Get ready to put your life on the line in a vicious game of morals, because the delightfully dark RPG Sultan's Game is almost ready for its full Steam launch. When you're dragged into the titular ruler's new favorite life-and-death leisure activity, you'll have to decide what's important to you. Will you use it as an opportunity to pursue reputation and status? Sacrifice your nearest and dearest to keep yourself alive? Or cast aside grudges with former political enemies to collude together in a plot to overthrow the Sultan and free yourself of his whimsical chains? You won't have to wait long to find out, as the release date is soon.
I recently spent several hours with an updated build of Sultan's Game, and it didn't take long to hook me into its flow of delegating my family, subordinates, and goods in an attempt to survive the eponymous trial. In this stylish mix of card-based strategy game and RPG, you have seven days to complete the task presented to you from a mystery box. It might ask you to engage in an act of extravagance, such as giving away some of your wealth or expanding your estate. Or it could demand that someone of sufficient stature dies. Succeed by the end of the week, and your prize is a fresh request; fail, and your own life is forfeit.
Each turn, you take actions by allocating cards to locations on the map, which then determine how the day plays out. Send yourself to the Bathhouse with enough gold to pay the entry fee, for example, and you might pick up some valuable gossip that can be used later on to swing a persuasion check in your favor. A pack of wolves attacking the town might be the perfect way to satisfy the 'Conquest' challenge hanging over your head, but make sure to check your equipment first or you might come home with grievous wounds that require spending time and money at the local Sanatorium to heal.
If you want a more in-depth description of some of the interesting decisions a run might throw your way, take a look through my Sultan's Game preview. For a shorter rundown, I'll simply say that I'm very eager to try the full thing - and I'm not alone. During the October 2024 Steam Next Fest, Sultan's Game came out as one of the big winners, pulling in more than 5,000 concurrent players each day during the event. Now, developer Double Cross has confirmed when we'll finally be able to play the full release.
Double Cross and 2P Games are set to launch Sultan's Game on Steam Monday March 31. If you can't wait until then, a demo is currently available as a free download. Head here to grab the trial version or wishlist the full thing to be notified when it arrives.
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