Solium Infernum is grand strategy with a mean streak | Hands-on preview
Grand strategy games with a multiplayer focus are nothing new. We’ve built vast civilisations in, erm, Civilisation, mastered tech trees in Age of Empires, and waged large-scale battles with Total War. Well Solium Infernum, the new contender from Jumplight Odyssey devs League of Geeks, intends to add something to the mix: deceit.
This is a game about usurping the throne of Hell when Lucifer vanishes. Playing as one of 8 Archfiends such as Astaroth, Lilith, and Belial, you’ll command armies, take vantage points, punish your enemies, and, most often, stab people in the back. What makes Solium Infernum so different though is the scale. And I’m not talking about size, per se. It’s more about the scope of what you’re doing.
For example, it’s quite possible for a single multiplayer match to last an entire realm world year. Like a game of chess played between distant pen pals, you can log in one rainy afternoon and make your move, then wait days or weeks for the next player to make theirs. And the game can notify you when it happens so you know to jump in.
The unique turn system forces you to prioritise careful thinking over brash actions, because of the way it structures the contest. Ultimately the aim is to earn more Prestige than your opponents, which will allow you to usurp the throne without necessarily completing other objectives. Prestige is earned by each successful action, and the player with most Prestige at the end of each turn is the “Regent” for the following turn.
What this means is that they get seniority, so their actions will complete before anyone else’s. That gives them the opportunity to position themselves strategically or execute an event or negotiation first, too. You’ll need to keep the Regent in mind each turn, as you can easily fall foul of your own hubris. An example we were given during the preview session was trying to launch an attack in your turn on an enemy who has seniority and has therefore already moved before you get there.
In a contest with five other players, you’ll need to always be planning a few moves ahead, something which becomes increasingly difficult as your opponents begin to form alliances against you or enact devious betrayals that can leave you one ally down.
There’s something weirdly appealing about waging war across the cold, barren landscape of Solium Infernum’s Hell. You’re all on the same footing here; no one is spawning in next to a rich forest or a lucky gold deposit. You’re all just squabbling over the same stretch of hostile rock and the chance to subjugate one another for funsies.
But where Solium Infernum slides well and truly into niche territory is in the often confusing depth of its in-world politics. See, you can’t just spam military units and then steamroll the next Archfiend over. To even engage in combat you’ll need to declare open war on your opponent, and they have to either back down or accept the challenge. Everything costs different combinations of currencies, called Tributes, which you’ll earn by completing tasks and, well, demanding that your subjects and vassals give them to you.
Special events and diplomatic actions also take multiple turns to complete, which again relies on careful forward planning to execute them effectively. There’s so much to think about here and the intricacies are so nuanced that you almost feel silly doing it in the guise of a giant bird woman (that’s Lilith) or a dude who seems to be wearing a giant bug as a living cloak (Beelzebub to you and me).
It’s hard to get a real feel for how Solium Infernum will play out after launch with just a short time spent with it. What is apparent is that this is a game designed to be played with others where possible. You can go solo and challenge the AI, of course, but the experience is decidedly dry compared to knowing you’re out-foxing a thinking human being somewhere. Be prepared to lose a few friends if you choose to play with them, though; it’s hard to come back from your mate stabbing you in the back over the throne of Hell.
That said, the matches I did play were complex, involving and felt unique within the genre. Solium Infernum is arguably more cerebral than many other 4X strategy games, and actually feels more akin to something like Crusader Kings III than Civilisation in terms of all the plotting and conniving. But set aside some time to really get invested in what League of Geeks have created while preparing to betray your friends at every turn, and you’ll enjoy it much more.
Solium Infernum is coming to PC on February 14th.
