Diplomacy Is Not an Option Preview (PC)

The peasants are angry, and they attack in waves

As a strategy gamer, I don’t like the concept of static defense. My town has no walls but the armor of my troops. There might be a hundred enemies flowing towards them, but I know what tactics can achieve. My catapult hits the back lines, my archers focus fire, my men-at-arms protect both. Third wave down with just two losses. One more to go.

Diplomacy Is Not an Option is developed and will be published by Door 407. The game is in Early Access on Steam, with plans to launch it fully before the end of the year. This is a real-time strategy title that takes elements from survival games, creating a hybrid that has space to grow.

Players take on the role of a lord who’s hated by the underclasses and mostly ignored by the king, having to revitalize his lands and deal with enemies using force of arms. There’s not much in the way of narrative in the current version of the game but there are promises of an expanded campaign.

The main gameplay loop should be instantly familiar to anyone who has played an RTS before. Expand a base, create an economic engine, train the troops that you can, to deal with enemies. The twist is that, at regular intervals, big opponent waves arrive, able to take down an unprepared player.

Diplomacy Is Not an Option gives players plenty of obstacles and limits to deal with as they wait for the big attacks. Developing the economy is a big concern, as is putting together walls and towers that can choke off attack avenues. This is solid strategy with plenty of promise.

Diplomacy Is Not an Option opts for a blocky, slightly abstracted look. It’s designed to allow for tons of units to exist on a map at the same time, one of the stated goals of the game. It works well as long as players don’t plan on spending time zoomed in. The sound design is entirely unimpressive.

Conclusion