this game running smoothly.
CONCLUSION:
Crown Wars: The Black Prince has an interesting setting, especially when they’re focused on historical events. Most of the tactical games on the current market are often fantasy or science fiction, so for people who love historical battles or a medieval setting, this game will definitely be on their playlist. The story is okay but it’s obvious that the gameplay had priority over the story. The gameplay is decent and there are multiple classes to choose from, but the gameplay itself is not that big of a deal. It quickly becomes a bit too repetitive… Not all missions were fairly balanced as well. Either way, the game is definitely okay to scratch that itch but don’t expect something groundbreaking.
7/10
tested on PS5
