Review: TRIANGLE STRATEGY on PC is a good tactical RPG that runs well on most modern computers

Square Enix came out a couple of months ago Triangular strategy on PC via Steam. They were nice enough to send me a copy, but with the launch of other high profile games it has taken a while for me to get far enough to feel comfortable reviewing the game. All thoughts below are mine, but you can play Triangle Strategy yourself now on PC via Steam or on the Nintendo Switch.

TRIANGLE STRATEGY is set on the continent of Norzelia, where players will determine the fate of three powerful conflicting kingdoms, Glenbrook, Aesfrost and Hyzante. Set 30 years after the “Saltiron War”, players will lead the protagonist Serenoa Wolffort and her faithful companions, childhood friend Prince Roland, fiancée Princess Frederica Aesfrost and the steward of House Wolffort Benedict, as they try to fight your way through this new conflict!

I was excited to play Triangular strategy because I had heard so many good things about it. I like the occasional tactical strategy game, and Square Enix generally knows what they’re doing here. As for the overall gameplay, they’ve really done a great job. I don’t know if there are really innovative or revolutionary aspects to the tactical combat system, but it works well and is easy to navigate. I also appreciate the different difficulties. The HD-2D art style is a very subjective part of the game. Some will like it and some won’t. I go back and forth about whether I like it or not.

In Triangular strategy, one of the strengths is the story. It is well made with good twists throughout. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I really enjoyed it. Also, there are multiple endings that encourage you to replay the game a few times. Unfortunately, there is one big drawback. In my opinion, the voice acting really gets you down Triangular strategy. I like a lot of the vocals and some of them give decent performances, but there are some performances that just feel dry and take me out of the moment. For example, your counselor Benedict always seems to use the same intonation patterns and tones when he speaks. There never seems to be any variation in his voice to suit the mood. It doesn’t matter if he’s surprised, angry, happy, or just providing advice, every sentence sounds extremely similar. This is just one example of the poor performance.

These poor performances in voice acting are evidenced by the huge amount of cutscenes Triangular 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 city. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, it creates a lot more of a visual novel vibe than I sure expected, but with vocal performances that sound lackluster, it really feels like a downer.

While many have played Triangular strategy on Nintendo Switch, this review is for the PC version. I will say that on my machine (Ryzen 5 3600, RTX 2060, 16GB RAM), the game runs really well. Of course, you don’t need a powerful machine, which makes it very affordable 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 a lot of options to tinker with and if you have a Steam deck, it’s checked out and I can definitely see the appeal of playing it on the go. Many story chapters are quite short, which means that if you only have 15-20 minutes, that should give you enough time to jump in, do a chapter, and then bounce out and get back to what you were doing. From that point of view I’d say the Switch version might be better unless you say Steam Deck or use Steam Link on a mobile device.

At the end of the day, Triangular 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 art style is a huge draw for many. However, the poor vocal performance really hurts its score, and the gameplay doesn’t feel revolutionary or break the mold too much. I’d probably recommend waiting for a sale to pick it up 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.