You know, I’ve never played Gloria Victis. I’m surprised because, like the Ferengi, I’m not much of a fan of people. Why I play MMOs as often as I do, I can only imagine it’s because I love a world I feel lived in, and people make me feel that way. The other thing that surprises me that I’ve never played Gloria Victis is the setting, as I love everything that takes place in the Middle Ages. That last part sets me up well for playing Siege Survival: Gloria Victis, a game that seems to play This War of Mine and goes medieval on your ass.
I recently got to play a version of Siege Survival: Gloria Victis with a little more to watch than the demo currently available on SteamPlaying the first 15 days of the main game allowed me to explore more of the city, meet more residents, and run from more attackers with my tail between my legs. I really had a lot of fun playing the game, and I’ll talk a little bit about why that is, but first let’s see what the game is.
The setup is simple. You live in the city of Edring, part of the Midland kingdom. The city is attacked by the Ismirs, a rival kingdom, and taken by surprise; they break in the city. You and whoever can flee to the castle walls in the city, with the game offering a few text-based options in the beginning, such as choosing whether the soldiers protected the common people or the workers while they fled to the castle. .
Do these decisions make a lot of difference? I honestly don’t know. By protecting the workers, you start with a few extra supplies. As for protecting the common villagers, I imagine I haven’t gotten that far yet. Another decision is whether the barracks within the castle walls will be hit by artillery fire and destroyed or if you see a massive enemy hunter. If I was a gambler, whatever I am, both things will really matter after the fifteen days I’ve been able to survive.
Once you get into the game, you realize why Siege Survival: Gloria Victis is essentially This War of Mine, but medieval. There are differences. It’s more interactive than This War of Mine, with many of your actions and decisions directly controlled by you, and little left to the gods of random number gaming. Build, trade, gather supplies and even whatever support you provide to the defenders of the castle; there is what you are going to direct.
This is done in two different modes within the game. During the day you are in the keep. Here, using the resources and materials you have collected or produced, you can build various facilities such as a workbench, a water collector, even a small farm and more. These will help you produce much needed resources.
It will also be where you support the soldiers who defend themselves against frequent enemy attacks. You do this by making meals using the campfire and sending them. You will also want to make some makeshift bandages and medicine for the soldiers injured in previous attacks. In fact, if you can find weapons and armor while foraging, you can repair them – as well as any damage during attacks – by arming the soldiers. You could even develop enough to craft weapons, bows, and arrows, provided you hunt enough to get that far.
Don’t forget that you also need to feed your people. You start with one, quickly get another to join you, and more is found as you explore the rest of the city at night. Each of these people will have their own specialties, personalities and needs. For example, one of them is a fat coward. Fortunately, and surprisingly, he doesn’t need as much food or water as each has a double effect on him, making him very useful when you’re low on supplies.
While you can gather some supplies during the day, this is very limited within the castle walls. The real supply of your defense comes at night. At night, you can send one of your characters into the rest of the city, using a secret passage that the enemy is not aware of, so you can get out, explore, collect, and hopefully return without the enemy knowing is of your actions.
This mode is very similar to playing a game like Commandos. You control your character by simply clicking on the ground, moving around the city and always being aware of the sound you make by sneaking or running. If you find something to loot, do you risk making more noise to loot it faster? There are also events in town, giving you the chance to interact with some of the survivors and possibly even get them by your side. These are decisions that can make or break your defense.
While roaming the city within the castle walls both during the day and at night, one thing to remember is that time keeps moving. Your time is limited. Especially at night, this means that you have to speed up your actions, risking detections. Although an enemy didn’t physically take me at night, I was detected. This makes the coming nights increasingly difficult as enemies conduct more patrols, making it even more difficult to gather much-needed supplies.
You may be wondering why you would make the mistakes in tracking down. It’s as simple as having to move on to get supplies and not know where the enemy is coming from. You can use some of the highlighted hideouts and the enemy’s line of sight will be visible on the screen, Commandos style, but the only way to make the night easier for you is to unlock some of the other secret passages and shortcuts. To unlock these, as with other events, you will likely need some equipment, such as a shovel, weapon, or torch, and make sure you make the right decisions.
While I’ve only had the chance to play for the first 15 days and there are many events yet to take place in the main story of Siege Survival: Gloria Victis, I already know that I like the game. Decision-based titles like this one and This War of Mine are the ones that always suck me in. You are under pressure, your actions are far more important than in most titles, and the results of your actions are noticeable almost immediately.
Can you survive in this besieged city? You can try the demo out on Steam right now, with the full title being released in a few months by developers Black Eye Games and FishTankStudio.
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