Review: TRIANGLE STRATEGY on PC Is a Good Tactical RPG That Runs Well On Most Modern Computers
A couple of months ago, Square Enix released Triangle Strategy on PC via Steam. They were kind enough to send me a copy, but with other high profile games launching it has taken me a while to get far enough I felt comfortable reviewing the game. All thoughts below are my own, but you can play Triangle Strategy for yourself now on PC via Steam or on Nintendo Switch.
TRIANGLE STRATEGY takes place on the continent of Norzelia, where players will determine the fate of three powerful kingdoms embroiled in conflict, Glenbrook, Aesfrost, and Hyzante. Set 30 years after the “Saltiron War,” players will guide protagonist Serenoa Wolffort and his faithful companions, childhood friend Prince Roland, fiancée Princess Frederica Aesfrost, and the steward of House Wolffort Benedict, as they attempt to navigate their way through this new conflict!
I was excited to play Triangle Strategy because I had heard great things about it. I enjoy the occasional tactical strategy game and Square Enix typically knows what they’re doing here. As far as the overall gameplay is, they did a really good job. I don’t know that there’s really any groundbreaking or revolutionary aspects in the tactical battle system, but it does work well and is easy to navigate. I also appreciate the different difficulties. The HD-2D artstyle is a very subjective part of the game. Some will enjoy it and others won’t. I go back and forth on whether I like it or not.
In Triangle Strategy, one of the strong suits is the story. It’s a well-crafted one with good twists and turns throughout. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’ve really enjoyed it. Plus, there are multiple endings encouraging you to replay the game a few times. Unfortunately, there’s a big drawback. In my opinion, the voice acting really brings down Triangle Strategy. I do enjoy a lot of the voices and some of them give decent performances, but there are some performances that just feel dry and take me out of the moment. For instance, your advisor Benedict seems to always use the same intonation patterns and tones when speaking. There never seems to be variation in his voice to fit the mood. No matter if he’s surprised, angry, happy, or merely providing counsel, each line sounds extremely similar. This is only one example of the poor performances.
These poor performances in voice acting are highlighted by the sheer number of cutscenes in Triangle Strategy. Basically, the game feels like a very long movie that occasionally has you perform a battle or give you a few minutes to wander around a town. This isn’t necessarily bad in and of itself, it creates much more of a visual novel feel than I was expecting for sure, but with vocal performances that sound lackluster, it really feels like a downside.
While many have played Triangle Strategy on the Nintendo Switch, this review is about the PC version. I will say that on my machine (Ryzen 5 3600, RTX 2060, 16GB RAM), the game runs really well. Granted, you don’t need a powerful machine at all which makes it very accessible and is always a plus (I’ll include a screenshot of the system requirements below). I personally wasn’t a fan of the keyboard bindings that come with the game, but you can change them or, like me, just plug in a controller to use. There are plenty of options for you to tinker with and if you have a Steam Deck, it is Verified and I can definitely see the appeal of playing it on the go. A lot of the story chapters are pretty short which means if you only have 15-20 minutes, that should give you enough time to jump in, do a chapter, and then bounce out and go back to whatever you were doing. From this perspective I would actually say the Switch version might be better unless you have said Steam Deck or utilize Steam Link on a mobile device.
At the end of the day, Triangle Strategy is a good tactical RPG. It has a solid story, the gameplay is good, you don’t need a powerful system to play it, and the HD-2D artstyle is a huge draw for many. However, poor vocal performances really hurt its score and the gameplay doesn’t feel revolutionary or break the mold too much. I’d probably recommend waiting for a sale to grab it unless you really need to scratch that tactical RPG itch. Let me know in the comments your thoughts on the game and how I’m wrong.
