At Bulwark – Falconeer Chroniclesconceived by individual developer Tomas Sala (The Falconeer), I was unable to understand the game systems right from the start. Despite quick instructions in text form and a tutorial world. So I turned to the developer in the Discord channel for help. Sala answered me patiently and in detail: Bulwark – Falconeer Chronicles is a game in which I should throw my previous experience in building games overboard. I shouldn't try to perfect and just build, explore and have fun. After around ten hours, I would say that I have succeeded to some extent. Now the real challenge awaits me: for this check I have to try to explain Bulwark – Falconeer Chronicles to you.
 |
| The distribution of your resources can be viewed at any time. I think I understand the colored lines – but what the hell do the red numbers above my towers mean? |
Workers, wood, stone and ore…
Advertisement
… are the materials on which Bulwark – Falconeer Chronicles is based. Workers are generated by your citadel, which is essentially the city center. The busier and more built-up the area around your citadel, the more workers it produces. You gain access to the other three resources via extractors, who then distribute the raw materials within your settlement. However, you don't fill a boring warehouse in Bulwark – Falconeer Chronicles; the resources are distributed directly. The distribution range depends on the towers around the extractor: the more built up, the higher the range – I think. What I know for sure is that you need the raw materials to grow your settlements and if a raw material is missing, construction must stop.
The Ursee
Your playground, the Ursee, is only sparsely populated; after all, the world has ended again. But where there isn't much, a lot of new things can emerge. After you have placed your first buildings with the citadel and raw material extractor, you build towers all around, upgrade them and add decorative platforms on which residents can settle. And your number of residents increases almost automatically. However, in order to get more raw materials you have to expand. To explore the game world, you use an airship with which you can comfortably sail across the world map.
You will come across survivors from other factions. If you pick them up, you can build new bases with them. You will also gradually be joined by captains with whom you can establish trade routes between your settlements and the bases of other factions. You will also meet commanders who will give you bonuses for your settlements and receive special buildings. I suspect that the events are linked to a milestone system based on population size. It is really important for the progress of the game that you explore the Ursee.
 |
| The map is huge. On your exploration tours you will discover outposts of other factions, resource fields, scattered outposts and much more. |
Can also be set up with the controller
Advertisement
Bulwark – Falconeer Chronicles uses a new system for controls, at least to me. There is no clear view, instead you jump from building to building with a cursor. You just build towers higher or increase their width with platforms or balconies. Other buildings, such as extractors or ports, can only be built in certain locations. Central to the controls is your airship, with which you can place many buildings, discover the world or teleport to distant outposts using fast travel. What initially seems restrictive works better and better in practice, even with the controller. As much as I appreciate the controls, which have been reduced to a minimum, I still find myself trying to scroll “freely” over my settlements.
There are only three menus waiting for you: In addition to the map, there is the inventory overview of your airship – here there are explanations about the buildings and what they do – as well as a soul tree that shows you your construction progress and who is working for you. You can view the goods cycles in your cities at the touch of a button.
 |
| You can easily dismantle the resource extractors when the raw material is exhausted and transplant them to a new location. In order to continue building the settlement, you have to supply it with all four resources. |
Atmospherically strong setting
The overall atmospheric structure of the game gets special praise from me. I really like the graphic style. It appears subtle, but upon closer inspection and especially in the design of the growing towers, it is very detailed. The color palette contributes to the successful atmosphere: sunrises soak everything in orange, a fog puts a bluish veil over the world and when a storm hits the Ursee, I'm happy to be sitting in the warmth.
Added to this is the great soundscape, consisting of calm melodies and harmonious effects. In the end, nothing sounds new here, but I like the overall composition with a slightly melancholic note. In addition, the game is almost completely voiced with, in my opinion, really good speakers – but only in English with German subtitles.
 |
| Every now and then your trade routes are attacked by pirates. The resulting fights are less magnificently staged. |
Conclusion
I like the playful concept of Bulwark – Falconeer Chronicles. The title doesn't stress you out, there are no complex product chains and you don't have to deal with annoying warehouse management either. The Ursee is a huge sandbox that needs to be discovered. You constantly experience small progress. And often I simply got lost in the expansion of the towers in my settlements.
Nevertheless, it pains me a little that I just don't want to understand the rules. I seem to be looking for depth and complication. But that's exactly what Bulwark – Falconeer Chronicles doesn't offer. It doesn't challenge you in terms of gameplay and doesn't offer any super-deep systems. It wants you to have fun trying things out, discovering this world and enjoying your time in the game.
- Building game for PC, Playstation 4|5, Xbox One|Series X
- Single player
- For beginners
- Price: 19.50 euros (demo available)
- In one sentence: In Bulwark – Falconeer Chronicles, the focus is clearly on the fun of discovering and building a new civilization.