Bonaparte - A Mechanized Revolution (PC)

Bonaparte is not just the thing you shout as you pull the meat from the bone of a chicken leg. It’s also Napoleon’s vain way of dedicating himself to France during the revolution most of us know about because we had history class. He was called Buonaparte and wanted to separate himself from his Italian and Corsican roots, so he ensured this change had become official by 1796. Though set during an alt-history version of the French Revolution in 1789, Studio Imugi’s Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution has you replace “Little Boney,” playing as either César Bonaparte or Céline Bonaparte. Indeed Bond, a woman?

Focused around a fictional take on history, you are part of the King’s Guard as he calls in everyone of power to the “Estates-General,” or an assembly of the legislative government. The Estates-General of 1789 was the last of what was then the Kingdom of France before it became the first French Republic, and in 2025, we’re onto our fifth French Republic. While the French were funding and helping the Americans become the 10th most important ex-colony, it has drained Louis XVI’s bank account dry and he’s begging for more taxes. Have you seen the price of gas? Running an army of Colossi Phlogistorum is expensive, you know.

Historical anachronisms aside, Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution is a turn-based strategy about the time of the French Revolution. Bonaparte is the first game from Studio Imugi, the studio was co-founded by Martin Brouard, Quinn Kybartas, and Jongwoo Kim. Brouard co-founded The Messenger and Sea of Stars developer Sabotage Studio, while Jongwoo Kim was the co-founder of Boyfriend Dungeon developer and Dwarf Fortress Steam publisher, Kitfox Games. The team formed in Québec does the most Québec thing possible: make a game about France.

Bonaparte is out now in early access as the studio refines several aspects of gameplay and performance, with the stated intent that “we are expecting to release the 1.0 build after 6 months of Early Access.” The story is simple: Louis-Auguste (King Louis XVI) calls the Estates-General, where all land owners are informed that in order to keep the lavish lifestyle of those in power, they must raise the taxes, and thus revolution is ignited. As established, you are either César or Céline Bonaparte, replacing Jon Heder to do whatever it is that goes on in that film.

Sent by the King to quell a rebellion at the Bastille Saint-Antoine where rebels demand the release of prisoners, you take control of a hypothetical new element mechanized soldier. The “Colossi Phlogistorum” is basically just a mech designed like a King’s Guard and is powered by the “fire-like” element of phlogiston, a theoretical element that led to the discovery of Nitrogen. Yes, I’m getting a little off-piece with history now, so I’ll turn back. At the Bastille, you confront the rebellion in the tutorial, eventually leading to you meeting up with your brother and later politician, Luciano.

After speaking with Luciano, you have a choice: Stay with the King and attack the rebels, or attack the guards of the prison, thus turning on the King and joining the revolution. From there, depending on your choices, you can be a true loyalist to the King, a moderate looking for reform, or you can be part of the anti-royalist French revolutionary political club, Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality. Effectively, they’re socialists before that was used as a dirty word. In fact, being a Jacobin became a pejorative term due to its close-sounding nature to the Scottish pro-Catholic movement, Jacobitism.

Putting aside the art style and general idea of an alt-history turn-based strategy, the Jacobins and that tentative link to Jacobitism sold me on Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution straightaway. That’s also before we talk about my love of games that are ostensibly political with political systems, or turn-based strategy games that are basically presented in gameplay as Advance Wars. The broad strokes of Bonaparte are made up by that smaller-scale 4X thing, where you and other groups make a mad dash to control the regions of France.

Build up the infrastructure in said regions, expand the armies you have fighting, take political prisoners and convince them to join the cause as generals or simply execute them, and build up resources. Typical 4X or tactical/strategy style gameplay, really. However, from time to time, you may use those resources when the groups fighting for supremacy go into a National Convention where you propose, debate, and vote on laws. These can be simple things that gain you favor with the population of France, like removing conscription, or you could propose that the Monarchy can’t use propaganda against the Jacobins.

