Daria: A Kingdom Simulator

Daria: A Kingdom Simulator is an utterly strange beast. While there are some pretty successful choicescript games out there which include a good dose of management elements, this is a full-blown hardcore management game built in choicescript. Story, plot and character elements are minimal, and most major NPCs are pretty much just additional management assets. I do think having an overarching plot and characters with more story and dialogue could have made the overall product much better.

I was really struggling to decide how many stars I would give to this game. I'm aware four may be a controversial choice. Still, there is a certain therapeutic and enjoyable feeling (I'm serious) to setting up all the pieces together and watching the different numbers go up. This actually kept me entertained for quite a bit. As a choicescript writer myself, I'm also impressed with how durable and well-constructed the system is, even if over-complicated. (I'm aware that the initial release shipped with plenty of bugs, and a lot of people lost progress multiple times as HG tried to patch the game. Still, in the interest of reviewing the current product, I won't penalize the game for this here.)

That said, the game has its flaws. There is no save system in choicescript, and an unlucky early enemy encounter can wipe out painstakingly-earned progress instantly. Navigating the pages and reading the menus can feel excruciating on mobile platforms, but less so on a desktop screen. While it can be fun to unlock things and watch numbers go up, the later parts of the game can get very grindy, especially as you face enemy armies with absurdly high levels of strength (basically meaning even more grinding on your end to match them.)

Somehow, I feel this would have been more enjoyable in a game engine which is well... built for turn-based management. While there is a certain joy in watching numbers and structures going up, I really think choicescript isn't the best place for this. Make no mistake, there are certainly hardcore choicescript management nuts out there who will enjoy this, but I'm not one of them.

The game does a good job for its intended audience, and that's the basis of my star rating. Still, a game like this probably won't appeal to anyone outside that club.