Studio Imugi’sBonaparte: A Mechanized Revolutionwill go beyond just tactical military gameplay. Set in an alternate-history revolutionary France,Bonapartewill be offering players a political landscape that combines the familiar with the fictional, and it’s one that will have to be balanced with boots-on-the-ground strategy.
Bonaparte: A Mechanized Revolutionhas some similarities to thestrategy games of studios like Paradox, but with some important twists. The most outward of these unique elements isBonaparte’s use of steampunk-adjacent mecha contraptions, throwing hulking machines into the otherwise grounded 1798 setting. Game Rant sat down with creative director Jongwoo Kim, who spoke on the gameplay of this alt-history title and how it will balance military tactics and political maneuvering.
Bonaparte: A Mechanized Revolution’s Gameplay Explained
Combining Politics And Military Tactics
Kim cites theRomance of the Three Kingdomsgame seriesas an inspiration forBonaparte, saying, “The way it makes you really feel like you are taking part in the events of the Three Kingdoms era is magical, and we wanted to try and capture that for the French Revolution.” This attitude is evident within the balance of political and military campaigningBonapartepurports to have, requiring that players interact with various factions and ideologies of the era.
TheupcomingBonaparte: A Mechanized Revolutionwill have players interact with the political worldbuilding of this version of revolutionary France. Kim spoke more about the specifics of this gameplay balance, as well as the tools players will have available in either pillar:
“Ultimately, revolutions are a bloody affair, so the gameplay is balanced more heavily towards military strategy. You will be able to raise armies of both historical gunpowder era units like line infantry and hussars, but also construct their own Colossi as the game progresses. Using these armies, you will liberate or conquer regions for one of three major factions of the game, which eventually come to conflict in a civil war. As the conflict unfolds, however, you will be able to win the hearts and minds of the people by spreading propaganda, and taking part in the National Convention where you can change the laws of the country.”
How Bonaparte Sets Itself Apart As a Strategy Game
The ‘National Convention’ aspect ofImugi’sBonaparte: A Mechanized Revolutionseems to be a sticking point, with Kim setting it up as the central point wherein the political forces built within a campaign can be capitalized on. When discussing the ways in which the game differentiates itself from other strategy titles, Kim went over how the National Convention will enter into gameplay and how players will be able to interact with it:
“Bonaparte is a unique strategy-tactics hybrid that focuses on the dynamics of revolution and civil war. On the strategic layer, the incorporation of the National Convention and the ideological conflict adds a political and social dimension that is often overlooked in the genre, in favor of conquest for its own sake. On the tactical layer, the presence of Colossi allows us to add modern armored warfare into gunpowder era combat, making the battles more dynamic than a pure historical game.
Bonaparte’s Colossi, machines straight out ofmecha anime likeEvangelion, are an interesting factor to consider when looking at the political landscape of this alternate France. Details released thus far point towards a grounded take on the era, with details such as clothing, architecture, culture, politics, etc. taking a level of independence from the more high-concept elements. It will be interesting to see if the game takes advantage of the parts that lean into alt-history, and if the player’s use of these technologies in combat will affect their political standing in one way or another.