The political aspects of Bonaparte prove to be an interesting portion, possibly changing the way the revolution plays out as historical figures pop their heads in like a typical Doctor Who episode. It isn’t particularly deep, as you have one of three to five options in each “category,” I guess, which is to serve each three main political systems; left, center, right. What is actually interesting within that system is the voting: Each region you control gives you a sort of proportional vote based on which regions you control and a couple of other factors. These votes are how you get something passed, maybe.

Before reforms are put into law, there is a sort of “debate” where you can see whether someone is in favor or not of the proposed reform. If you don’t have enough votes on your side, you can “Negotiate” with the abstention (undecided) voters and get a few more votes. However, each historical figure or group has its own voting power. For example, you can bring Marquis de Lafayette onto your side with his 28 votes, versus your and Louis XVI’s 4. The trouble is being able to do so, as you need resources such as money or phlogiston to trade for said votes.

Moreover, not every debate is going to result in your ability to persuade certain characters to your side. Some votes on reforms such as allowing everyone in France to have a vote are very quickly put down for the sake of, and I’m quoting Philippe Egalité here, “And what good is the vote of a farmer? They know nothing of running a country.” I’m sure Jeremy Clarkson has another reason to hate the “cheese-eating surrender monkeys,” or as we call them now, the French.

These aren’t the only votes or reforms to be taken, however, as between nearly every turn is a portion of the story. This slows Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution right now mechanically. Sometimes these will be story elements that prompt an in-game fight, requiring a bit of tactical gameplay. Other stoppages are to tell you the King is running for the borders and seeks the aid of the Austrians, which will prompt said fight. From the historical and story perspective, I don’t mind this. As I say, though, it also means less time doing these turn-based tactical battles with mechs I was expecting.

Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution isn’t just a history lesson disguised as a game, as it would be a poor history lesson being alt-history and all. However, neither is it entirely focused on a gameplay-first mindset, which might put a few people off of its more interesting ideas. Does this mean I dislike Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution? Far from it, there is a reason I’ve put in 17 hours with the game over the last two weeks before the early access launch. You could almost say this about anything in early access, but Bonaparte is interesting while hitting a couple of stumbling blocks.

Fans of the typical historical-fiction strategy game, as we see to a degree with Hearts of Iron, Rome: Total War, and probably Civilization or Victoria, will most likely feel at home with Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution. It both has those sorts of ideas behind it, but also a more “accessible” nature to it where you aren’t bogged down in 40-minute turns scrambling through menus. The action is quick and pacey, like an Advance Wars alongside that visual style, but there is also a larger conflict going on than firing muskets, slashing while riding horses, and smashing with your big stompy mech.

There is something familiar yet unique about Bonaparte that is exciting for me as a tactics/strategy fan. Do some units feel heavy-handed in comparison to others? Probably, but there is a lot more than just hitting each other. Your Colossi Phlogistorum can/will build up a meter called heat, which will heavily damage the mech if filled up. Meanwhile, soldier units that are either mounted, armed, or commanding heavy arms will deplete their morale; if you forget it, it can be “confusing” that one goes up and one goes down. So battles are sometimes also about that beyond hitting the enemy, which also has heat buildup and morale decay.

“Style over substance” is the saying, and while Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution is beautifully stylized, there is substance to it. However, the substance is also where I think a majority of the early access period will be focused, refining that to fit a better balance for overall gameplay. This is alongside the roadmap’s three updates set to add/adjust trials, coups d’état, and supremacy.

Ultimately, Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution is a can’t-miss turn-based strategy/tactical title for fans of alternate historical games. Especially fans of the Advance Wars series who also love a bit of that 4X thing, albeit on a smaller scale. From its art style to its gameplay, the overall concept is certainly there. It’s just a matter of how the next few months are spent refining it.

A PC preview copy of Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution was provided by Studio Imugi for the purposes of this review.