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Pendragon review in 3 minutes inkle Arthur Camelot chess narrative storytelling and decision-making

Pendragon Combines King Arthur & Chess for Choice-Driven Strategic Gameplay – Review in 3 Minutes

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Pendragon by inkle is a character-driven narrative strategy game where you are tasked with reaching and saving King Arthur. Players are given the freedom to choose who will rally the knights during this conquest and slay those who oppose the throne. In the beginning, you’re limited to Sir Lancelot or Queen Guinevere, but options expand as the adventure progresses. You can choose whether to travel solo or pick up more members, and ultimately, every decision made, be it traveling, fighting, or even fleeing, impacts the experience.

A tutorial quickly teaches the basics of Pendragon and lets you test the chess-like gameplay. As you maneuver through each map, you acquire spaces by stepping on each square. These squares are highlighted red, while the enemy spaces are blue. Players want to have enough spaces to comfortably control the field and exit to the next location. You and your foes will mostly move one square at a time, but movement can change depending on stance and newly acquired abilities. It’s dangerous if the enemy controls the majority of the map.

If you can get behind the 12th century backlore where everything is on the line and crave a strategic experience that will be mindful of your every choice, this will definitely be up your alley. It isn’t a flawless experience, but it’s worth your time. Pendragon is available now on Steam and GOG for $16.99 with a 10% discount at launch.

Watch our full Review in 3 Minutes for Pendragon.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Reviewed on PC.


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Will Cruz
Meet Will Cruz, the Associate Producer in the AAA space and a regular critic via the 3 Minute Review series. But that's not all -- he also produces closed captions for The Escapist! Will's journey in the video game industry began in 2015, when he produced content for TrueAchievements. While pursuing his bachelor's in Film and Digital Media, he focused on content creation and has since worked with big names such as Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Disney, Netflix, and more. In his free time, Will is known to play Fortnite, read comics, write new songs, and constantly complain about sports and sports entertainment – looking at you, WWE and AEW.