Sengoku Preview (PC-Steam)

Sengoku takes its name from a period in Japanese history that started around 1476 A.D., pitting a variety of clans against one another in an effort to unify the nation under one rule. This iconic part of history has served as the basis for many video games ranging from Onimusha to Samurai Warriors, but Sengoku takes its cues from strategy games and is more similar to Koei’s "Nobunaga’s Ambition" or "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" titles than anything else. Through a mix of your direct actions and subordinates implementing your orders, the fate of your faction will be determined.

At the start of the game, you’re asked to assume control of one character and lead their followers (of which there appear to be a few hundred between the various factions) in an effort to take control of Japan. Each faction and character has their various advantages; some are good at combat, others excel at diplomacy, and others still have skill at matters of ’intrigue’; shadowy plots to hinder your neighbors. With each faction starting in a different part of Japan and having different characters to employ, it’s up to you what sort of advantages and challenges you wish to start with. Each faction resolves their turns in a simultaneous, real-time fashion, but you’re allowed to pause the game and issue orders.

Unlike some of the aforementioned Koei games, Sengoku plays out the majority of its action on a single large map of Japan. Taking care of domestic development such as keeping the populace content and obedient is handled on this ’overview map’, but so are diplomacy and war; players are expected to zoom in if they wish to track the finer details of a matter. Play is a mix of managing precise details when your character would have that level of control, and setting broad policy for your followers to implement when he wouldn’t be able to have a direct impact on what happens. For example, appointing followers to important offices in your court is a ’direct control’ matter and you get to see very precise details about who you’re appointing, how they feel about you, what their skills are, and so on. Conversely, tasks involving multiple people are handled such that you only tell them what you want accomplished and they’ll try to carry it out as best they can; battles between two forces would be the primary example of this.

Sengoku requires a lot of resource management and planning. Some of these resources are obvious, such as needing to tend to domestic development and raising armies while keeping an eye on your money. Others are more subtle, tying into your character’s Honor statistic. While he may be a very important person, there is only so much even he can do at any given time without coming across as unseemly or dishonorable and you’ll have to manage this carefully. Becoming too bold can eventually end in your character being forced to commit seppuku, a Japanese form of ritual suicide to restore their good name. On the other hand, praising others with titles and promotions can help keep you in good favor and avoid that fate, giving you the social weight needed to carry out various self-serving plans.

There are several other details to track as well, such as monitoring the introduction of early firearms and acquiring them for your own forces or deciding which religion to adhere to for various bonuses. Likewise, ninja clans can be located and hired to take actions on your behalf while you simultaneously handle diplomacy, alliances cemented via marriage, and ensuring a line of succession in case your main character dies. Suffice to say, Sengoku provides plenty to keep players busy! There appears to be a multiplayer mode as well, though there wasn’t much to immediately be done with it in this preview build; it’s understandably hard to find other players for a game that isn’t available on the market yet.

Paradox Interactive appears to be aiming for a mid-September release, and based on the latest preview build this seems to be a very reasonable estimate. The vast majority of the game’s content appears to be implemented as it should be, with only a few minor details needing to be fixed before they can ship. Sengoku is coming along well, and anyone interested in a strategical take on historical Japan might want to give it a look.

Post-Preview Title/Language Note: If you’re trying to do additional research on this game, be advised that several other unrelated games have the same title due to the Sengoku period’s importance in Japanese history. For example, there is the "Sengoku Basara" series and a 1990s Neo-Geo series also called "Sengoku", among others. Looking for the publisher’s name, Paradox Interactive, may help you filter out unrelated information.