Million Lords is easy to play and avoids the pay-to-win trap that too many like-minded games seem to fall into. MMO strategy games aren’t a rarity. App stores are flooded with copycats and conquest-style RTS games (Iron Throne, Stormfall, etc.). But allows more room to breathe than any other game in its class, giving players a fresh look at a well-worn genre. Published to mobile platforms by Million Victories at the beginning of the year, Million Lords is easy to play and avoids the pay-to-win trap that too many like-minded games seem to fall into.
Your Throne Awaits
THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY This premise is thin, but the gameplay fills in the rest. Finding the balance between conquering as many cities as you can and allocating your resources in an appropriate manner is the bulk of the game. You’re only as strong as your weakest link, and if you spread yourself too thin or don’t have enough gold to upgrade your weakest cities, you’ll end up losing more than you gain.
More Conquering Less Waiting
Pay To Win No More
The other aspect of the genre that Million Lords gets right is its handling of its pay structure. Of course, like any free-to-play mobile game, someone with deep pockets can buy as many chests as they want and destroy nearby opponents. Resources are obviously valuable, but Million Lords does a great job of not forcing P2W down your throat. It's easy to make it far without spending a dime. Working your way through the game’s nuances isn’t all that challenging either. Weapons seem complex at first. Chests spawn a multitude of items, each with their own gambit of skills and statistics. In reality, weapon choice is relatively simple. Beneath all of the statistics, there are two categories which items fall under: defense or offense. Unsurprisingly, offensive items like swords and axes are used in attack-based gameplay, and shields are used when your cities are under attack. The only fault in the game's current meta is the heavy penalty that you receive for attacking cities with lower XP than your own. The mechanic is a clearly a preventative measure put in place to protect beginners from bullish experts, but it basically gives weaker opponents free rein to take whatever territories they want without penalty. This isn't an issue with a clear workaround, but it does slow you down and makes it hard to progress once you get to higher levels.
Making Mobile MMO Strategy Work
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Million Lords is available now for Android devices.