Our Verdict
Call of Dragons is a solid strategy MMO but it lacks innovation, though this didn’t detract from my enjoyment. However, the voice acting isn’t synchronised, so it can feel a bit discombobulating at times.
Another day, another mobile game grabs my attention. On this occasion, it’s Call of Dragons, an MMO fantasy conquest title by Farlight Games, the team behind Rise of Kingdoms. Naturally, this means you can go in expecting plenty of combat, though for people like me, it might not always go your way. I’ll explain why.
Call of Dragons, much like Rise of Kingdoms, requires you to think strategically when it comes to combat, though I’m living proof that you can just throw caution to the wind, press buttons, throw out soldiers, and hope for the best. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before you can get out into the world and fight the good fight, you need to choose your legion.
When you begin the game, you can choose between elves, mages, and total brutes. For some reason, I was feeling particularly dainty and went with elves for the use of arrows and ranged combat, which isn’t something I tend to do. I’m usually the Leeroy Jenkins of the group, just running in and getting it over with. However, on this occasion, I thought, ‘sure, I can be strategic, I can fight from a distance, I can be an elf!’ But alas, this was the wrong move on my part.
Sure, you can recruit all manner of warriors as you progress in the game, but I can’t say the tree-hugging forest life is for me. Though I won’t deny how stunning my quaint little city is thanks to the impressive graphics on display in Call of Dragons. If nothing else, it’s one of the best-looking mobile games I’ve seen in quite some time.
Besides featuring strategic combat, Call of Dragons also tasks you with building your city, a concept the majority of mobile gamers are bound to be familiar with, as many games feature this mechanic. You need to create structures that enable you to perform various tasks, for instance, to better discover the world around you, it’s best to send out scouts, but you can’t achieve this without a rangers hut.
Your scouts can discover all sorts of things out in the world, including new lands to explore, enemies to defeat, and territories to win. Tamaris, the land in which Call of Dragons takes place is huge, so trust me when I say you’re never short of things to do. Even when some tasks take a while to finish, you can still find something to occupy yourself with. In this regard, Call of Dragons is a solid strategy game, and it does what it sets out to do.
If at any point you find yourself struggling to decide what to do, not to worry, as the characters within Call of Dragons are keen to help you out, especially in the early stages, explaining what’s going on and how to combat it. But that does lead to one of my biggest gripes with the mobile game.
While I can appreciate the voice acting, the fact that it’s so wildly out of sink with the character’s lips is a bit off-putting. Sometimes it feels like I’m watching a really bad lip sync from RuPaul’s Drag Race in all honesty. I’m usually an advocate for voice acting in mobile games, but when it’s this out of whack, I’m actually on the side of just reading the text. However, while this is an issue for me, it might not be for you. So should dodgy synchronisation not bother you, then you might appreciate the voice work in Call of Dragons.
In truth, Call of Dragons is worth a try for anyone that appreciates an intriguing world, well-designed strategic combat, and an assortment of characters that serve their purpose. How well your city and kingdom does is entirely in your hands and if that’s something that appeals to you, Farlight’s title is a treat – just maybe play the game on silent if the out-of-whack voice acting irritates you.
Should you decide to dive into the MMO, make sure that you check out our Call of Dragon codes guide and Call of Dragons tier list to get some extra help.