Ballads of Hongye

Ballads of Hongye is a city builder strategy game, in which we manage a land forgotten by all, trying to make it a real pearl of empire. It was developed by Amazing Seasun, an indie studio.

Plot

Ballads of Hongye takes us on a journey to a fantastic kingdom inspired by the ancient Far East, to be precise - to the land of Hongye, where we arrive as a steward who has recently been appointed by the emperor himself. Our task is to take care of the development of Hongye, to please the ruler, the council that works with us and the ordinary citizens, and.... stay in power. All this is not easy, as geographic conditions, natural disasters, a not very kind climate, as well as conspiracies against us, among others, work against us.

Mechanics

In Ballads of Hongye we observe the action from a top-down view. Everything that is related to the functioning of the entire land rests on our shoulders. Thus, we are engaged in acquiring resources and erecting new buildings, creating production chains, trading, taking care of the needs of the inhabitants and planning the next ventures.

The matter is complicated by several factors, the first of which is Hongye's location. The land consists not only of picturesque valleys, but also snow-capped mountain peaks or deserts. Each area, where we come to operate, has unique characteristics, and therefore advantages and disadvantages. We will find, among others, territories with barren soil, but rich in resources, lands located on the front line, as well as regions where refugees are crowding in. The weather can also cause us problems, as we can experience a variety of natural disasters over the four seasons - from pest attacks and droughts destroying our crops and causing famines, to floods and fires. We must, therefore, plan our next projects in such a way as to establish and improve safety infrastructure in advance, and thus prevent further disasters.

As you can see, we have our hands full here, so in order to effectively manage Hongye, it is important to use trusted advisors. The associates we recruit need to constantly improve their skills; they also have their own needs that we need to satisfy, and they make requests that need to be fulfilled. Only in this way will we ensure that we can help manage the land, plan our next moves and spend the money from the state treasury wisely. At the same time, we should not forget about the necessity of keeping the best protégés with us at all costs; experienced employees are sharpened by administrators of other lands, who, in order to convince them to move to the other side of the barricade, may offer them, for example, a higher salary. To avoid such situations, we need to regularly negotiate salary rates, conclude and renew already concluded contracts or, finally, try to outbid the competition by offering higher payouts to the people we hire.

If we do all this well, we can count on being given a positive assessment of our actions by the council, which is watching us closely. In addition, as we progress, we unlock a variety of talents that allow us to construct new types of buildings, deal more effectively with crises or build wonders of the world, which are tangible proof of our skills.

Game modes

Ballads of Hongye offers only single-player gameplay. The game offers three game modes: difficult challenge mode (where we have to complete the goals set for us within one year), easy challenge mode (where we complete tasks without a time limit), and calm mode (where we progress at our own pace, not bothering with any restrictions imposed from above).

Technical aspects

Ballads of Hongye features high-quality graphics. It is made in colorful colors and style, which makes the game similar to a large, moving diorama.