The problem with huge strategy, sim or city-building games that come over to the console from PC is how well the port to a controller is made. How do you fit the menus and sub menus into a system so it is easy to use? Thankfully with games such as Age of Empires and Crusader Kings, the porting just gets better and better.
But what happens if you make a city builder and decide to do away with a mass of menus and options, preferring to focus on just a couple of buttons? Well, that is exactly what has been done in Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles. The revolution has begun.
Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is made by solo developer Tomas Sala, running as the second entry in a planned trilogy of games set in The Falconeer universe. The first game was an aerial battle RPG with some great action and a unique experience. Now in the second game, we find a completely new idea, with the promise of a simple city-builder.
It’s in Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles in which you have a sandbox mode and a campaign mode, complete with three starting chapters. Tomas comes along as a character from the world, talking to you, giving a brief insight into how to play the game.
There is no doubt about it – Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is unique and plays unlike anything else. In my eyes, that is a bonus. Your job is to build, manage resources, keep building, and then… stop. There doesn’t seem to be a goal at the end of it and if you’re not into Bulwark from the beginning then it might be hard to entice you to play more. But if you and this game do click, and you understand the mechanics at play, then there is a lot of fun to be had in this experience.
You start Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles with an outpost that might be halfway up a mountain. From there you need resources, so you need to start building for wood, and then later on, you need stone and iron from mines. Then you’ll want to focus on creating some towers which act like connectors between everything, all so walkways can be placed. And as you go about things, Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles starts to fill in the housing and buildings automatically as you go. As the resources start to flood in, the work of building starts to develop. And soon you’ll find yourself upgrading enough to be able to take to the sea, playing with drones that you pilot and harbours that ensure ships can carry more resources.
Progress in Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles means bigger towers and bigger skyways. You can play captain, taking charge of certain buildings and build up your military defences or attack force to go over and take over settlements. And when you really get going, Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles sort of takes care of itself, which is very different from other city builders which require constant juggling to stop everything imploding.
Of course, there are some finicky points to it. The main issue for me is a lack of purpose and depth, something that comes about after a few hours. But then there’s also the camera – it is a sticking point that I just couldn’t get to grips with it.
On the more positive side of things, and the loved visual design of the first game feeds into Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles. It has some amazing colours in the skies and the environments, whilst the design of the architecture and settlements are nothing short of wonderful; like a toy doll house where you are peeping through the windows.
And soundwise, it’s again very strong; haunting atmospheric tracks play throughout, settling you into the world and all that it has to offer.
Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is a good second entry into The Falconeer universe, offering up something different. I feel that the lack of goals and purpose hinder the game, and I’ve personally struggled with the camera. But other than that, there is a lot to admire here, particularly in the simplicity and relaxed nature. The audio and visuals are great and I now look forward to the final instalment in the trilogy.
