Managing an unpredictable kingdom and knights
After the release of Crown Gambit last year, the studio returned to a medieval atmosphere but in a quite different genre. No more card-based combat and time for management. In Sovereign Tower, we play a newly crowned sovereign responsible for maintaining the balance of a kingdom as ambitious as it is unstable. Management is not limited to finances or public opinion, because it will above all be necessary to deal with the excessive egos of eccentric knights (the first recruit asks you to adopt a cat for example), respond to sometimes absurd requests from subjects and arbitrate between different factions.
So every decision counts. We must assign the right knight to the right mission, taking into account his skills, his weaknesses and the potential impact on the stability of the kingdom. On this side, those who played Dispatch and his hero management should find some similarities. Furthermore, as for Crown Gambitsome quests seem insignificant, others are improbable, but all contribute to the evolution of the story.
When choices lead to chaos (which seems inevitable) Sovereign Tower introduces a mechanic allowing you to make a demonic pact to go back in time. This feature allows you to explore new narrative branches, unlock new dialogue options and reveal previously inaccessible secrets. The game thus relies on strong replayability, and each attempt offers a different reading of power, its consequences and the relationships between the characters.
For the artistic direction, we find one of the strengths of Crown Gambit with artistic direction once again led by Gobert (artistic and creative director):
We are extremely excited to finally be able to reveal Sovereign Tower to the world. As a small independent French studio, being able to create video games is a real privilege, for which we will always remain grateful (only 3% of companies in the video game sector come from Brittany!). We hope players enjoy this first portion of the game, now available on itch.io, and we can’t wait to see how they succeed… or fail, in their new role as ruler.
First review of Sovereign Tower
In short, the title is structured in cycles (or turns) articulated around the management of your turn. Each cycle, you receive visitors: nobles, emissaries, inhabitants or knights. This phase allows you to recruit new knights, obtain quests or even resolve certain grievances directly. After that, you need to assign the knights to the right quests, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses. Which translates into statistics (strength, intelligence, luck, etc.). Other parts of the tower are unlocked gradually, such as the forge, allowing you to purchase equipment and repair the armor of your knights. In the next cycle, you discover the results of the expeditions. The most surprising thing is that it is sometimes possible to unlock unexpected conclusions directly involving the knights sent there.
The start of the game is quite calm, but we can already perceive the cleverly orchestrated quagmire into which the studio seeks to drag us in terms of management. Between the relationships between knights – which can strengthen or deteriorate -, the financial balance of the kingdom and the different factions to satisfy (the people, the nobility, the academicians, etc.), it is obvious that this steady pace will not last forever. Thanks to Crown Gambitwhich showed us all the studio’s talent in terms of storytelling and writing, we can’t wait to see more.
For the curious, a first free playable version is already available on itch.io. Lasting around an hour, it allows you to have a good overview of the concept which seems rather promising in our opinion. Sovereign Tower is expected on PC in August 2026.