Ruling a kingdom is surely not an easy task and players soon come to learn that in Brave At Night’s Yes, Your Grace.

As King Eryk, you’re called upon to give gold, resources, and military support to patrons from all across the kingdom of Davern. It could be you need to kick some unruly types out of a tavern, or fight back against a small army raiding a nearby village.

Maybe there’s a more intricate plot at play that will see you gain the trust of a potential ally who will then rally to your banners.

There’s just so much to think about and only a finite amount of time and wealth that can be bestowed as you progress through the game’s weekly cycle. You can’t save and support everyone, which means difficult choices have to be made.

That’s where the game really shines, in providing players with such varied choice. But all through this, you also need to make sure you’re spending appropriate time with your family, paying attention to them, being a good father figure and role model.

All while trying to navigate your way through a particularly messy assassination plot and a confrontation with past mistakes. That’s why recruiting allies while trying to maintain the morale of your kingdom is so vital.

By the end, you’ll need everyone on side to ensure you can see the game through to conclusion. But it won’t be easy.

Yes, Your Grace is essentially a management simulation. Each week begins with the king sat in his throne room, calling upon petitioners to say their piece and make their requests. Resource wise, you just have money and food to think about, along with kingdom happiness, but it’s only in limited supply and at the end of each week, there may be some form of debt to pay.

The King can earn extra money on occasion by summoning his general to help out at various landmarks which appear throughout the game. Your past actions may also merit you some reward – though they could also come attached with a hefty penalty.

Again, it all plays into this idea that actions have consequences and you will need to think very carefully about how you respond to each request and spend your time each week.

As the King, you’ll move through various rooms in your kingdom – from the dungeon to the castle walls, communicating with family, friends, allies, and acquaintances, all while trying to manage the happiness of your kingdom by restoring broken buildings, creating new ones, and enforcing order within your own four walls.

The game is great, honestly. It has a really witty sense of humour, there’s some really fun decisions to make – as well as some stressful ones, hoo boy – and the characters really have their own sense of individuality.

It’s the perfect Switch game, and it’s one you’ll find difficult to stop playing as you want to see how the story plays out week on week, as well as how some of your bigger decisions land and where it leads you.

I’m just such a huge admirer of what’s been achieved here. For me, Yes, Your Grace has to be one of the top independent titles of the year, both in terms of how it’s presented, but also in how compelling it ends up being.

Sometimes you’ll just know you did the wrong thing and you’ll hate yourself for it weeks later – especially when it keeps cropping back up to haunt you – but you know you have to live with it. And if you’d done the opposite, that opposing decision could have been just as impactful in a different way.

Yes, Your Grace loves putting the player in a difficult position, but even when it does, you’ll still keep coming back for more because you want to know how it all ends – good or bad.

This is a fantastic game that just became even more essential on Nintendo Switch. Yes, Your Grace is what happens when you have a fluid combination of great storytelling and a well-designed simulation that makes the player feel like they’re in control.

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Yes, Your Grace is now available on PC, PS4, XO, and Switch

Tested on Switch

Code provided by Publisher