Bulwark Evolution: Falconeer Chronicles is an interesting game. Shifting from the freeform falcon-flying RPG of The Falconeer to a city builder is quite the leap. Tomas Sala is the visionary mind behind both titles, and even if his games don’t resonate with everyone, they are undeniably fascinating experiences.
Enter Bulwark. This city-building game adds some depth and intrigue to the Falconeer world. It further expands the political intrigue and strategy angle of the original game’s world building. Players take the reins as they expand settlements, explore the world and bargain or barter with other factions, with some very unique approaches to classic systems.
The goal of the team was to produce a game where the player could build, manage and control the title using (almost) single-button gameplay. In line with this, a lot of the in-game systems are automated, with the developers making both visually and mechanically simple interactions that instead have hidden complexities.
Resources are scarce here, so players need to link their settlements to resource points and then create networks to get these resources where they need to be, either by sea or through assimilation if placed in the midst of a growing town. This is all done using towers and landings; the towers are interaction points, allowing players to build out from them in lines to connect to other points of interest or back to the main settlement.
Upgrading allows for more strategic gameplay through the creation of trading points, defensive towers and, of course, aviaries for the falconeers who defend the player. It’s genuinely interesting to build and manage despite how simple the mechanics actually are. This is true of all the building gameplay, which has a satisfying blend of building, expanding, and upgrading. However, the player isn’t anchored to their buildings; they can take to the skies as well.
Swapping from the building to the explorative gameplay is quick and easy, which is important as this is how important characters are gathered, invaders are fought off, and issues across the world are solved. Doing this opens up the map and expands the way in which factions can be interacted with. All of the main Falconeer factions are here, including the pirates, and helping one or disparaging another can alter the relationship balance, changing how they react to the player’s presence.
Overall, there is a lot of fun to be had, though with its relative simplicity, it also lacks in terms of staying power, which is a shame, as the setting and strategy elements are well crafted. It almost needs another bit of depth to scale the game for a more interesting time investment. Maybe if players had a little more control over how bridges, housing and settlements climbed the environment, or something similar, it might have had a bit more of a barbed end to its metaphorical hook.
Visually, it mirrors the original Falconeer, sporting a very stylised world, though somehow it seems the presentation this time actually feels a little more polished. The sea, in particular, with the lighting and weather, looks amazing, really giving the world that unforgiving atmosphere that it strives to present. Settlements have this higgledy-piggledy look to them that makes them feel ramshackle and busy, even though they are relatively low fidelity. The way the team has worked to make the lighting of these areas stark and warm really makes Bulwark Evolution feel very unique, and it helps bolster the setting’s atmosphere spectacularly.
Sound design is decent. There is some voice work, some even from Sala himself, which is pretty good, and it helps ground characters a bit and gives them personality. Musically, things are a bit different. The soundtrack is pretty good but is quite light touch during moment-to-moment gameplay, instead focusing on the rather good environmentals. The various building and other sound effects are pretty well placed as well. Anything bassy, especially thunder and gunfire, sounds excellent and punchy.
With a slew of modes, including sandbox and conquest, Bulwark Evolution can be played in a variety of ways. It tries its damnedest to be something that is open to everyone, and for the most part, it succeeds, so players who don’t want to invest time in diplomacy can focus on conquest, and those who don’t like the combat can focus on diplomacy in the sandbox mode. There is plenty here for everyone that enjoys the main gameplay systems.
