9 Kings

About

9 Kings is a single player tactical role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Sad Socket and was released on May 23, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

This game is a work in progress. It may or may not change over time or release as a final product. Purchase only if you are comfortable with the current state of the unfinished game. Build your city into the most powerful of all kingdoms through endless combinations of buildings, units, spells, and positioning. Take advantage of chaotic combos and powerful perks to break the game and become overp…

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93%

Audience ScoreBased on 9,509 reviews

gameplay412 positive mentions

grinding81 negative mentions

Enjoyable and addictive gameplay with a clever blend of roguelike mechanics, deckbuilding, and auto-battler elements.
Nine different kings provide distinct playstyles and strategies, adding variety and replayability to each run.
Regular and meaningful updates from attentive developers who actively improve balance, content, and game modes like Quest Mode, which adds challenging and unique scenarios.

The game suffers from significant balance issues, especially in the Quest Mode and later difficulty levels, where some quests feel nearly impossible without perfect RNG.
Heavy reliance on RNG can make runs feel more like gambling than strategic gameplay, leading to frustration and lack of meaningful player agency.
Tendency for exponential scaling and multiplicative buffs to overshadow strategic depth, resulting in repetitive gameplay and long, slow battles that can cause performance issues or crashes on some hardware.

gameplay
905 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
50%
4%
9 Kings offers a uniquely addictive gameplay loop that blends roguelike deckbuilding, auto-battler, and tower defense elements with simple mechanics that are easy to learn but offer strategic depth and a high skill ceiling. Each king introduces distinct playstyles and synergies, creating variety and encouraging experimentation, though the core gameplay can become repetitive over extended play and some mechanics and balancing still need refinement. Frequent updates and a compelling quest mode add freshness, but overall, the gameplay shines best during the early to mid stages, delivering a satisfying and rewarding experience for fans of strategic, number-scaling games.
- “9 kings is one of those games that hooks you almost immediately with its clever blend of roguelike mechanics and strategic card-based gameplay.”
- “The gameplay loop is fun and addicting, and so far in early access the devs have already made a ton of improvements.”
- “The core gameplay loop is solid, and it’s easy to lose track of time playing.”
- “The core gameplay loop is solid but repetitive, and the differences between factions aren’t quite enough to mask how similar runs start to feel.”
- “The gameplay does get repetitive as the winning strat for each king is pretty much set in stone in the harder difficulties.”
- “Despite having simple mechanics this game still take some skill and strategizing before you could conquer every level you take.”
story
597 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
69%
7%
The game lacks a traditional story or narrative, focusing instead on gameplay and emergent storytelling through its mechanics. The recently added quest mode greatly expands content and replayability by offering unique, often puzzle-like challenges tied to different factions, though it suffers from significant balance issues and excessive reliance on RNG, resulting in frustration for many players. Overall, while the quest mode adds depth and variety, it is criticized for unfair difficulty spikes and luck-based failures rather than skill-based progression.
- “The quest mode offers a challenging experience, often leading to moments of frustration, especially when players are faced with subpar unit cards.”
- “Beyond this, the recently added quest modes give additional incentive to try out new kings or builds that you might not have thought of previously, and a lot of the quests function as puzzles that you need to solve in order to win.”
- “The quest mode is the most interesting but even that you can lose to RNG, it forces you to learn each king specifically, and the difficulty pushes you to optimize and min max every decision, every plot of land, and learn how to snowball your troops.”
- “The quest game mode is impossibly difficult and doesn't let you use any perks from your main progression, which is complete nonsense.”
- “The game in quest mode is pure RNG; if you don't get the right cards in the first one to three turns, immediately restart. Quests aren't really quests but rather a redo-over-and-over until the RNG lines up to what you need.”
- “Edit: quest mode continues to be so awful that I'll maintain my negative review. What was previously a decent game is now reduced to RNG hell for anyone trying to play beyond the absolute surface level.”
replayability
317 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
41%
3%
