Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | iOS: 87/100[1] PC: 77/100[2] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| The Guardian |   [3] |
| TouchArcade | [4] |
| Pocket Gamer | 8/10[5] |
| Gamezebo |  [6] |
According to the review aggregator website Metacritic, Reigns received "generally favorable" reviews.
Reviewers considered Reigns to be a fun and unique strategy game.[GZ][TA][PG] Gamezebo called it a distinctive concept,[GZ] while TouchArcade found its gameplay to be interesting and inventive.[TA] Pocket Gamer said that it was "A clever subversion of strategy and casual mobile play that makes you laugh, cry, and think".[7]
Critics debated the game's presentation. Rock Paper Shotgun said that it forced the player to alter their approach, as it changed him from being an idealist who wanted to make moral decisions, to a pragmatic ruler who would work to stay alive.[RP] Pocket Gamer and Gamezebo opined that the game was about the balance of various unusual scenarios,[PG][GZ] while The Guardian said that the randomness of the cards made the act of balancing ineffective, adding that the game felt whimsical and superficial.[TG] TouchArcade said that the game was humorous and weird, and it embraced these elements through its gameplay and presentation.[TA]
The gameplay was positively received. TouchArcade praised the cards as a way to make the player feel like they were working to a larger goal through simple decisions.[TA] Gamezebo said that the game gave an interesting amount of weight behind each decision and would lead to overthinking.[GZ] The Guardian felt that the simple controls with the cards was well-suited for mobile gameplay, but added that the binary style of decisions limited the depth.[TG] Rock Paper Shotgun said that Reigns did not feel repetitive despite its simple controls, as there were enough new cards being added that made the game fun.[RP] Other reviewers said that the gameplay felt too repetitive. Gamezebo said that that the game would eventually become repetitive despite its large number of scenarios.[GZ] The Guardian found some of the cards to be poorly designed and confusing, and said that the repeating nature of some cards hurt the game's story-based objective.[TG]
The game won the international competition at the 2017 Ludicious convention.[8] It was nominated for "Best Mobile Game" of Unity Awards 2016, and "Use of Narrative" of Develop Awards 2016. In 2017, Reigns was nominated for "Mobile Game of the Year" at the 20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.[9]
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- ^ "Reigns wins the International Competition at the Zurich Game Festival". Pocket Gamer. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ "2017 Awards Category Details Mobile Game of the Year". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 30 November 2023.