Up to 4-player cooperative medieval exile survival game “Bellwright” is off to a good start. Create a village from scratch, rebel against the kingdom, win the trust of those around you, and fight against the conspiracy – -

Publisher Snail Games USA and developer Donkey Crew announced on April 23rd that “Bellwright‘ has started early access distribution. The compatible platform is PC (Steam), and the price is 3400 yen including tax. Some parts of the game support Japanese display. The game has gotten off to a good start, attracting many players right away.

“Bellwright” is an open world survival craft game. Supports solo play and cooperative play with up to 4 people. The setting is a medieval European world. The protagonist is falsely accused of murdering the kingdom’s prince due to a conspiracy and is being chased. Players collect resources and build their own settlements outdoors. While gathering villagers and developing their base, they eventually start a rebellion and stand up against the kingdom’s army.

In gameplay, you will collect resources, build buildings, and create a village. Gather materials such as wood and stones while securing food to satisfy your hunger. Build huts, workbenches, etc., and gather villagers. It is possible to give instructions to villagers and have them engage in specific tasks, or to follow them and go on adventures together. Each villager has different abilities and is good at different tasks. This game also has a technology tree, and the things you can make will increase as you let the villagers do research.

While managing the village, you will explore the world and complete quests. Although the player is a wanted person, by completing quests he can win people’s trust and gain fame. As your trust and reputation increases, you will be able to trade with people from surrounding villages and invite them to your village as residents. This work also has combat elements. In addition to fighting enemies during your adventure, your village may also be attacked by bandits or soldiers from the kingdom. You need to prepare for battle by gathering villagers who are good at fighting and strengthening their equipment.

Early access distribution for this work began on April 23rd. Since the start of distribution, the number of concurrently connected players has been increasing every day, and at the time of writing this article, the peak number was approximately 7,300 (SteamDB). It attracts many players. In addition, it received a “moderately positive” status with 73% of the approximately 1,100 Steam user reviews saying it was positive. According to Steam Scout, it seems that many negative reviews are posted from Chinese-speaking countries, with approximately one-third of the negative reviews being in Chinese (simplified). There seem to be many complaints about the low quality of the translation.

On the other hand, reviews in other languages ​​show a positive rating of around 80%. Although some Japanese reviews have pointed out the quality of the translation, it seems that the gameplay, which combines village building and combat, and the ability to go on adventures with NPC villagers, have been well-received. Similar to this work, there have been multiple comments comparing the game to works such as the medieval European-themed survival game “Medieval Dynasty” and the tactical action game “Mount & Blade,” and many are looking forward to future updates. .

The early access period for this work is expected to be within three years. At the moment, the basic parts of the game such as village management, battles, and quests are available. In the future, they plan to complete the story through updates and add new elements such as horses, defense facilities, new biomes and equipment. There is a possibility that the price will increase when it is officially released.

“Bellwright” is currently available in early access for PC (Steam). There is currently a release commemoration sale going on, and you can purchase it for 10% off for 3,060 yen including tax until May 1st.