Platform: Nintendo Switch
Genre: Turn-based Strategy
Developer: King Art Games
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Release Date: 6/11/19
Battle Worlds: Kronos is a turn-based strategy game by King Art Games and published by THQ Nordic. And it’s very much in the tradition of the genre; it’s hex-based, baby. It’s an older game, true; but it has just been ported to the Switch, so it’s safe to imagine strategy nuts are wondering how it fares.
In the grim darkness dystopic future, there is only war constant strife for power. Namely, the major houses are vying to win the title of emperor after the previous one finally kicked it at the comparatively young age of 200-something years young.
While the technology used to keep the old fart around for that long really only meant that he was rarely seen outside a hospital bed for 150 years, it’s since been refined, meaning that if you really wanted to rule forever, this is a given candidate’s chance to do so.
Which means some involved are ignoring Kronos’ rules for combat and playing things a bit underhanded. If you see a bit of a couple of different things (like, oh I don’t know, Dune) in that, chances are you’re not necessarily wrong.
Gameplay is as standard as turn-based hexagonal strategy games get. You have a number of units at your disposal, each with their strengths and weaknesses. You can capture enemy buildings, with the capture of their base usually ending the fight.
Each side gets their turn and can move all of their units on that turn. You can repair units by moving them into certain buildings or having them end their move on certain resources. It’s not going to really surprise fans of the genre, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If anything, it’s probably a selling point, because it means you’re getting your comfort food of choice.
Do note that it sells itself as a difficult game, and it is. Though I’d imagine genre vets would slide into it like an old pair of slippers. The missions are long, and there’s a fair number of them at your disposal.
I have little reason to criticize it on this front. At the same time, nothing really jumps out at me. Then again, my bar for “bad” is set somewhere around clown farts in a basement. So take my assessment as you will.
Ah, my old enemy, and this time not remotely related to my ancient warhorse of a USB controller. This is probably the area that Battle Worlds: Kronos lets down the most. Let’s see if you can memorize this loading screen in the short time it usually has on-screen (somewhere between 5 and 10 seconds):
Unless you were smart enough to screenshot that, or once again went through a loading screen, you won’t be seeing it again for a while. There’s no menu option to bring them up either if you needed a few more seconds for your less-than-eidetic memory to kick in.
But the controls, or their lack of rebindability, aren’t really the problem. indeed, if you’re playing in handheld mode, you can actually use the touchscreen to do things. The problem is the UI, here. It just all feels a bit too clunky for its own good. Especially when you have more than just a few units under your control.
Battle Worlds: Kronos is a fairly decent strategy game, and it being on the Switch lets you take those battles with you. Granted, it’s not quite got the combination of attributes that worm a game into my brain, but that’s far from a condemnation on my part. If strategy is your thing, it’s worth giving a shot, I’d wager.
“While it’s not perfect, Battle Worlds: Kronos gives a mostly solid strategy option to Switch owners.”
Final Score: 3.5/5
*We were provided a copy of this game for review*
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