Info about Reigns: Her Majesty:

Official game description:
Reigns: Her Majesty is the revolutionary follow-up to the smash swipe ‘em up hit Reigns. A cultural renaissance has bestowed the world with a new era of knowledge and enlightenment but greed and jealousy still conspire against the benevolent queen. Outwit and outlast those that would seek to depose you and your husband by swiping left or right, making just (or unjust) decisions on all manner of royal matters. Maintain the balance between the kingdom’s most powerful factions, use mystical items from your inventory, and navigate the increasingly complex politics and personal relationships of your dynasty.
**New Kingdom, New Drama:** Your royal decrees and unpredictable requests of the people will shape both your time on the throne and the future of your dynasty. Carefully navigate the foolish politics and emotional pleas of the kingdom’s eccentric subjects to find balance between the most powerful factions of the land.
**Mystical Inventory:** Find and upgrade five special items in a new inventory system. Use your powerful items on character cards and unlock special paths in the ever more complex narrative of your kingdom.
**Royal Challenges:** Reach specific goals set before each new monarch’s reign to unlock new sets of cards and new directions to take the story of your dynasty.
**Nerial and Friends: Reigns:** Her Majesty is a collaboration between François Alliot (design/programming), Arnaud de Bock (art), Jim Guthrie (music), and Leigh Alexander (narrative director).

Release date: Dec 6, 2017

Categories: Card-based Gameplay, Choice-based Narrative, Resource Management, Roguelite, Inventory Management, Satire, Replayability


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: N/A
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: 0.1h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The only direct session-duration signal is that solo play is okay for a few minutes, so sessionLength is approximated as 0.1 hours. The 90-minute and couple-hours comments describe when novelty fades into repetition, not a confirmed game or story completion point, so gameCompletion, storyCompletion, and endgame are left null. The completionist-achievement comment confirms a grind but gives no hour count, so it cannot support a completion time.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Players find the game addictive early, especially while uncovering options, but its novelty fades quickly and later play becomes repetitive or opaque. Some players report bugs and boredom, but the dominant profile is an early peak followed by decline.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Start uncovering the options
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: Hyper-cryptic puzzles; Repetitive dialogue; Shallow and repetitive choices; Time capsule and royal deed bugs; Later actions are not discoverable without a guide
  - Unlock drivers: Start uncovering the options
  - Conditions: Enjoyment is strongest in the first 90 minutes; Players who like hyper-cryptic puzzles and tolerate repetitive dialogue are more likely to enjoy it; Mobile may work better than PC; Uncovering options increases addictiveness; A guide may be needed to understand later actions
- Player Archetypes:
  - Completionist Card Collector (sale)
    - Motivation: Completing card collections and earning every achievement
    - Playstyle: Grinds card reveals and tracks achievement progress across long sessions
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Cryptic Puzzle Solver (buy)
    - Motivation: Solving hyper-cryptic puzzles
    - Playstyle: Works through obscure puzzles and tolerates repetitive dialogue
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Casual Mobile Roguelike Player (sale)
    - Motivation: Quick casual runs that fit short play sessions
    - Playstyle: Plays in brief mobile or solo bursts and values immediate casual fun
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Gameplay-Focused Detractor (no buy)
    - Motivation: Finding engaging core mechanics rather than repetitive death triggers
    - Playstyle: Judges the game by its central loop and rejects repetitive mechanical frustration
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Improved over original game (weight 0.93): Many players consider this a superior sequel, with more content, event cards, and characters than the original. The wider cast and more jaw-dropping moments make it a favorite in the series.
- Positive overall reception (weight 0.61): Players broadly describe the game as excellent, fun, and addictive, with many calling it a good casual roguelike. The core gameplay formula is repeatedly praised as enjoyable and engaging.
- Enjoyable humor and quirky tone (weight 0.49): Reviewers highlight the game's irreverent humor, charming mysterious elements, and quirky personality. The queen premise and condescending male advisors add comedic flavor.
- Item mechanic adds depth (weight 0.42): The new item and artifact mechanic lets players affect dialogue, alter situations, and save themselves when a scale is at zero. This expands gameplay beyond the original binary yes-or-no choice.
- Unique trial-and-error experience (weight 0.38): Players describe the game as a unique trial-and-error experience with a great concept. New mechanics and additions help combat repetitiveness.
- Detailed art and memorable characters (weight 0.37): Reviewers praise the more detailed art and memorable characters, along with nice writing. Random character names and romance options add further interest.
- Replay value through discovery (weight 0.33): Experimentation with different choices and uncovering new possibilities is fun, and many events triggered by specific actions add replay value. The game becomes very addictive when revealing new options.
- Fresh and addictive early game (weight 0.32): The first 90 minutes feel fresh and addictive, and the initial fun is worth trying. The game is immediate but never banal or predictable.
- Strong narrative and meta-story (weight 0.32): The narrative is called incredible, with a coherent reincarnation meta-story that breaks the fourth wall. The ending is described as very good and impactful.
- Zodiac and astrology systems (weight 0.24): Zodiac signs, astrology events, and special items make each life feel more unique and add thought to the card swiping. These systems increase variety and replayability.
- Meaningful choice weight (weight 0.12): The tiring choice sections effectively convey the weight of decisions. This design choice resonates with players who appreciate consequential gameplay.
- Good mobile time-waster (weight 0.12): The game works well as a mobile title for when you have time to waste. It offers accessible, casual entertainment.

