Bellwright is a city-builder, RPG, and survival and strategy game that is quietly marching onto Steam to let players lead rebels in order to launch a revolution.
Players will take control of a would-be rebel leader whose job is initially to scour the picturesque medieval world and slowly recruit other people to their cause. They would need to put together a band of builders, farmers, lumberjacks, and soldiers. They will primarily be responsible for designing and overseeing small settlements.
Bellwright Lets Players Build a Rebellion
(Photo : Donkey Crew / Screenshot taken from official website)
The game tasks players to locate sympathetic civilians, pick a decent spot for a new town, and direct their followers to perform building and maintenance tasks while they set out back into the wilderness in search of more followers.
Everything in Bellwright is completely simulated, which means that if players order one of their citizens to collect wood, they will travel to the forest, chop down trees, and bring them back home. The game does not have an omniscient top-down view and everything happens at ground level, according to PCGamesN.
Players can walk through town, decide where they want to build a new house or village hall, and lay the blueprints with only the click of a button. They will have to cultivate an army in order to take on the draconian, antagonist kingdom.
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The game's director, Florian Hofreither, said that they had a discussion within the team about whether they want to allow a camera that lets players zoom out to see everything more like a town builder. However, they decided not to implement it because the game would then become an average town builder.
He noted that they intentionally made the game feel slow but filled it with a lot of content for players to enjoy. The director said that they tried to avoid making it grindy, adding that they believe that if things move too fast in these types of games, players would not feel much achievement.
Launching a Revolution Against the Ruling Kingdom
The world of Bellwright itself is not in a dire bloody mess of burning buildings and ruined castles but is instead filled with vast open plains and woodlands. This means that the players' push to revolt against the ruling kingdom may not all be black and white as many would assume, said VG247.
Hofreither added that the team behind the game intentionally did not make it overly gritty because they did not want it to be a bleak dark world where people hang from the gallows. However, the game's tone slowly changes as players go further towards the kingdoms, where it becomes more brutal.
The project lead said that they came up with multiple idyllic oppression ideas, adding that in some villages, there are lots of things to explore. There are also propaganda pieces from the monarchy that show things are over the top but not outright evil as some fantasy games tell.
He added that if players take the time to talk with villagers, they may be able to see signs of oppression as well. Bellwright's gameplay features a lot of directional sword swinging, being true to its Mount & Blade roots.
Hofreither noted that launching a new game was the best choice for him and his studio amid questions of why they are launching a new game when they are still working on a previous one, MMO Last Oasis, which is still in early access, according to PCGamer.
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