Expeditions: Conquistador

6/10
A decent turn-based strategy game with a light story and a setting that will make you understand the core of human aggression and greed. For the glory of Spain and a pat on the back from King Carlos.
Pro - Setting, Better than a history class, a fair representation of Spanish And Native society. Text-Based interactions. Decent combat. Doesn't have gotcha moments like Divinity.
Cons - A bit grindy, Interactions are shallow, Camp management, Crashes if you try to reload in combat. Tiny text means you have to play on a blurry resolution. Bad representation of gender roles, and religion in the 16th century.
Similar Games with a better story - Blackguards.

The game didn't age very well, but I still think it is the most atmospheric one of the whole series. It is definitely the most true one regarding the first part of its name - it is a real expedition.

Backtracking through this series after first playing Rome. Conquistador is entertaining as you try to wrangle a band that never -quite- gets along, all while engaging in a solid turn based strategy as you make a name for yourself in the new world.

Expeditions: Conquistador is the first entry in the Expeditions series of games, which could be accurately described as historical turn-based RPGs with heavy emphasis on players choices. I actually played Expeditions: Vikings first, without knowing it was a sequel to this game. I was pleasantly surprised by it, so I decided to have a go at the other Expeditions games as well.
The year is 1518. and the American continent was only recently discovered. You are the son of a wealthy noble who's been given commission by the king of Spain to organize an expedition into the New World. As you're already experienced with managing soldiers, you are given free hands to choose your companions and take command of the expedition. Inspired by the adventures of Christopher Columbus and encouraged by the prospect of finding fame and fortune, you and your men set sail across the Atlantic ocean.
The story of Expeditions: Conquistador is divided into two parts. The first part takes place on an island of Hispaniola (today's Dominican Republic), where Columbus erected the Spanish settlement of Santa Domingo. After completing the events on Hispaniola, you'll continue your journey to mainland, where the second part of the story unfolds. I have to say that the story of Conquistador is quite good and I was pleased with the amount of impact the player has on the storyline through choices. You will encounter various individuals and native tribes and it's entirely up to you how you'll handle them. The game also possesses a strong atmosphere, created by a mix of random world events, camp management mechanics and fitting background music.
Combat in this game is surprisingly good, considering it's a historically accurate game without magic or other such nonsense. Your companions are divided into classes and you can equip them, promote them and pick their abilities . They also have their uses outside of combat, in random events or daily tasks. You'll need to collect food, make medicine and construct various equipment used in combat. Each night, your expedition stops to camp. During this period, you can assign your expedition members different roles, which can range from guarding or patrolling the camps perimeter to hunting for food or stitching wounds. These "camping mechanics" are what the Expeditions series is famous for, and they were first introduced here.
The presentation aspect of the game is not as good. The camera outside of combat is absolutely terrible and most of the time it's impossible to tell where you're going without consulting the map. Picking up items or interacting with objects is buggy as hell. The graphics are passable at best, with no scaling options for higher resolutions. The game has lengthy dialogues and no voice acting, which can be tedious. But you eventually get used to all that.
Expeditions: Conquistador is an unpolished game, but definitely one worth of playing. If you regularly play story-oriented RPGs, you'll be refreshed by the different approach Expeditions: Conquistador takes.
Score (out of 10):
7.5

Expeditions: Conquistador is a historical CRPG in a unique time period that doesn't get nearly enough attention as a video game setting. I stumbled upon it on the steam page and although it looked a little dated (and felt it at times) it was nothing I could not look past and after completing it I have to say it is definitely on my list of favorite games.
If you enjoy C-RPGs and history then I think it is a great game to play through, especially at it's sale price of 3.99. It isn't exactly super strictly historical and sometimes even ends up tastefully and rarely being low fantasy but it is enough to immerse the player and does a good job of showing the time period. It nails all the boxes for a solid CRPG and while it is nothing supremely special in that regard, sometimes feeling a little under designed in some gameplay aspects, it is made up for by it's setting and nailing the things that do matter for what it is trying to accomplish. Choices matter, people die, mistakes will ruin your expedition just like it would for those who showed up on the coast of Mexico as explorers. The gameplay is challenging, especially on the higher difficulties and I thoroughly enjoyed playing through it. The graphics of the game are nothing to write home about, but the overall feel of the game almost gives off a charming CD-ROM game of the past type of vibe and the charm never wore off the farther I played. There were definitely a couple of opportunities I felt like the developers could've thrown a bone to the player and let them have a little more fun, come on let me domesticate the jaguar and control it in battle! or play 12 v 12 on the big battles! but overall I have no serious complaints. All around solid game.
I am excited to see what the rest of the expeditions series is about after playing this game and I highly recommend Expeditions: Conquistador.

Bit of a learning curve but once you get the hang of it, it's extremely engaging and fun to explore and battle and role play as a conquistador and make decisions that really matter and affect the outcome. If you like turn based squad strategy and historical games, check it out.

Pretty fun, hard core, turn based strategy that you will need to start over at least once before you really have a clue... But is fun and interesting! Lot's of detail and cool original content!
This has sat in my Inv for maybe a decade, finely took it out and am really liking it!