Review | Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles

Pieter "SuikerBrood" JasperMarch 26, 2024Last Updated: March 27, 2024

1 302 5 minutes read

Welcome back to The Ursee.

You might recognize the world, but this time we explore it through genre-transcending experience. Many Xbox players out there will know about The Falconeer, which was one of the original launch titles for the Xbox Series X | S developed by Tomas Sala. Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is set in the same universe, but is exploring a completely different genre entirely. We’re moving away from a flight-based action game to an open world semi-automatically generated simulation and strategy game.

Check out our review of Tomas Sala first game in this universe, The Falconeer!

The Ursee is a land of mysterious islands and rocky cliffs where you’ll be setting up your new home. It combines elements found in many other simulation/city-builder games, but mixes them up in an entirely fresh and sometimes inscrutable manner.

So.. what are we doing here?

Following a nice tutorial of the games features, you’re let off the leash and have the freedom to do whatever you see fit. There’s only one rule; there are no mistakes. Towers, terraces and bridges spanning across the Ursee are built using just a single button. Precisely what gets built depends on where you are in the world.

If you hover close to an existing fortress, you’ll be able to add terraces and foundations to the structure. If you hover a little further away form it, you’ll build shiny new towers and bridges connecting them. The game will do everything else. It’ll construct small houses and dwellings along the bridges, creating a synergic and cohesive fortress town.

Outside of the more typical ‘standard’ buildings there are also special buildings which can be more deliberately placed. Lighthouses, harbours and mining operations are just a small selection of the options. These additions will further diversify your settlement and will progress you further in the game.

Building with freedom is great, but there are some restrictions. First of all you’ll need resources to build certain structures. Iron, stone and wood can be found in various locations on your main island or on neighbouring islands, and you’ll have to connect these resources to your main fortress. When you get the trade flowing, you’ll be able to further expand.

Besides all of that, there is the tantalising world of the Ursee to explore, which will offer further opportunities. You’ll encounter captains you can hire for your trading fleet, refugee encampments who can pledge their allegiance to you and battle ships to expand your fleet.

We’ll talk about the combat in a minute. Before we do that, let’s focus on the refugees and factions you can meet in the wide ocean world of the Ursee. The refugee camps you encounter can pledge their allegiance to your cause, but you have to beware that they will also have an allegiance to their respective factions.

People who’ve played The Falconeer will recognize the some of the factions out there, for example the Mancer Order. These factions will settle in your camp and make a home. Increasing the citizens aligned with certain factions will increase the chances of recruiting captains from the respective factions.

Controlling the Ursee

The controls are definitely unique and will take some getting used to, especially for PC players. Using a mouse and keyboard, you’ll be surprised at how challenging it is to adjust to the way the game controls. It certainly suggests that Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles was built with console players in mind, as it’s one of the few simulator games I’ve played where I genuinely prefer playing it with a gamepad.

There is no world scrolling that experienced strategy game players have come to expect from these type of games. Instead, you control an airship that you can move around through the world. Fortunately, there is a fast travel system – if there wasn’t, it would’ve been a painful experience.

The way the game controls combines a third person action game style camera and a real-time strategy game in an interesting way. This also explains why it feels more natural to play with a gamepad, as you’re viewing the world from a third-person perspective, more so than a top down perspective.

Combat itself is fairly straight-forward. You’ll recruit those wonderful Falconeers in addition to other warriors to your Warband back at the home settlement and they’ll join you. Visually, it’s quite the motley crew, with flocks of giant birds, flying machines and more supporting you wherever you go.

Whenever you do enter into battle, be it via engaging an enemy citadel or by protecting one of your trade routes, the combat plays out all by itself – Just make sure you keep an eye on things and abort the fight if you sense you may not win it!

As your population and alignment to the different factions grows, so does your main flying ship and warband… so while you may lose a few fights early on, don’t be afraid to take a chance in the future. Combat isn’t the main course of Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles, but it’s definitely a nice side dish that complements the experience.

The beauty of simplicity

A lot of very positive things have been said about solo indie developer Tomas Sala and his one-man creation, The Falconeer. The simplicity in the chosen artstyle, and the deliberate lack of textures is one of the key strengths of Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles. When you’re playing further away from your TV it can sometimes be difficult to appreciate the details, but zoom in on the various auto-generated constructions and you’ll be genuinely wowed by the detail on display. It’s a gorgeous world.

Exploring the Ursee

Whenever you want to explore the wide expanse of the Ursee, you just click somewhere on the map and your airship will merrily make it’s way to your chosen destination. The world has various factions that will want or even demand things from you, and don’t be afraid if you end up in a war with any of them.

The good news is, there’s more to the world than opposing factions. You’ll come across various interesting characters who will ask to join your cause. They’ll either captain one of your ships, bring certain traits to your community and improve your battlefleet. Either way, exploring is a large part of this game. Sure, you could just sit around on your island all the time and slowly build your fortress, but exploring the Ursee, almost ominous with all its oddities and dangers creates a wonderful sense of urgency.

Fret not, this sense of urgency isn’t always there, and honestly, the start of the game does feel a little overwhelming. Some of you might stop playing after the first twenty or thirty minutes, and maybe think that this game isn’t for you, but I’d like to convince you to stick with Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles for a bit longer. When the world of the Ursee truly opens up, the events become more frequent and more hectic and your actions really start to take effect, the game becomes infinitely more engaging.

While I’ve used the word urgency, serenity and engagement are two words I’d use to describe the game too. Also, unfortunately, barebones is another that sometimes comes to mind too. There’s plenty to do and I haven’t seen every corner of the world yet, but as you play, you get the feeling there should be more to it somehow.

And most of the time there just isn’t. If you’ve come into this looking for a city-builder with a lot of depth or even the action and combat of The Falconeer, then you may find Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles to be a disappointment. If you accept the game for exactly what it is, I’m fairly confident you’ll have a good time playing.

The Final Verdict

Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles is not made for everyone. It’s an odd duck in the way it controls, the way it tells its story and the way it simulates the world, but it truly is a great way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. Want a conventional strategy game or city-builder? Look elsewhere. Are you in for something executed by a single developer, taking risks and doing something new? Well then – The Ursee awaits.