Common complaints:
- Excessive repetition and monotony (weight 0.83): A large body of feedback describes the game as highly repetitive, from similar events to repeated dialogue and homogenized later gameplay. Many players find the loop tiring and boring within a couple of hours.
- Unclear stat and card effects (weight 0.67): Players cannot see how decisions or cards affect stats and resources, unlike in the first game. Card effects often seem nonsensical, making outcomes feel random and hard to plan around.
- Objectives become impossible silently (weight 0.51): Players report that objectives can become unachievable after missed events or wrong choices, and the game does not clearly indicate when this happens. This leaves players stuck without understanding why progress stalled.
- Replay and full completion tedious (weight 0.49): Replaying is described as more tedious than the first game, and collecting all cards for the achievement is a frustrating grind. There is also no way to start a completely fresh game to try again.
- Weak gameplay depth (weight 0.49): Gameplay is described as weak, lacking depth on PC, and closer to balancing stats than telling a story. Button-mashing outweighs thinking, and the pace is too fast.
- Low long-term appeal (weight 0.48): Novelty wears off quickly on PC, and solo play is only okay for a few minutes with nothing to bring players back. Some find it simply not fun or too boring.
- Guide needed to progress (weight 0.42): Players report that getting through the game practically requires a guide, with hyper-cryptic puzzles and unclear follow-up operations. End-game quests are also difficult to understand.
- Progress and saving issues (weight 0.42): Players report getting stuck on progress and situations where leaving mid-life prevents progress from saving. Some events and achievements fail to register or grant properly.
- Frequent death and punishment (weight 0.4): Players die a lot, failure is too easy, and characters die too easily in this generation. Repetitive death ways make novelty wear off quickly.
- Shallow choice system (weight 0.36): Multiple players feel the 'importance of choices' tag is not backed by meaningful structure, with decisions often feeling meaningless or like coin tosses. The choice system is described as shallow, repetitive, and unpredictable.
- Decisions feel arbitrary and RNG-driven (weight 0.35): Many decisions are so non-obvious that outcomes feel like a coin toss, and gameplay resembles swiping and hoping RNG does not ruin things. Random events with random trigger conditions worsen this perception.
- Endings disappointing and disconnected (weight 0.32): Players find the endings boring and disconnected, expecting better payoff from the narrative. There is also no real plot until a random twist at the end.
- Not a true sequel (weight 0.32): The game feels like a global patch to the first title rather than a new game, with the story seen as a major step down. Meta-commentary about being a game also breaks immersion for some.
- Stats too tightly balanced (weight 0.25): Numeric stat balancing is described as overly constrained, where both too high and too low values cause sudden death. Strict stat requirements make the game punishing and hard to manage.
- Orientation management dominates (weight 0.23): Players feel they live on the edge of death because orientations must be managed almost perfectly, and it is unclear which behavior helps or harms which resource. The resulting difficulty feels opaque.
- Dead time and pacing issues (weight 0.23): Players report too much dead time and pacing problems, with the experience becoming homogenized in later minutes. The loop does not sustain engagement for long.
- Inconsistent item usage (weight 0.13): Using items is inconsistent and punishable, often requiring guessing. This makes item management feel unfair rather than strategic.
- Mobile-centric plot and port problems (weight 0.13): The plot about mobile data collection comes out of nowhere and does not work well on the PC port. This contributes to the sense that the game does not fit its platform.
- Cringeworthy dialogue (weight 0.12): Some dialogue is described as cringeworthy, and dialogue overall is repetitive. This weakens the narrative experience for players.
- Misleading death interface (weight 0.12): The death interface misleadingly suggests more rating combinations than actually exist, confusing players about possible outcomes. This adds to the sense of unclear systems.

