Bonaparte takes Crusader Kings and Fire Emblem to the French Revolution

This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

There’s a grand strategy game for almost every important era of military history. Developers like Paradox Interactive and Creative Assembly have made sure of that. One very important, but less explored historical era is the French Revolution, which has just one Total War game from 14 years ago to its name. Now, a new game developer called Studio Imugi wants to make its mark withBonaparte: A Mechanized Revolution, an alternate history strategy game set in a steampunk version of that time period. It mixes gameplay elements from Crusader Kings and Fire Emblem and looks like an approachable entry point to one of gaming’s most intimidating genres.

Although Bonaparte gets its name from Napoleon, that historical figure actually isn’t in the game. Instead, players can choose to be “Cesar Bonaparte” or “Celine Bonaparte” and go on to play a similar role in rising from a soldier to a defining figure of the French Revolution over the decade it takes place. Although consulting historical figures such as Jacques Hebert and Marquis De Lafayette is a bit part of the game, that should be your first indication that this is an alt-history game. Your second should be that it embraces steampunk aesthetics, as players can control giant steam-powered mechs in battle.

Then, once a campaign starts, players must make strategic moves both on a macro level and within battles. On a macro level, players choose to side with the Royalists, Moderates, or Jacobins toward the start of the game, and that will define how the rest of the campaign plays out. There’s a campaign map with all the regions of France, and players can see which faction is in control of each. Obviously, the main goal is to unite the entirety of France under your faction.

To do this, the player calls for votes at a Convention and aims to garner enough political favor to pass whatever policies they want. In my hands-off preview, the developers got the Convention to approve