Sovereign Syndicate review

pcgamer.com:

What is it? Shadowrun but steampunk instead of cyberpunk.

Expect to pay £/$

Release date Jan 16, 2024

Developer Crimson Herring Studios

Publisher Crimson Herring Studios

Reviewed on Windows 10, Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, Nvidia GTX 1060

Multiplayer No

Link Official site

While playing as Atticus Daley, an alcoholic illusionist, I went through an opium dream to explore memories of the orphanage where I grew up. As Clara Reed, a courtesan sleuth, I found a famous doctor blindfolded in a bordello and impersonated his «nurse» to learn about his research. Sovereign Syndicate may be a steampunk CRPG, but it's not ballrooms-and-zeppelins steampunk. It's grubby gutter-fantasy, where you're more likely to meet a rat catcher or streetwalker than the Queen of England.

Sovereign Syndicate borrows heavily from Disco Elysium, both in terms of presentation—the scrolling text interrupted by internal voices—and play. Combat's de-emphasized to the point of barely existing, and uses the same rules as any other test of your abilities. It's not exactly the same game, using tarot cards instead of dice and with a setting that's closer to Arcanum or Shadowrun in a top hat, but it's one of the first RPGs to really build on Disco Elysium. Considering how excellent Disco was, inviting that comparison is as bold as combining a frock coat with fingerless gloves.

While the version of Victorian London in Sovereign Syndicate is gritty, it's not reality. Atticus is a minotaur, one section of the East End is a werewolf containment zone, and half the police force seem to be centaurs. The third playable character, Teddy Redgrave, is a dwarf engineer who moonlights as a monster hunter with a steam-powered automaton called Otto as his sidekick.

Having three