Brigandine The Legend of Runersia Steam Review – The Legend Never Dies

Brigandine The Legend of Runersia has expanded its territory into PC via Steam, but how much has it changed since our review of it on Switch? First released on Switch, then on PS4 and finally now Steam, is there a reason to get the game again on PC?

We shall unlock the secrets to this in this Steam review of Brigandine The Legend of Runersia. Note that this review will focus mainly on the new additions to the Steam version—if you would like to know more gameplay and other elements, check out our Switch review of the game as they essentially still play the same way.

Creative Mode

The biggest change to the Steam version of the game is the inclusion of an entirely new mode—Creative Mode. This is a Steam-exclusive feature, so PS4 and Switch players will not be able to enjoy it.

After beating the game as Shinobi Tribe, I dipped my toes into this new mode. Being able to create your custom scenario is pretty cool. The game offers plenty of freedom on how you want to shape the power balance of Runersia as you, the player, can distribute which cities are owned by which town before the start of the mode.

On top of that, players can also assign all the Rune Knights that they have commanded under their faction in the Main Mode into the factions in Creative Mode. We’re also able to tweak the level at which each Rune Knight starts with, so if you want to play as a faction decked out with level 30 Rune Knights fighting against measly level 1 Rune Knights, you can as well.

That’s about the extent to which Creative Mode allows you to flex your creativity. You can’t adjust anything about monsters at all—they still have the same restrictions to summoning them such as Mana cost/upkeep. You also can’t change the cities and which monsters are available for summoning in each of them, which is a letdown.

Ultimately, Creative Mode does feel a bit hollow. Sure, you can set up how you want the game to play out (limited only by the AI), but it’s missing the lore and interactions between characters in the Main Mode. In my opinion, these bits of dialogue between enemies and allies give Brigandine The Legend of Runersia the charm that it has. Without it, Creative Mode only manage to satisfy my curiosity on how some absurd scenarios will play out, but fails to carry my interest all the way to unification the same way Main Mode does.

Item Carryover

A minor but also a new feature in the Steam version of the game is being able to transfer items from your cleared game save file to a new game. While the game doesn’t exactly make it clear, only consumables are carried over—you’ll have to start afresh with new weapons and armour.

In a way, you can keep hoarding consumables every time you beat the game. By the time I started by 3rd Main Mode play through as Guimoule, I already had enough stat-boosting consumables to give a unit godlike stats. That unit also happens to be a monster, and thanks to the 20+ Revival Stones I had, it was always ready to return from the dead if I made a stupid mistake.

All in all, this is a feature with absolutely no drawbacks to it. If you have trouble beating the game on Hard for that particular Steam achievement for example, you can beat the game on Easy first then bring your repository of amazing consumables over to your Hard mode play through to make things easier. Likewise, you can simply choose not to use the carried over items if you want to retain the challenge, and that’s fine too.

Steam/PC Optimization

Performance-wise, I found no issue whatsoever running the game on my 2020 ROG Strix. The game ran smoothly with no crashing or slowdowns.

Graphically, the game is fine. There are 3 different graphics settings (low, medium, high) and 2 different resolutions (1280 x 720 and 1920 x 1080) to choose from.

Closing Thoughts

While it isn’t perfect, the Steam version of Brigandine The Legend of Runersia is a worthy port. However, if you already have the game on Switch or PS4 and were contemplating getting the game on Steam just for Creative Mode, I feel that it’s not worth it.

However, if you’ve never played Brigandine The Legend of Runersia before, then the Steam version is arguably the best version of the game, especially when you compare the price.

Head to the game’s Steam page to check it out.

Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia

Publisher: Happinet

Developer: Matrix Software

Release Date: 2020-06-25

Nintendo Switch

The continent of Runersia is home to six major powers with more than 40 bases, 100 knights, and 50 types of monsters. Select a ruler, compose your platoons of knights and monsters, and march to claim enemy bases. The player chooses how they will battle, so devise the best strategy to lead your nation toward continental conquest. How will your legend unfold?

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