Royal Offense

Real-time strategy games usually adhere to a specific set of gameplay mechanics and rules, but different developers can add their own ideas to the equation when it comes to the overall experience. However, people expect a certain type of interface and gameplay when they start playing, so it might not be a brilliant idea to change it entirely, otherwise gamers might not even give it a chance.

Royal Offense is a casual strategy game designed for mobile devices and ported to PC, which is the main reason why it feels and plays so weird. In essence, everything is boiled down to its most basics, which although may be a good choice on phones and tablets, it’s not so brilliant on a computer. On the other hand, the casual approach might attract players that do not really care about how things “are done”.

To begin with, the core gameplay mechanics revolve around one simple thing: making units. They are almost instantly generated, and they move on their own around the map. You have the option to pick them up and place them in the desired spot, but it’s actually more bothersome than in a classic RTS to do so. Thus, you just need to make sure you have a constant stream of money and units coming out, and you can just watch the screen while everything resolves itself automatically.

The money you make after each stage can be used to purchase more buildings for your city, which allow you to train better heroes and units, as well as to buy powerful potions and artifacts. This keeps you engaged, because with almost each round you get to wield a new type of unit. On the other hand, the gameplay remains just as dull all the way through, except that it takes longer and longer to beat the enemy.

Interface-wise, you only need to click and drag-and-drop, with nothing in between. Even the map scrolling is done by holding down the middle mouse button, which is about as bothersome as you might imagine. The graphics are not bad, but they are as simple as they can get. The units walk into each other with no collision whatsoever, which makes it difficult to tell how many you’ve got left.

All things considered, Royal Offense is not a bad game, but it makes it difficult for you to enjoy it on a PC. Hence, if the interface is not improved, it’s too much of a bother to keep playing, especially in the later levels.