Last year we interviewed Flare Games, makers of the hit Windows Phone and Windows 8 game Royal Revolt. You know, it’s one of those excellent games that some people miss out on because it doesn’t cure their Achievement shakes. But most of actually want to play quality games on our phones and/or tablets of choice, so we were pumped when Flare revealed that Royal Revolt 2 would be coming to Windows Phone during our interview.
Fast-forward to today, and Royal Revolt 2 is nearly upon us! The sequel has already soft launched on Windows Phone and Windows 8 and RT in Canada and Germany and will soon be available in most regions. In fact, Windows Phone Central has exclusive news of the official release date: May 15, less than two weeks from now. In the meantime, we’ve got a hands-on preview video that reveals some of the major changes in Royal Revolt 2.
Create a kingdom
In the original Royal Revolt, players took control of a prince whose lands had been wrongfully stolen during his absence. The game consisted of numerous single-player levels in which the prince fought and launched AI comrades against enemy towers and castles. Think of it as an action-oriented tower offense game. Although the difficulty curved steeply due to its free to play nature, Royal Revolt was an absolute blast to look at and play.
Most of the elements that gamers loved returns in Royal Revolt 2, except for the story components, that is. The sequel now puts players in charge of their own kingdom that can be invaded by other players. That’s right, Royal Revolt 2 is a multiplayer-oriented raiding game – sort of like Cloud Raiders, but far more action-packed and exciting.
The first thing you’ll do when starting out is construct several buildings in the ruins of your castle. Each building performs a function, such as unlocking and upgrading units and spells. The first game had those same interactions, but you just navigated menus instead of selecting and upgrading buildings. New buildings include taverns that produce gold and farms that grow food. Gold finances upgrades while food fuels the troops you send on raids.
Attack the blocks
If you’re worried about Royal Revolt 2 feeling too different from the first game, fear not. Attacks on other players feel just like the single-player levels of the original.
You still command a prince (who can level up but sadly can’t be visually customized) and run through the levels, automatically hacking away at the enemy’s waves of enemies and obstacles. Launching troops is as simple as tapping the button at the bottom of the screen when your troop meter fills up. Players can still equip spells to deal damage or heal their teammates. New scrolls act like extra powerful spells, but they cost gems (premium currency) so you probably won’t use them much.
Levels are now timed, much like Cloud Raiders and other Clash of Clans-style games. You’ll still get money even if you don’t destroy the enemy’s castle gate in time, but you get a lot more rewards for fully conquering the level. Considering how fun Royal Revolt’s core gameplay is, attacking an endless variety of fellow players is quite enthralling.
The other side of the coin is defense! Each player gets to customize the path leading to his or her castle. You can unlock and upgrade a variety of towers to guard the path, as well as customizing the waves of soldiers who will defend it. Again, the defense component is similar to other multiplayer raiding games. But with Royal Revolt’s unique gameplay, it still feels very fresh and natural.
Prepare your defenses…
Royal Revolt 2 is a free to play game, with gems once again acting as the premium currency. It remains to be seen how fair and balanced the in-app purchases are – the IAP server hasn’t come online yet.
Fans of the original and even Flare Games’ other title Throne Wars will likely love the new game when it launches in all regions except China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on Thursday, May 15. I had a tough time putting the phone down so I could write this preview!
- Royal Revolt 2 – Windows Phone 8 – 239 MB – Free – Store Link (Canada and Germany only until May 15)
- Royal Revolt 2 – Windows 8 and RT – 241 MB – Free – Store Link (Canada and Germany only until May 15)
