Sultan’s Game is a new card-based simulation and narrative experience inspired by One Thousand and One Nights –  a collection of Middle Eastern folktales. The game throws you into a mysterious world where your choices truly matter – whether you’re plotting your escape, leading a rebellion, or taking on the Sultan himself, every decision feels weighty and impactful.

Arabian Nights

First off, I’ve got to say the whole look and feeling of Sultan’s Game is beautiful. As it’s based off of One Thousand and One Nights there’s a certain lavishness to the entire affair, from the gilded cards to the deep red event map you play them on. The game combines a moody, atmospheric art style with intricate details that bring the Sultan’s court and its surroundings to life. From opulent palaces to shadowy back alleys, every location is designed to evoke a sense of intrigue and danger.

The use of colour is particularly striking, with rich, deep tones that emphasise the game’s themes of power, sin, and survival. The character designs are intricate, showcasing a blend of elegance and menace that perfectly fits the game’s narrative. The soundtrack complements the visuals, with haunting melodies and dramatic crescendos that enhance the overall experience. I did encounter a few audio related glitches, where the music didn’t necessarily fit the current event, but they were minor and hopefully will get patched out before the full release.

There’s also a disclaimer at the start of the game about NSFW images which initially made me think I might be playing a very different type of game, but this refers to some very stylised nudity on some of the Sultan’s cards and can be swapped out for other versions to suit your modesty level. That’s not to say the game is suitable for children though. You’ll be murdering and/or laying with concubines and consorts and the game in general can be described as pretty raunchy.

Gameplay

The core mechanics of Sultan’s Game revolve around strategy and resource management. Players must make calculated decisions as they navigate the challenges of the game, balancing risk and reward at every turn.

If you’ve ever played Cultist Simulator or games like it you might be a little more familiar with the mechanics than most. This isn’t a turn based card game like Slay the Spire. You have specific cards that you assign to missions each day, and depending on your dice rolls (aided by using supplementary cards like Secrets and Intuition) you’ll see different levels of success. Some missions may even take more than one day, leaving you short on key players until they’re resolved.

At the heart of the game is a card system that represents different aspects of power dynamics. There are four types of Sultan cards – Carnality, Bloodshed, Conquest, and Extravagance. Each card type influences the story and gameplay in unique ways, requiring players to carefully balance their choices. Each of these Sultan cards have different rarity levels and can only be destroyed by a card of the same rarity or higher. You need manage resources effectively to progress, as certain events to get rid of Sultan cards can only be unlocked by progressing others. This includes gathering wealth, maintaining alliances, and ensuring the loyalty of key characters. Mismanagement can lead to setbacks or even death.

Sultan’s Game emphasises the importance of choices. Every decision you make has consequences, shaping the narrative and determining the outcome of your journey. In the tutorial (where you play as the Sultan) choosing a different character to try and resolve your Carnality card leads to a completely different outcome each time. This adds a layer of replayability, as different choices lead to different opportunities and even endings.

There’s a meta progression system too, called Fates where you can augment your starting cards or event details to make gaining new events and missions more achievable giving you a lot more freedom at the start to try out different strategies. Sultan’s Game is very difficult though and the learning curve is steep so expect to be executed a few times just by running out of time.

Issues

As highlighted above there are some visual and audio issues with Sultan’s Game – one particularly annoying on is when events spawn underneath others on the game board. You need to then hover over them to try and move them to an accessible place to interact, but even then you will probably end up clicking on another event accidentally. You aren’t forced to undergo a mission just by clicking out it, but it makes the gameplay feel a little janky.

The mechanics can also feel a bit opaque at times, as the game doesn’t always explain them clearly, leaving you to figure things out through trial and error. While this adds to the sense of discovery, it can also be frustrating for players who prefer more guidance. Additionally, there are translation issues – with some of the later missions still not being translated from Chinese in my time with the game, meaning I wasn’t sure who or what to play in any given situation (this issue was flagged by the devs, and they are hoping to have all the languages fixed before launch). The translation issues paired with some of the less explained aspects can make understanding certain mechanics and instructions more challenging than necessary.

Final Thoughts

Despite these shortcomings, Sultan’s Game offers a rewarding challenge for fans of strategy games and rich narratives. It’s not a game for everyone. The difficulty and rng from events can make setting up for success feel frustrating and if you’re not used to the genre then you’re liable to get very lost very quickly.

The aesthetics and audio obviously have a lot of care and attention put into them, making for a visually striking experience and hopefully once the bugs and especially translation errors are addressed there’ll will be a engaging, strategy game for fans to really sink their teeth into.

Sultan’s Game was reviewed on PC, Gamer Social Club would like to thank the developers Double Cross, and publisher 2P Games for the code. The game releases on March 31st on Steam and Nintendo Switch.