Gameplay feedback:
- Choice-driven core gameplay (weight 0.69): The game is fundamentally built around making choices, with yes-or-no card decisions being the primary interaction. Most feedback centers on this Reigns-like loop where decisions shape events and outcomes.
- Item and inventory system (weight 0.66): An inventory system where found items can affect dialogue, rescue the player, or alter situations beyond a simple yes-or-no choice. Understanding how items work is required to progress effectively.
- Stat and faction balancing (weight 0.6): Players must balance four resources (church, people, army, money) and prevent any faction from becoming too powerful or too weak. This balancing act is central to the challenge and tension of the game.
- Reincarnation and fourth-wall story (weight 0.51): The game features a reincarnation meta-story where progress and items carry between lives, and the narrative becomes increasingly self-aware about being a game. This cycle of death and rebirth frames the overarching plot.
- Trial-and-error gameplay loop (weight 0.5): Gameplay is based on trial and error, with RNG-driven outcomes and random events that require players to learn from failures. The simple, casual roguelike structure supports repeated attempts.
- Text-based card deckbuilder (weight 0.49): The game functions in a text-based environment with cards and deckbuilder elements, using swipe-based decisions to drive progression. Random character names and a female protagonist add variety.
- Simple objectives and new game option (weight 0.44): The game has clear objectives and a new game option, keeping the experience accessible. Managing orientations and passive-versus-harsh balance adds depth to the simple framework.
- New mechanics and puzzle elements (weight 0.33): The game introduces various new mechanics, including cryptic puzzle solving and events triggered by specific actions, expanding beyond the basic card-choice formula.
- Zodiac and astrology mechanics (weight 0.23): The game includes a zodiac system where certain events are tied to astrological signs, adding a layer of thematic randomness. This mechanic influences which events trigger during play.

Performance notes:
No performancepoints

Recommendations:
- Recommended for Reigns fans (weight 0.52): Players who enjoy the original Reigns or its swipe-to-survive gameplay are encouraged to buy this without hesitation. It is also considered worth trying even without prior experience with the first game.
- Negative recommendation and money warning (weight 0.33): Several reviewers give a negative recommendation and warn against giving the game a chance if you do not want to waste money. Some suggest spending time on more productive activities instead.
- Appeals to cryptic puzzle fans (weight 0.3): The game is recommended for players who enjoy hyper-cryptic puzzles and can tolerate repetitive dialogue. Initial fun is noted as worth trying, though highly recommended overall.
- Frustrating for achievement hunters (weight 0.13): Players pursuing achievements find the game only frustrating and do not recommend it for that purpose. This is a specific warning for completionists.

