Building Walls – Siegecraft Commander Review

Out of all my time doing video game reviews, I don’t think I’ve ever been so torn about a game then Siegecraft Commander, the latest game from Blowfish studio. My problem is that the game is technically sound, follows a decent story, well balanced and has an interesting game mechanic for an RTS/Tower Defence hybrid, but I feel like there is something missing.

Siegecraft Commander tells the story of two factions, a group of gallant Knights who are looking for treasure, the other a group of shaman-like Lizard people attempting to ascend a mountain. While the story isn’t much, the 8 level each campaign allows you to learn the basic mechanics needed for each commander, along with learning how to actually play the game and develop good strategies for Multiplayer.

Where Siegecraft gets interesting is in its mechanics. Designed as a RTS/Tower Defence Hybrid, players are tasked with building bases in order to spread their influence through the land. Rather then relying on units to build the towers and other building to produce soldiers, players are able to launch the building of their choice via catapult, which will then build a defensive wall between the the original launch location to the destination.

Placement of the bases becomes the strategy at this point, as the walls are only as good as the bases their connected to. For example, if an outpost that had built a barracks or hatchery fell, the walls will then act as a domino effect taking down any buildings it is connected to.

In order to take down these bases, players will have multiple options, including sending their soldier units to attack by ground or air, magic attacks, or by catapulting TNT in a similar fashion to creating a base.

This feature of catapulting bases and building walls is a major selling point for the game, as it offers a unique strategy to ensuring that players have a way to build a proper defence, while having to worry about a possible domino effect if a weaker point in the wall is exposed.

Multiplayer supports up to 4 players who can choose between different commanders (2 from each faction) each with their own perks. There are two different ways to play Siegecraft Commander in multiplayer, Real-Time or Turned based. Real-time plays similar to the campaign which will have players build their bases and have units move at the same time, while Turn-base slows the game down to a more strategic element and have players do one move per turn, with units moving a set amount of distance after each turn.

Siegecraft Commander also opens up the possibility for players on PS4 to challenge PC players. While normally, PC players would have an advantage in a RTS setting, however thanks to some solid controls on the PS4 and the game’s focus on catapulting, it feels like both players have a competitive advantage.

As I mentioned in the opening, the game is solid and I can find very little fault with the game. While the story could use some improvements, it does exactly what it needs to show players some of the strategies and mechanics to play the game. On top of that the game has some great mechanics thanks to the Hybrid gameplay, and the multiplayer is a great experience. However I find myself having a hard time to sit and really enjoy the game, possibly due to the fact that Siegecraft Commander requires a great deal of patience and is much slower paced then what I’m used. Still if you’re a fan of strategy games, there is plenty to love with Siegecraft Commander.