The game offers extensive replayability driven by its variety of 9 unique kings, diverse card combinations, synergies, and different playstyles, making each run feel fresh and engaging. Frequent updates, progression systems, and added modes like quest challenges further enhance replay value, though some reviewers note that build variety can become limited over time and that replayability might plateau without more content or balancing. Overall, it is praised as highly addictive and replayable, especially for a roguelike, with potential for even greater longevity as development continues.
- “Every run presents new combinations and possibilities, which gives the game a strong sense of replayability that keeps you coming back for “just one more run.””
- “Great level of complexity and replayability, lots of builds and interactions, the addition of quest mode added a ton of fun to be had, each update is a banger.”
- “The combinations of cards, strategies, and options gives the game a lot of replayability.”
- “For an entry in a genre known for replayability and variation, this game just doesn't cut it, sorry.”
- “These in-between games like 9kings where you get to use 9 permanent perks are so disappointing and lose so much of their replayability.”
- “This removes all real replayability of the game when paired with an absent meta-progression system.”
graphics
280 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
53%
4%
The game's graphics feature a charming, nostalgic pixel art style that is distinctive, effective, and well-suited to the gameplay, evoking a cozy old-school aesthetic. While some users find the visuals simple or occasionally cluttered during intense battles, many appreciate the clean, memorable design of cards and units, which enhances strategic clarity without distracting from the core mechanics. Minor graphical issues and UI glitches have been reported, but overall, the art style is praised for its personality, cohesiveness, and ability to complement the addictive gameplay loop.
- “The pixel art style and design of each card is lovely to look at and the game is pretty intuitive to pick up.”
- “Visually, 9 kings leans into a pixel art style that adds a nostalgic charm without feeling dated.”
- “The graphics and sound design are spot-on.”
- “Graphical issues which seem to have been known to exist for some time.”
- “I also encountered a few graphical issues with the UI where on keyboard and mouse, if I hovered over the option I wanted to select, the interface would glitch out and showcase an option I wasn’t touching.”
- “Have had a largely unplayable graphics glitch since the first day I played it (started mild and got worse over a run until it was basically unplayable).”
optimization
128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The game shows strong optimization in early and mid-game stages, running smoothly on various platforms, including PC and Steam Deck. However, it suffers significant performance drops, lag, and crashes in late and endless mode, especially with high unit counts or prolonged runs, which the developers are actively working to improve through patches. Despite these issues, frequent updates and ongoing optimization efforts continue to enhance stability and gameplay experience.
- “The introduction of new cards and a massive performance update were also introduced, with the latter allowing the game to run fine even when thousands of units are on the screen.”
- “Performance and bugs: as of right now, it performs really well, even at immense battles since they updated it, and they are continuously providing fixes when it comes to new found bugs, I never found one myself, and if I did, I didn't notice.”
- “I loved it a lot during the early access, and originally my only complaint was about the stability of the game, especially in the endless mode, but not long after the full release the devs have done a couple of patches already really severely improving performance/stability now, it's much better and I've had several runs now that went into multi-hundred rounds without crashing... in fact, I haven't crashed once since the big stability patch last month.”
- “Finally, the game is really, really poorly optimized... as in not at all.”
- “I had a run with 30k+ troops and the game crashed; it needs some serious optimization updates.”
- “Huge performance problems and game crashes in endless mode are the negative points.”
grinding
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
95%
Grinding in the game is often described as repetitive, tedious, and sometimes frustrating, with a heavy reliance on spending long hours repeating similar tasks to unlock perks or progress. While some players find this grind rewarding and enjoy the meta-progression and achievement hunting, many feel the pacing and emphasis on grinding detracts from enjoyment, especially at higher difficulty levels where success often depends more on grinding than skill. Improvements like better balancing, less repetitive content, and safety nets to reduce grind fatigue could enhance the overall experience.
- “Winning often feels like it only happens when the game hands it to you, rather than through consistent skill, which makes grinding less enjoyable.”
