Reigns, the "Tinder of the mobile RPG" as some people like to call it, signs this year's big comeback via Reigns: Game of Thrones.Not to be satisfied with the juicy license he exploits, the new title of Nerial succeeds in seducing and intelligently constructing her words, taking advantage of the great story offered by one of the most emblematic sagas of this decade.

Back on a strange concept ...

In 2016 came out Reigns, very nice mobile game and PC that put in the heart of its gameplay the "swipe", the action of dragging an item to the left or right to validate it. In doing so, we interact with cards presenting a situation that takes place during the reign of our character. As a king, your goal here is to survive as long as possible, with each past event representing a year lived on the throne.

The pitfalls are numerous and it will be necessary to pay attention to the four gauges defining the success of your part. "Army", "church", "cash" and "love of the people" will be your sliders of popularity and performance that every decision will potentially impact, for good or for bad. The game ends if one of these four sliders reaches the lowest or the highest. If the church wins, it will dethrone you. If the army is at its lowest, it's the barbarian invasion. With this concept, effective and very open, the Nerial studio declined its offer twice: with Reigns: Her Majesty, which we tested in our columns early 2018 , and most recently with Reigns: Game of Thrones. Does this new version come to sublimate the basic concept? This is what we will see ...

THE PERFECT SETTING FOR A GENRE THAT KNOWS HOW TO RENEW ITSELF

Reigns: Game of Thrones offers a unique experience, tailored for the Kingdom of Seven Crowns. The world is portrayed in the most beautiful way and in a setting that is particularly appropriate to the inexhaustible intrigues of the famous series of HBO, adapted from the novels of George RR Martin. Attentions however, the title is intended for those who are "up to date" on the saga. Chronologically, we are therefore between season 7 and 8, and will face the ultimate outcome of the intrigues of each. What follows is highly spoilant if you do not follow the series, and even more if you have not arrived at the last episodes released to date. You are warned.

It is in the skin of Daenerys Targaryen that we begin this epic, on a throne that has just been occupied, chasing the Lannisters of Port-Royal. The years go by and many decisions will have to be made, be they the classics of neighborhood confusion, the rise of the Septum and its Septa through the battles that will be conducted against the different kingdoms. Moreover, they try to "gamify" the experience including making you make effective decisions . At the end of your 25th year at the controls, the winter will add to the difficulty and trigger new arcs scenario. Reigns works by card packs dedicated to goals and so making certain decisions will unlock several events that will have to be dealt with.Inescapably, you will die. However, this death will give you access to a completely different point of view if you have sufficiently covered during your "run" . In this way, meeting Jon Snow for example as a Mother of Dragons will unleash the role of the bastard Winterfell who, as you can imagine, offers a lot of events related to his lineage at least problematic. The ball continues later with other characters, of course: Cersei the authoritarian limited to Arya the vindictive without-face who stole the throne and must hide his identity.

REPLAYABILITY AT THE HEART OF THE EXPERIENCE

Nine characters are available in all and it will be necessary to whip for all use and above all, hold on, because winter will come to constantly disturb your ascent. The simple fact of being able to change the character with each new game avoids turning in circles, which happened regularly in Reigns when one stumbled on a goal . The situations here are rarely redundant and we will gladly triturate the local diplomacy in the hope of finding known characters that will give access to new playable arcs. Depending on the character you play, your quarrels will be different and the movements you will take part in will be different.Note also that some items can be unlocked, depending on your actions or your character, which will often save you the loaves of a royal hanging or difficult situation, especially during the winter . These items are all tied to the lore of each, so Tyrion will have no problem finding money in case of bankruptcy and Daenerys will always use Drogon to revive its popularity with the public.

LIVE IN A WORLD THAT WE KNOW ONLY TOO WELL ...

The magic of Reigns: Game of Thrones is that it is as minimalist as it is remote. Due to the lore operated and hours of viewing we all go through the game in your mind creates a vision made of epic moments, characters that we know well and thorny situations we may well see. The music, beautiful, help to immerse yourself. As for the graphic aspect, it is still as summary, sometimes even a little too much, especially on the PC version which is endowed with a few coarse backgrounds which succeed one another to create a geographical framework for the action. The small voices of each character are also present, mumbling invented words, but their quality will probably invite you to disable them to fully enjoy the ambient music, much more immersive.

Reigns: Game of Thrones is probably the best gaming adaptation of the HBO saga. Free, deep, minimalist and yet so immersive, he stands out as the worthy heir of the Books of which you are the Hero. Magnified here by a huge lore that will constantly remind the series and works of RR Martin, exciting and devilishly fascinating, the formula exploited since 2016 by the studio Nerial found here a must-have for fans, simply.