Who doesn’t want to be a king? You get a fancy crown, a cool ornate chair to sit in, and a kingdom full of loyal subjects to boss around. In theory, getting to rule over thousands of peasants sounds pretty sweet. However, no one ever stops to think about how hard it would be to make decisions that affect an entire country. Every mistake or bad call could turn the populace against you. And if things get really rough, then a king may wind up hungry, penniless, deposed, and dead by the hands of the people or an invading army.
The anxiety of being in charge is exactly the kind of feeling that this stressful game from new developer Brave At Night aims to instill in its players. Yes, Your Grace shows us the difficulty of making tough choices, although it doesn’t always feel like your judgments truly matter.
A Royal Pain
Yes, Your Grace puts the player in the bejeweled slippers of King Eryk, the ruler of the struggling kingdom of Davern. Eryk has a materialistic wife, three lovely but troublesome daughters, and a country that seems to be in a constant state of turmoil. Davern has seen better days, and in comparison to other kingdoms, it’s pretty small and poverty-stricken. To make matters worse, he was forced to promise his firstborn daughter to a vicious king and that man has now come calling along with a massive army. Now, Eryk needs to gather enough soldiers to defend his kingdom, while also tending to his children, appeasing his allies and subjects, and trying to create a son with his wife so that his lineage can continue.
At its core, this is a management sim, which isn’t a genre typically known for having a strong narrative. But there’s certainly much more happening beneath all the decision making. There’s an incredible amount of written dialogue, as each merchant or peasant that visits you has a story of their own to go along with their request. There’s some pretty amusing moments along the way, including the constant misfortunes of your youngest daughter’s pets and a merchant who arrives to present his lie-detecting rooster.
The main story is fairly engaging, which is good since everything revolves around it. Almost every decision is leading up to an important story event that will leave a big impact on the lives of Eryk, his family, and the people around him. Thankfully, Eryk is a solid protagonist who’s a bit flawed, but interesting to play as. He’s certainly not the stereotypical depiction of a king and his consistent bad luck makes him easy to sympathize with.
Decisions, Decisions
As for how you spend the majority of your time as king, it’s your job to satisfy the populace so they don’t decide to throw you out of your own castle. Each day begins with Eryk in his throne room as citizens visit to ask for favors or help. Sometimes it’ll be as simple as someone needing gold to replace their prized cow, while other times a fearsome monster may be tearing apart the countryside. This is not a game where you get to have a power trip, as even the most benign-seeming decisions can have unforeseen consequences that can end up in disaster.
There are four main resources to look after: gold, supplies, soldiers, and the morale of your people. Gold buys items or can be given to subjects in need, supplies are used to keep the army going, soldiers determine if you’re going to survive a future battle, and the morale of citizens helps taxes get paid and keeps Eryk from being ousted as ruler. There’s also an overarching, plot-related goal that you need to work towards. This could be trying to gather forces for an upcoming war or investigating a gruesome murder that you’ve been implicated in.
There are additional tasks to perform to help the kingdom flourish. Allies can be contacted via carrier pigeon and they’ll usually have problems of their own that need to be resolved in exchange for their allegiances. Agents such as generals or hunters can be sent on missions to help the people of Davern or to search locations for extra gold or supplies.
You’d Think A Royal Decree Would Matter More
These decisions make up the bulk of Yes, Your Grace’s gameplay. However, it’s questionable how much they truly matter when all is said and done. Some choices felt like they made a real impact while other times, it was hard to tell if anything I did had any effect on the game. There were a few times in the narrative where things seemed to play out the same way regardless of what I did, which was disappointing. I was hoping for more alternate story paths, but some events appear to be set in stone.
There are some pretty interesting moments that involve Davern’s subjects. Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent that the true purpose of your time in the throne room is just to determine what resources the player is going to wind up with. Whether Eryk decides to send a general to find a missing child or aid a lord in bringing a thief to justice, the end result is that you either get some gold or lose some happiness. The only thing that matters is the main story event that you’re racing towards. It causes the colorful cast of characters that genuflect before you to become a series of numbers.
Inevitably, the novelty of listening to the plights of your subjects soon becomes a routine that gets increasingly repetitive and monotonous. That’s pretty disheartening, as that’s what you’ll spend about 90% of the game doing. Most of your time in the throne room fails to tie into the story or affect it in a significant way. In fact, it starts to become a waiting game where you’re just moving things along until the next big plot point. The disconnect between the gameplay loop and the story sadly causes the illusion of this being a living, breathing world to fade away as you progress.
Better A Live Beggar Than A Bored King
Yes, Your Grace is undeniably an interesting experience. A kingdom management sim with a well-told narrative is a unique idea for a game. Keeping everything running smoothly is challenging, the characters are likable, and the story goes to some unexpected places. But it simply doesn’t have enough going for it to gush over. The management aspects feel shallow and pointless, making the tough choices matter less as the interest begins to wane.
If you like playing games that ask you to make difficult decisions that you’ll agonize over, then this could be the game for you. Otherwise, Yes, Your Grace demonstrates that sometimes it’s not good to be the king.
A PC copy of Yes, Your Grace was purchased by TheGamer for this review. Yes, Your Grace is available on PC.
