Triangle Strategy was a game that caught my interest right away from the very first time we got to see it. The game features turn-based combat that you would see in games like Fire Emblem which is one of the reasons I gravitated to this game so quickly. The game itself is about a man named Serenoa of House Woffort in the country of Glenbrook. Glenbrook is one of three countries on the continent and prior to the events of the game, they were all at war but negotiated a peace treaty. However, the peace is quickly interrupted as the countries are quick to resume conflict as their secret motivations influence how they act with each other. Serenoa is forced into the middle of this combat to understand how to keep his people safe while understanding the pros and cons of how each nation rules its people. Throughout the game, you are forced to make many decisions that alter what happens in the course of the game as you decide how to address each situation.

I’ll first talk about the gameplay. As far as the game’s combat it’s really fun. Now there’s nothing really groundbreaking or inherently new to how it’s done it’s just done really well. You have a turn-based strategy game system that requires a lot of things to keep up with such as the units themselves, terrain, and even interactable objects on the map itself. If you like games like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics then you will enjoy the combat in this game, however, if those games are not for you then there’s nothing about this gameplay that will make this an exception. Also for the most part there is a lot of story between most of the rounds of combat which I personally loved but I can see it being a problem for those who maybe want to spend more time in combat. Each character is unique and there are a lot of characters in this game so it’s a lot of fun to upgrade characters and mix and match them to see what combinations work well for you. Also what I like is while each character has upgrades that can make them stronger it’s not a huge list of upgrades so it’s not difficult to get new characters caught up if you get them late in the game and it’s not a tedious process. Overall the gameplay is just enjoyable turn-based tactical combat that gives you a lot to think about without having to spend a lot of time with character customization.

While the gameplay is fun but not the most unique the story of the game is quite different. Not only is it really enjoyable but it’s a very different experience than anything I’ve seen before. Like many games like Mass Effect, the game features decisions that affect the overall story but while Mass Effect has a clear good versus anti-hero option this game has a much more compicated system. The decisions are broken down into three characteristics: Freedom, Morality, and Utility. Each decision is made with an item called the scales of conviction where the first seven characters you unlock vote on an option, but as you progress through the game you do actions and have conversations that raise your stats in each area so you can then use that to influence the final outcome. Now if you don’t take advantage of all the opportunities to raise these states you risk being forced into an outcome rather than being able to influence it so be sure to engage in a lot of conversations when you can to up these stats. Even if you don’t get all the decisions you want there is so much story to this game that it just compels you to play it again to find out what the outcome of each option was. Plus each decision presents potential new characters and new information which adds more to the whole experience.

All of the decisions have their unique pros and cons and they require a lot of thinking and there’s a lot to consider with each one. You really feel the weight of your decisions as each choice gives you an entirely different experience for the following chapter. I love how the game gives you so much to think about as there isn’t a clear “good” choice it’s just which choice you honestly think is the best one. This also adds replay value so that you can see how different decisions play out. I’m nearing the end of my 2nd playthrough of the game and I made entirely different decisions for a significantly different experience. The story is massive as each character has an extensive history, each country has a complicated system of individual goals and motivations and there are just so many things going on as you collect information and better understand the world around you.

Overall if you like strategy games you will like this game. The combat, while not unique, is complicated in the strategy gameplay and not as complicated with extensive character upgrades. The story however is just a unique masterpiece. Each decision has a massive effect on the story and no decision is a clear-cut “good” or “evil” decision each one is rooted with strong pros and cons that must be weighed before you consult the sales of conviction and influence your party towards one decision or another. The world has a massive amount of information to find in its history, its characters, and the internal structures of each country that is just captivating. Because of this the game takes hours upon hours to beat and has a lot of replayability because you’re going to want to at least see more than one of the four endings. Each playthrough has a lot of sections that will be significantly different depending on your decisions and each playthrough really feels like a new experience.