Coming from developer Rockbee Team and publisher Polden Publishing, Lessaria is an upcoming RTS inspired by the Majesty series. The game’s core features are the indirect control over heroes, a lengthy humorous campaign, and a sandbox mode that lets you create your own magical kingdom.
Have you ever wondered why you, the pampered monarch, are the one to babysit various heroes and adventurers in your kingdom and follow their every step? Why can’t you just order something killed, defended, or explored – and have your followers scurry around and fulfill your whims?
Wonder no more, because this is exactly how things go in Lessaria – and before it, in the Majesty series. You build the kingdom, gather taxes, hire heroes, and then they go on to live their own lives and do whatever they please, from exploring to spending their hard-earned gold on the new gear, or even ingloriously croaking somewhere out in the wilderness.
One thing for sure, your wish for indirect control might just come to bite you in the most hilarious way, as when you need them the most, the heroes would suddenly become obstreperous and picky, and refuse to follow your royal orders… unless there’s a hefty compensation for doing so. If that’s the case, suddenly everyone is eager to serve and see your wishes come true.
To the Majesty series, Lessaria is what Dungeons is to the Dungeon Keeper. A spiritual successor that inherited the unique gameplay and reinvented it, introducing new features without straying too far from the winning canvas.
This approach was sorely needed considering that the second – and the last – game in the series released in 2009, popped out three DLC (Kingmaker, Monster Kingdom & Battles of Ardania) and stopped showing signs of life. Of course, there were other games with indirect unit control, such as the Driftland: The Magic Revival, each with their own unique spin. So, what does Lessaria introduce that makes it stand out?
The developers reveal that they strive to make Lessaria’s heroes unique, even if it is two warriors or two rangers, each possessing specific stats and perks. For example, if your baby Level 1 Warrior encountered a giant spider and had to retreat, they would get the Fear of Spiders perk.
Other additions include: taming wild enemies (and even enemy animal units!) for Rangers, provided you have researched the ability at the Rangers’ Lodge; various new spells both for Your Majesty and your Mage units, including the teleports; resource buildings that make it so you don’t have to rely only on taxes; new exploration and quest goals; and much more!
Lessaria demo – available on Steam – has three playable missions. The first one serves as the tutorial, and introduces you to your first serious enemy, the Witch. In the second map, the game stops handholding you and allows you to defeat this opponent on your own.
Finally, the most interesting is the third map, the one where you can interact with two new (potentially) allied races: the Orcs and the Barbarians. Since they don’t appreciate diplomacy, it’s time to bring peace the old-fashioned way, by might and magic!
It is up to you which faction you want to defeat to have the other ally with you, before the surprise plot twist at the end brings you together regardless. The buildings’ menu, partially hidden, hints that there will be many, many more races like that in the full campaign.
The game offers three difficulties to choose from, starting with the easygoing Easy and going all the way up to the teeth-gnashing, micromanaging Hard. No more slacking off if you choose that one, even an unlucky bit of RNG such as a rat-spawning sewer popping up in the unfortunate place can make your life hell on the max difficulty.
Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim is many things. It is humorous, stylish, and exploring the underrepresented indirect control RTS niche, giving you an option to play just the way you want.
Do you want an easygoing experience? Min-maxing speedrunning? Or just to spend a few evenings in the sandbox mode, slowly evolving your kingdom from a single Castle and a few cottages to a powerful empire? You can do all that and more.
Throw in the lengthy campaign with its own plot twists, and we’re in for a treat! The game is slated to arrive on October 20th, packed with its unpredictable heroes with a penchant for getting into troubles and a thirst for gold and adventure.