Other player notes:
- Strong sequel to Reigns (weight 0.59): Multiple reviewers describe the game as a solid or excellent follow-up to the original Reigns, improving on it in most respects. A few consider it more of an expansion than a true reinvention.
- Better suited for mobile (weight 0.39): Several reviewers feel the game works better on mobile than on PC, where it may feel less engaging. This suggests the PC port is a weaker experience.
- Mixed comparisons to original (weight 0.38): Opinions diverge sharply, with some calling this entry considerably better and others preferring the first game. A few dismiss both titles as poor.
- Similar core gameplay loop (weight 0.33): Reviewers note the gameplay closely mirrors the first game, following the same rhythm and mechanics with a female protagonist. Some see this as familiar rather than innovative.
- More content than original (weight 0.24): The sequel adds more event cards and content compared to the original Reigns, giving players more variety. Pacing of story-progress cards is also seen as improved.
- Perceived as Reigns 1.5 (weight 0.22): Some reviewers characterize the game as an incremental upgrade that expands rather than reinvents the formula. It is seen as improved but not transformative.
- Harsh dismissive criticism (weight 0.19): A minority of feedback compares the game unfavorably to a puddle or notes it blocks progression more easily than other Reigns titles. These are isolated negative remarks.
- Stereotyped female portrayal (weight 0.11): One reviewer criticizes the game as a collection of stereotypes about women, questioning its characterization. This is a lone but notable concern about representation.
- Lore continuity noted (weight 0.1): A reviewer references the original's premise of a king cursed to rule forever when comparing the two games. This highlights continuity in the series' narrative framing.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.25): Players feel frustrated when progress gets stuck, objectives become impossible without indication, and the game fails to clarify how decisions affect stats. High repetition, easy failure, unclear outcomes that feel like coin tosses, and bugs with achievements compound the frustration. Characters die too easily and the grind to collect all cards adds to the tedium.
- Disappointment (weight 0.21): Disappointment stems from the game feeling inferior to its predecessor, with shallow and repetitive gameplay where decisions feel meaningless. The story is considered a step down with no real plot until a random ending twist, and the game feels like a patch rather than a sequel. The novelty fades quickly, and the meta-narrative breaks immersion.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.14): Players enjoy the inventory and astrology mechanics that add depth to the card swiping, along with a wider cast, meaningful choices, and jaw-dropping moments. The addictive uncovering of options and experimenting with choices keeps them engaged. The gameplay formula works, and the narrative is fun and irreverent.
- Boredom (weight 0.07): Boredom arises because novelty wears off quickly and nothing keeps players coming back. Repetitive death ways and homogeneous events make the experience tedious. Replaying becomes boring due to uninteresting endings.
- Dissatisfaction (weight 0.07): Dissatisfaction is caused by a lack of depth on PC and homogenization after the early game. The absence of in-game guidance also contributes to the feeling.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.04): Satisfaction comes from additions like zodiac signs and special items that make each life feel unique. Story-progress cards appear without long waits, enhancing the experience.
- Indifference (weight 0.04): The reviewer feels indifferent because the game is not their genre.
- Annoyance (weight 0.04): Annoyance is caused by the game blocking progress easily and forcing players to go in circles. Gameplay also becomes monotonous after a couple of hours.
- Regret (weight 0.04): Regret stems from buying the game and discovering nonsensical stat effects and cringe dialogue.
- Amusement (weight 0.04): Amusement is provided by the humor in the game, particularly jokes about female rulers and condescending advisors.
- Mild enjoyment (weight 0.04): Mild enjoyment comes from the unique trial-and-error gameplay.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.04): Enthusiasm is driven by excellent and engaging gameplay with new mechanics.
- Excitement (weight 0.04): Excitement is caused by the game amplifying what players enjoyed in the previous title.
- Uncertainty (weight 0.04): The reviewer is unsure how they feel about the game overall.
- Mild satisfaction (weight 0.04): Mild satisfaction is felt because the sequel is decent and adds an artifact-choice mechanic.
- Appreciation (weight 0.04): Appreciation is for the item mechanic and triggered events that add depth and replay value.
- Tiredness (weight 0.04): Tiredness results from the repetitive form and fast pace of the game.}