Reigns: Beyond™

Swipe-based choices are the distinctive little engine of Reigns: Beyond™: each decision can shift the balance between competing needs, while the journey through space supplies new characters and situations. Its twist is to put that familiar card-choice format in the hands of a travelling band, mixing narrative decisions with managing the group and its resources. By our assessment, the short, readable choices make it easy to pick up, and the accumulating consequences give a run its shape. The trade-off is that the basic action remains swiping left or right, so players who want direct control, complex combat or a large tactical system may find the loop narrow. Its space setting keeps the encounters varied, but the appeal depends on enjoying the chain of small decisions rather than mastering elaborate mechanics. The crew's fortunes turn on the next card and the resource it puts under pressure.