Paige FTW: Swipe On In ʻReigns’ Sequel
Reigns was a charming little mobile game I discovered last year that involved kingdom management … by swiping left or right on important decisions, a la Tinder.
Well, its sequel, Reigns: Her Majesty, is an improvement on its predecessor in just about every way — with a few new mechanics, to boot.
This time, you are the queen of a nameless country. You are still charged with making important, balanced decisions for the kingdom (the king is a little scatterbrained, so you do most of the ruling) while puzzling out why it is, exactly, that you keep dying and getting reborn, but you also have more in-depth options of romantic intrigue, castle building and (new this time) a set of usable magical items that can (literally) change your destiny.
Reigns was charming, but the endgame felt nebulous and largely out of your control, for the most part. Her Majesty offers more agency with magical items: perfume, a gun, a clock and a spellbook. Sometimes, even when you’re about to burned at the stake as a heretic, you can whip out your perfume to give yourself a second chance. It may not be much, but it makes you feel more in control. There’s also a zodiac system that has some effect on what events are more likely to occur during each reign — I don’t fully understand how it works yet, myself, but it adds another layer of strategy if you are having a hard time triggering specific events.
That plays into another innovation that Her Majesty takes full advantage of — you are a woman. The expectations placed on you are subtly different than that of Reigns’ king: failing to wear the right dress or entertaining the foreign queen could have unexpected consequences. Small sexist quips from side character add to the atmosphere. It just feels … more thoughtful in this sense than its predecessor.
Reigns: Her Majesty is available for iOS, Android and Steam, and costs $2.99.
