Review of Solium Infernum – Infernal “Game of Thrones”

There is never enough quality grand strategy. In fact, it could be said that their number is quite limited, so a new entry in this genre is always greeted with a certain enthusiasm. The Solium Infernum update caught our attention as soon as it was announced. How things stand in terms of gameplay and more, you will find out in the following lines of our review.

• Platform: PC (review)
• Publication date: February 22, 2024
• Manufacturer: League of Geeks
• Genre: Grand strategy
• Czech localization: No
• Multiplayer: yes (online)
• Data for download: 8 GB
• Price: 995 (Pair)

Hell needs its own ruler in Solium Infernum

The Lord of Hell is gone. No one has heard from him for some time, so there is a stir among the demons. Several players appear on the scene, eager to sit their asses on the vacant throne. In total, eight infernal leaders are fighting for a place under the “sun”. On the menu you will find the conqueror Astaroth, the magic that controls Lilith, the bet manipulation of Mammon or the fallen angel Andromalius. Each of the demon lords has different abilities, units and amulets to fight for control of the kingdom of hell.

If you count on each of them having only a bunch of imps at hand, you will quickly lose your way. All have minions dressed in shining armor and armed with special tools. The statistics of individual lords and the abilities they can act with are also unique. For example, such Astaroth has the ability to attack his opponent without any preliminary diplomatic steps during one round, by spending a certain amount of prestige.

So, when this guy starts placing troops on your border, it’s time to prepare your defenses. Once you’ve chosen one of the Solium Infernum lords, there’s nothing stopping you from starting a grand campaign or one of the scenarios prepared for these infernals. The main idea of ​​the gameplay revolves around maximizing the use of the two or three actions you can perform per turn. As in board games, this action can be used to recruit new recruits, improve your infernal leader, intrigue, diplomatic actions, or use magic, which also has its place here.

You increase the rank of your leader with prestige, which is then used in diplomacy. However, if you want to gain strength, improve your abilities or use spells, you will always need a certain amount of four essences. Once you have them, it is not a problem to buy various forms of demonic creatures at the bazaar, ready to fight for you, or to assign commanders to already standing units. He will increase their statistics and lead them through the game world, in which you do not build, but only capture territories and places of power under your control, giving additional statistical bonuses to whoever owns them.

The battles are turn-based, so there is no rush. But you will always have to do some work with unit stats, pay rates, and when it is your turn during an asynchronous turn. If you make a mistake, your army may end up in an empty space where the enemy was originally supposed to be waiting. However, he played earlier, thanks to which he not only escaped pursuit, but also eliminated a unit that was intended to strengthen your troops. Sometimes you just have different unpleasant moments.

However, in Solium Infernum, it is not only the steps of your demonic opponents that will cause wrinkles on your forehead, but also various events that sometimes turn the gameplay into a real hell. Sometimes an angry angel appears on the scene, sometimes a leviathan. However, these moments always manage to decently disrupt your planned campaigns, because within them, fragile creatures do not appear on the stage. Invasion of each of them really means a decent problem that you will have to solve in order to maintain the normal functioning of your empire.

Diplomacy deserves more attention

Although at first glance this place may seem like a place full of anarchy, it is definitely not. Just like in the human world, the Solium Infernum universe has its own laws that demons cannot break. Thus, diplomacy is quite an important component of the gameplay. However, I did not find it very difficult to handle. I could probably imagine that instead of simple orders and demands, it would be possible to form complex alliances and build something more complex on the negotiating field. Fortunately, there are many ways to betray your opponents.

Also, despite certain limitations of diplomacy, there is more to the goal. One of the “easiest” is probably to get the capital, where you simply sit on the throne. Another option is to let the other demon lords choose you or destroy them all and thus become the only being capable of ruling the hellish depths of Solium Infernum. I really liked the range of options, as it offered individual demons alternative paths to the throne. I tried most of them during the game and must admit that each time it was a slightly different hellish adventure.

I was also very impressed by the visuals of Solium Infernum. That is to say, the game itself does not look that impressive, but it has a lot of highly processed artistic images related to the various situations that take place in the game world. Perhaps such a hellish crusade looked amazing. And what about the coronation moment. The overall impression of this theme is enhanced by the excellent soundtrack, which I really liked.

Despite some shortcomings, the battle for the depths of hell in Solium Infernum can be fun.

In my opinion, Solium Infernum does exactly what an above-average politically-minded grand strategy game should do. It features several unique rulers who are hungry for power, turn-based combat, and plenty of options to help you get to the top. The enemy AI is reactive, so it has no problem taking initiative on occasion. Above all, people bicker nicely with each other and encounter various random situations, which adds to the overall feel of realism.

Personally, I could imagine that the player would be offered a larger world and, above all, a slightly more developed idea of ​​diplomacy, which is relatively flat by the standards of the genre. For a player unfamiliar with strategy, the overall complexity may be a serious problem. However, if you are looking for a complex grand strategy that will keep you “stuck” until the early hours of the morning, this title definitely belongs to the group of games worth paying attention to.