14 DAY TRIAL // Is it worse to break the social norm that prohibits war or to betray my own kin? Should I give into my attraction to a general to get happy or focus on my wife for another child? Should I try and grab a nearby system by force or try to get it via scheming later?
Star Dynasties is being developed by Pawley Games, with publishing duties handled by Iceberg Interactive. The title is now available on the Early Access segment of Steam, with the team aiming for a full release before the end of 2021.
The premise is that colonies, not yet self-sustaining, lost contact with a destroyed Earth and settled into a feudal structure with significant limitations in both the tech and moral spaces. The player can customize a Duke-level ruler and will be dropped into a version of the galaxy that they can try to dominate however they see fit.
Star Dynasties is focused on characters. There are ships and planets but almost everything requires a member of the player’s house to be in charge. Traits and numerical attributes differentiate characters. Gamers have a limited action point budget to spend each turn, which forces careful evaluation. The ethics of the galaxy and their tech problems add more meaningfulness to all decisions.
The ruler character also needs to deal with his own happiness to be effective. My best Duke has an extra-marital affair and got drunk at major parties. He was also able to rebel against his superior and expand his influence significantly. He ended up dead after a space battle and his heir squandered everything he achieved.
It is extremely easy to over-extend oneself in Star Dynasties, but it is also fun to do so. My dynasty often crumbled in the space of a few turns after a bad decision. But I never felt that the game was unfair. I only needed to be better in my planning and bide my time before making big moves. Star Dynasties does not shine in the graphics department, but it really doesn’t have to. The presentation is mostly focused on offering information that’s easy to understand and achieves that.
There’s some good art for both character portraits and for events, although a little more personality would not hurt either. I also like that the overlays are designed with multiple redundancies and that the tutorial, which is driven by text, works well. The music fits the overall premise but is a little tame for my liking.
Conclusion
I also love that the developers are already talking about extensive mod support. The game, with a few more mechanics and an extra layer of polish, represents the perfect vehicle for an ambitious team that wants to create something cool based on Dune. I will be playing the game when it launches and waiting for that mod for as long as it takes.
