Being a monarch sounds like quite a cushy job until you realise that your subjects are also your ammunition. The Royal Writ has now arrived on Xbox Series X|S, bringing its charming mixture of lane-based battles, roguelike deckbuilding and extremely questionable royal decision-making to console. Better still, it’s available Day One on Xbox Game Pass.
The Royal Writ is also available on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, while the Xbox version supports Xbox Play Anywhere. Originally released on Steam in 2025, where it has picked up Very Positive reviews, this latest version brings the game’s most recent updates and additions along for the ride.
At A Glance
- Game: The Royal Writ
- Formats: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Play Anywhere
- Publisher: Yogscast Games
- Developer: Save Sloth Studios
- Genre: Roguelike Deckbuilder
Your Subjects Are Ready To Die
The basic idea behind The Royal Writ is wonderfully simple. You command an army of animal warriors, placing them across one to three lanes and sending them marching towards the enemy base. But this isn’t a case of simply throwing your strongest cards into battle.
Every subject has their own abilities and personality, and their position can be crucial to your strategy. You might find yourself relying on a wounded flamingo, a short-sighted chicken bowman or a lizard with the rather handy ability to survive by sacrificing its tail.
The catch is particularly brutal. If one of your cards reaches the enemy base before you’ve achieved victory, that card is permanently removed from your deck for the rest of the run. The same applies when your troops fall victim to the various hazards scattered across the battlefield.
Victory Comes With A Price
That permadeath system means losses aren’t simply something to shrug off before trying again. Losing a useful card can fundamentally change the remainder of your run, forcing you to rethink your strategy and make the most of whatever remains. And then, Relics, equipment and different card combinations provide further ways to develop your army, while each run brings different opportunities and challenges.
The Royal Writ features two campaigns, each bringing its own cards, bosses and strategic complications.
The First Campaign puts you up against a growing rebellion while your supposedly just king attempts to maintain control of the realm. Unfortunately, deep pits and poisonous swamps aren’t particularly helpful when you’re trying to march an army towards an enemy stronghold.
Then the Second Campaign introduces something considerably more modern: gunpowder. Suddenly, positioning and environmental hazards aren’t your only concerns. Experimental weapons bring bullets into the equation, forcing you to rethink how your troops survive their journey across the battlefield.
Medieval Warfare, With Questionable Personnel
The picture-book presentation makes the whole thing look considerably more innocent than it actually is. Alongside the army of ants, bats, lizards and other creatures are some decidedly strange NPCs, including a mantis dentist, a goat tactician and a boar shopkeeper whose professional qualifications probably aren’t worth investigating.
It’s a suitably silly counterpoint to a game where losing one of your favourite warriors can have very real consequences.
A Game Pass Day One Royal Decree
The console launch also arrives with the latest improvements from the PC version, including final boss and Act II balance changes, new equipment such as the Postbag and Fishing Rod, and four new Letter Cards – Excision, Last Resort, Excavation Permit and Mushroom Break.
There are also further balancing tweaks, optimisations and bug fixes included for the console release.
If you’re already subscribed to Xbox Game Pass, there’s little stopping you from issuing the royal decree and sending an unfortunate collection of woodland creatures into battle. But even if you’re not, we’re sure that dropping a bit of cash (£12.49) at the usual digital storefronts will be ever-so-appealing. We’ll point you to the Xbox Store, but PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Steam options are also available.
One thing to remember… in The Royal Writ, victory might belong to the king, but it’s your cards that are going to pay the price.
