We all strive to do good things in our lives, don’t we? Becoming a Saint is the highest honor bestowed among many of the greatest in our lifetimes, but you can’t always get there by being nice. Sometimes, you need to make your legacy, “converting” through force and being a silly little gal while you’re doing it. Becoming Saint is a pleasant little surprise, letting me use Sex Workers with Flowers (yes, that’s a real unit in the game) and Leapers to leave my Saintly legacy behind. No matter if you want to control every aspect of the action or let the Autobattler run its course, this is an incredibly engaging affair. Sure, the merchants may have hung me on my first run, but Rosana is back with a vengeance.
You Don’t Convert 500 Million Friends Without Making Some Enemies in ‘Becoming Saint’
At the start of a run in Becoming Saint, I’m tasked with picking the basics of my new order. I’m given multiple choices, and I can pick what I’d like my flock to follow. Do I want to be kind to Merchants, or do I want them to be purged with flame? Should I share my food with the less fortunate, or make them bring more to me? I can be as tyrannical or kind as I’d like. But more often than not, I’ve learned that Kindness converts faster than anything. After spreading my rule, I’m given a few different followers who want to join my flock. It’s up to me to determine who will stay and who will go, so I quickly pick the most powerful units. Sorry to the Book Throwing Monks. Maybe if you’d beg for food, you’d get used more.
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After assembling my first rag-tag group of followers, it’s time to get converting. I select a location on the map, typically the less powerful, the better. I need to build up my flock before I can try and challenge the Pope (yes, you can fight the Pope here), so what better way to do that than “converting” these smaller towns? By “converting”… I mean going in and beating the piss out of anyone that stands in my way, and fighting the leader of the town. Hey, you can’t get the word out about Saint Rosana without a little bit of bloodshed, now can you?
The game feels great to play, and it works incredibly well with a controller. I could imagine that if you have a portable PC like the Steam Deck, this would become an instant favorite for some late-night couch gaming.
Yay! I Converted a Town! Now, Make Sure That They’re Making Enough Bread, or Things Will Go South Quickly
Remember how I said that your actions have consequences in Becoming Saint? Economic impact can make a run go south very quickly. On the way to battle… I mean, converting, the flock needs to eat. These little guys and gals just really like bread. The more bread you have? The more likely you are to succeed. But if you make choices that will impact the economy of your land and your conquest for conversions, you won’t get as much bread to feed your followers. If this happens, they may get fed up and leave, putting you at a severe disadvantage before your next conversion attempt.
If you made a bad choice in Becoming Saint, don’t fret. You may get the opportunity to instill new beliefs into your ever-growing compendium. After successful conversions, there may be an opportunity to collect your thoughts and add new pages to your holy decree. Make the right choices and get rewarded properly. Make bad choices? Prepare to pay the price. But most importantly, make the type of choices that may canonize you upon your Death. Because at the end of the day, we need to be the best we can be, right? Especially if we want to become a Saint.
Becoming Saint is a very interesting take on the typical roguelike genre. There’s a ton to laugh at here, and the auto battler/RTS hybrid gameplay is rather unique. I strongly implore that you try out the tutorial before jumping in, because it can be a little confusing at first. But once you’ve mastered the art of battle… I mean, conversion, nothing can get in your way.
Oh, plus you can pick a cat to be your companion. Instant 10/10 from me for that fact.
