Bonaparte is Literally Revolutionary

Last updated: 2024/08/24 at 9:10 PM

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Bonaparte Preview Vive la Révolution Square Off More to Come

Bonaparte Preview

To hear Creative Director and Studio Imugi Co-Founder Jongwoo Kim tell it, the first question most people have about the studio’s upcoming game Bonaparte is, why? Not why make a game, obviously, but why make a game about the French Revolution? After all, most folks aren’t conversant with late 18th century European history, outside of eating Napoleons for dessert and listening to the soundtrack to Les Miserables. Which, of course, isn’t about the French Revolution at all.

Vive la Révolution

Turns out, the explanation is pretty compelling. In many ways, the period of the French Revolution (1789-1799) and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte had some features we’d recognize. Disputes over income inequity, for example, and the rule of monarchs. The clash of conservatives and radicals, for another, and leaders with outsized egos. Seen through that lens, the premise of the game makes a lot of sense. The French Revolution was a hugely complex series of events. Studio Imugi is hoping Bonaparte is the beginning of a new IP, with additional games dealing with the period.

The developers call Bonaparte’s setting an “alternative history” version. This means that, while many of the characters in the game are familiar names, not everything has a one-to-one correspondence. For example, the game folds in some gearpunk elements by giving some factions mechanical super-soldier units. This is not entirely fanciful, given the industrial revolution that was getting underway at the time. From what we saw in the short hands-off preview, it was hard to tell just how far the developers took this angle.

Square Off

Bonaparte’s turn-based gameplay structure will be familiar to strategy gamers. There is a strategic phase played on an overworld map. It looks at the map of Paris and beyond and in this phase, the player makes decisions about troop movements, alliances and diplomacy, and which pieces of the puzzle to attend to.

The turn-based battles are focused on smaller objectives, like capturing an important landmark or critical quadrant of the map. In this phase, players move various units into position to attack or defend, call up special units, buff or heal their forces, or use unique attacks. Positioning is critical and the three factions — moderates, radicals, and loyalists — all have different strengths and weaknesses.

While the setting of the game is firmly rooted in the “real” French Revolution, player choices and the outcome of battles create scenarios that may differ radically from those in the history books. Obviously, this will be of special interest to gamers already in the know about the geopolitics of 18th-century Europe.

More to Come

Studio Imugi hopes that Bonaparte is the first of many games in the IP. However, the studio has no current plans for expanding the focus to other world revolutions. You know, like a certain revolution in 18th-century North America. The preview presentation was tantalizing but left some questions unanswered, like how the upgrade trees for units work or if there are other fanciful units in the game. The art style was stylized and attractive but it was unclear how everything looks zoomed in close.

In any case, Bonaparte looks to be an intriguing strategy game with a historical focus not often explored in the genre. It’s headed for Early Access sometime in the first quarter of 2025, and I’m definitely anxious to get some hands on time with Napoleon.

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