Shields of Loyalty

I track Early Access games the way some people track stocks, so I watched Shields of Loyalty for a long time before feeling comfortable recommending it. The short version: the version shipping now is meaningfully better than what launched in August 2025, and the underlying tactical design was always worth the price of admission for the right player. The longer version involves hex grids, unit synergies, weather that does not care about your feelings, and three commanders who each demand a completely different build philosophy. The strategic bones here come straight from the Fantasy General and Panzer General lineage, crossed with the army-building loop that made Heroes of Might and Magic II so compulsive. You pick a commander, each with a distinct battlefield identity: Aglovan the Noble pushes cavalry-led momentum and morale buffs, Warlord Karnoth leans into bleed effects and brute infantry mass, and the third faction lead Sargon I introduces summoning and unit-fusion mechanics that let you temporarily combine forces into short-lived powerhouses. Those are not cosmetic differences. They change which units you recruit, how you position on the hex grid, which campaign map branches you unlock, and which enemy waves feel manageable versus punishing. Choosing your commander is essentially choosing your difficulty curve. The hex-grid combat rewards the kind of thinking I like most: positioning over raw numbers. The synergy system is the real mechanical hook - archers positioned directly behind infantry fire simultaneously on that infantry's attack, heavy cavalry can absorb damage directed at adjacent allies through a Shieldwall formation, and the post-launch May Update added six further synergy types alongside three large hero-units (one per faction) that deepen those interactions further. Terrain matters too, with three distinct biomes across the Mantaria campaign: Darkwoods with its swamps and forest chokepoints, Eternal Ice full of lethal traps, and the Lava Desert where the environment itself becomes an active combatant. Random weather events including lightning strikes, meteor showers, and storms hit both armies impartially, which creates the kind of chaotic moments that force you to adapt a plan mid-turn rather than execute a pre-set build order. Now for the honest part. The 1.0 launch was rough. The developer's own Steam post acknowledges the review score dropped to 45% at launch due to bugs, with some players hitting level-blocking issues and AI hang states that persisted through several patches. The studio responded by grinding through fixes over following months, and the rating has climbed back to the high-70s range. That recovery arc reflects well on Mosaic Mask Studio's engagement with its community, but it is worth knowing this game has a post-launch patch history you should factor in. Current builds are reported to be in substantially better shape. The presentation style is readable rather than pretty: color-coded tiles communicate movement restrictions and status effects cleanly, unit animations are functional and uncluttered, and the overall aesthetic is minimal 2D sprite work that keeps the tactical picture legible. It will not impress anyone chasing production values, but it does not need to. This is a game for players who want consistent, rules-transparent tactical decisions rather than spectacle. If you cut your teeth on Battle Isle or Fantasy General and have been patient with the genre's indie revival, Shields of Loyalty is now in a state where that patience is rewarded. Newcomers to the style will find the three-biome campaign a reasonable introduction, and the commander selection gives you a meaningful difficulty dial before the first battle even starts.

Diego · Scout Team

Strategy & simulation

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