We. The Revolution Review
Game Details
Title: We. The Revolution
Developer: polyslash
Publisher: Klabater
Website: https://klabater.com/en/game/we-the-revolution-2/
Genre: Adventure, Strategy
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Age Rating: PEGI 16
Release Date: 25/06/2019
Price: £17.99 – Rapid Reviews UK was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.
We. The Revolution is a unique journey told through the eyes of a judge during the French Revolution. Every action and decision affects the people around you, including your friends and family. Interrogate and pass sentences on the guilty or free the innocent. Find clues, cross exam the witnesses to find the truth. Remember, every action you take affects your story and the outcome of future decisions. Will you be a revolutionary judge, or will you condemn all you know to suffer indefinitely? That choice is up to you.
I have been taken with We. The Revolution on the Nintendo Switch – it’s like nothing I’ve ever played before. What we have here is an adventure strategy experience where you take the role of a judge during the French Revolution. The story is a bloody one and is beautifully realised with a vibrant artistic direction that brings the anguish and pain of what it must have been like living in such a violent era.
Most of the gameplay takes place within a court where the defendants are faced with multiple charges. You have to take into account the witnesses statements and the evidence to determine whether or not the defendant is guilty. If clues are found, the jury passes judgement. You can either set the defendant free or send them straight to the guillotine: a death sentence that is watched by a waiting crowd. There is a stark realisation when learning their stories, listening to their pleas – it makes this whole experience a more personal one as I felt intertwined within the world.
The decisions I made affected others within the story, putting me in difficult situations that could have been avoided if I had made different choices. We. The Revolution has blown me away with its storytelling – I’ve had moments of wonder, as well as moments of disgust with myself and the decisions I’ve made.
My bad decision!
On my 3rd trial, I agreed to sign an official letter for the chief of police to use force if trouble arises during a protest, only for him to give the order to kill 35 people including women and children. This decision crippled me – I couldn’t believe what he had done. He was subsequently arrested and sent to my court, where I had to interrogate him. He used the letter I had personally signed as evidence against me, which made things quite tricky.
His trial put me through it all, and it was challenging to find a resolution to it. The families of the deceased demanded a harsh punishment: death! The Jury gave their opinion, and then I had to make the final decision: I went with the Jury’s plea, and he was executed. This single trial crushed me as I had given him that opportunity, and then I turned my back against him and I felt awful. It’s these events that make We. The Revolution so engrossing on the Nintendo Switch and YOU will feel something as you play with the fate of others.
The judge!
While in the court, you have a few options during your trials. Sitting facing the defendants, you can select documents with the left analogue stick and read its contents with the A button. You can move documents around with the ZR trigger, placing important ones before lesser ones. Other gameplay mechanics can be located in the top left-hand corner of the screen. The hierarchy and intrigue icons can give you access to different sorts of information during each trial.
Hierarchy lets you review the current powers in Paris, your position therein and anyone you have conflicts with and or have sentenced to death which will be marked with red X. The intrigue icon lets you look at complex disputes between you and other individuals. In the top right-hand corner, you can locate the notifications tab which enables you to keep an eye on how your influences and relations are with all factions. You can also see the global modifiers here: these can change the gameplay, can come into play at any time and you can view these in your notebook as well. Know your documents
Documents and letters can give you access to actions, information, characters, and other important info: all of which appear in front of you. New letters can be added at any time, and all information should be read thoroughly to understand each case; Notebook – Can help you review details, information about current events and actions characters have taken and global modifiers; Verdict – Consider the defendant’s fate.
Rapport details reports, making sure protocols are adhered to. Tribunal folder lets you view relations with two factions as well as your verdict form. There are a ton of different types of information and mechanics that are in play within We. The Revolution. Let’s break down each one and talk about them a little. These snippets of information can be located within your notebook.
Relations – During your playtime, you will find two relations within your notebook: Common folk (RED) and Revolutionaries (BLUE). These will judge you on your decisions, and your actions during play; Reputation – This impacts everything you do within the game: Factions, family, audience, other characters. The meter of power will move up and down with each action, affecting how people interact with you; Influence points – This sets you a certain amount of points per day, with the limit increases in the future.
You can use these points to influence the jury in tight situations. Global modifiers can be seen here and sentences that you’ve passed also. You can also change pages with R, L bumpers that allow you to view previous cases and scores, as well as events and people you’ve met – it’s a useful resource to use.
Sentences
During trials, there will be few options of expected sentences above the defendants head, which is located on the screen. These show what the factions would prefer the defendant to face after their trial. Sometimes you need to persuade people to let the defendant face a lighter sentence or jail time. Remember, your actions will affect how people treat you in the long run.
Later on in the game, an anxious meter will be available. If your decisions anger the crowd outside, the meter will rise, and there could end up being a riot that you may have to confront. So keep things calm and try not to make people lose control.
Questioning, clues, cross-examination
After you’ve read the cases of the defendant, you can start to unlock questions to ask them. But first, you need to check out the clues and evidence. Evidence wheel – An evidence wheel will appear after selecting one of the locked questions. There will be several different types of clues on the outer side of the wheel. After choosing the evidence, you then have to select whether its either an Accusation, Offenders personality, Motive etc. Picking one these will either be right or wrong depending on the clues within the statements or the evidence on your desk. But remember you can only make a few mistakes.
If you continue to pick the wrong selections, your questions will be locked forever for the rest of the trial. The only other options that will be available to you are sentencing the defendant. There is a lot more that could be talked about in We. The Revolution – so many other mechanics at play and things to experience.
The audio in We. The Revolution is very well done with general chatter in the courtroom, or voice acting during the well-told story is a high point here.
Visually, the game is well done. I especially love the panel-like cut-scenes between chapters. The art style is incredible and feels like a lot of care and attention has been put into We. The Revolution and I appreciate that extra effort. It makes the game stand out from the crowd. The game also supports screenshots and video capture.
I don’t understand the complex history of the French Revolution, but there’s one thing that does stand out here, and it is those interesting gameplay mechanics and stories that are presented. The game has a lot of mechanics to learn and get your head around, but there is also a lot of help, and all the information helps you during your experience. The cases can be enjoyable and quite tricky as well, with decision making that will pull at your heartstrings.
The game is even better in handheld mode with headphones drawing you into the experience. Of course, this isn’t going to be for everyone as there’s a lot of reading involved and not a lot of high-octane action. I can’t deny that I fell in love with We. The Revolution on the Nintendo Switch. It’s gripping, atmospheric and can affect you emotionally with its choices. It all culminates in a unique experience on the Nintendo Switch that shouldn’t be missed.
Rapid Reviews Rating
You can purchase We. The Revolution from the Nintendo eShop at the following link, https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/We-The-Revolution-1558843.html#Overview
