Sovereign Tower Preview

There are plenty of games out there that focus on the quest to take the throne of a kingdom, but what about the stress of running the damn place? That’s the question that WILD WITS GAMES’ upcoming title, Sovereign Tower, wants to present to the player. I had the chance to try out an early build to see whether this kingdom is worth saving or if it’s time to consider a republic instead.

Sovereign Tower has you take on the role of a leper who becomes the chosen king after entering a mystical tower. From there, it’s up to you to manage requests, gather knights to your round table, and slowly build up a following among your subjects. However, the tower is a place of mystery, and some strange secrets will either empower or curse your reign. Overall, at least from what I saw, there’s some great potential for interesting stories, and there’s even the option to romance certain people. The big question will be whether the entire game can maintain this same level throughout or if it will start to get repetitive.

Actual gameplay has you first listening to requests from punters in the morning, which you can solve in a variety of different ways. For instance, you could offer money or even accept a quest to solve the problem. This is where you’ll meet the majority of characters, including the knights who request to join your round table. Each warrior has their own personality, and it can evolve as the game progresses. For instance, one of my knights sadly died, but then his armour returned after being possessed by a very annoyed demon (it turns out they take some of the original’s personality quirks). 

The quests, meanwhile, have you select a knight from your roster that best matches the requirements of each objective. It works a bit like Dispatch, with each knight offering different levels of Strength, Wit, Magic and more. They also have their own quirks that can influence the outcome. The aim is to try to reach three different levels of success, but the knights can take damage and eventually die.  

Honestly, this is the part I dislike the most, as it can be tricky to figure out how to get the better scores and, in turn, not lose knights that you’ve been levelling up. Thankfully, the tower does contain a demonic door that can turn back time. It’s got limited charges, but it’s enough to help you keep the knights from certain death. However, I never did quite find out if you can cure them, but that may be one of the locked rooms you can unlock.

Graphically, Sovereign Tower uses a charming art style, with the portraits of the individuals dripping with, well, character. For the most part, there’s not really much voice acting on display, although one bard did sing a very enchanting song. With that being said, the lack of voice acting is more than made up for with the writing, but I hope that Sovereign Tower has more songs as you progress through the campaign.

Overall, this was a solid taster for Sovereign Tower, and it’s certainly looking like an adventure that will keep you invested. However, my biggest concern at this point is how it will manage to keep players invested for the long haul. For the time being, we can only wait and see what the final result is, but until then, this is certainly one to keep your eyes on.