- “Speaking of those higher difficulties, they're reached very quickly if you simply focus on one king, but your other kings may be significantly handicapped if you attempt them before grinding... and grinding... and grinding... in order to unlock perks, which are mostly dull stat increases.”
- “This game had an interesting concept, however, it is not deep at all and just requires way too much grinding in boring runs just to unlock new content, which in return then also gets boring pretty fast.”
music
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
48%
4%
The music in the game generally receives positive feedback for its chill, satisfying, and fitting ambiance that complements the pixel art style and gameplay, often described as cute and 8-bit inspired. However, some players find it repetitive, limited in variety, or overwhelming due to certain sound effects, and a few critique its presence as underwhelming or annoying. Overall, the soundtrack is appreciated as a solid, enjoyable aspect that enhances the game's atmosphere, though it could benefit from more variety and improved sound balancing.
- “Putting that aside, this is a fantastic roguelite deckbuilder with beautiful graphics, addicting gameplay loop, and cool music.”
- “I love the pixel art, the music is very satisfying and the gameplay is very well balanced!”
- “The music, visuals, sfx, and the overall style of the game is fantastic, no complaints there.”
- “There is also only one music track and the sounds of dying soldiers will be seared into your brain.”
- “Awful sound design where you have these ear-screeching rats that have a squeak 20 dB higher than every other sound effect, boring music, and you have to grind for tens of hours to get any depth beyond a 2010 flash game.”
- “The soundtrack is fine but becomes repetitive over time.”
humor
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game’s humor is widely praised for its quirky, funny characters, amusing bugs, and hilarious, often game-breaking combos that keep players entertained and laughing. Players appreciate the lighthearted tone, witty in-game messages, and the delight of experimenting with ridiculous strategies, despite occasional crashes and balance issues. Overall, the humor adds a charming and enjoyable layer to the gameplay experience.
- “The game is hilarious in a no-holding-back approach to how all the different cards work together and result in some ridiculous results.”
- “Great sense of humor from the devs with fun little messages for you to find if you beat the game and maybe more if you survive long enough in infinite mode.”
- “I've been laughing my ass off every time I find a new broken combo.”
stability
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
2%
88%
The game demonstrates generally good performance in early stages and on platforms like Steam Deck, but experiences frequent crashes, freezes, and graphical glitches—especially in later rounds or endless mode when many units and large numbers are involved. These stability issues, including game-locking bugs and unbalanced mechanics, hinder the experience but are somewhat mitigated by active developer support and fast load times. Overall, while still buggy as expected in early access, the core gameplay remains engaging and enjoyable.
- “Looks great, plays great, runs great.”
- “My playtime is entirely on the Steam Deck; it runs great, easy to hop in and out of.”
- “I have experienced no glitches or bugs in my small time of playing but will continue to play.”
- “Especially through and past rounds 30-100 it's really difficult to watch because it just freezes and turns into blinding lightning-like glitchy flashes.”
- “Game crashes frequently at low levels now (about every third run completely freezes in the level 10-20 range).”
- “It becomes unplayable — sometimes it just freezes for minutes, and sometimes you’re forced to kill the game entirely.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its relaxing, chill vibe complemented by fitting music and sound effects that enhance immersion, despite occasional annoyances. Its blend of innovative gameplay with coherent visuals and sounds creates a uniquely satisfying and immersive environment, appealing especially to fans of deep lore and atmospheric worlds. Overall, the atmosphere encourages laid-back, engaging play sessions that invite players to unwind and explore.
- “Music and sound effects (though sometimes annoying, looking at you damage/death sounds) also help solidify the atmosphere the game presents - this is a game you lean back in your chair and play on a calm Sunday afternoon.”
- “9kings delivers an innovative and refreshing gameplay experience wrapped in a relaxing, chill atmosphere.”
- “The visuals and sounds work well together and create an enjoyable atmosphere when placing cards, and when tiles trigger each other.”
emotional
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional experience of the game mirrors the frustration and challenge of solo-ranked matches, starting with confidence and ending in exasperation. However, the developers' attentiveness to feedback and thoughtful improvements create a rewarding and satisfying feeling, making players feel valued and engaged.
- “This thing has the exact same emotional arc as solo-queuing ranked: you start confident, you end whispering 'why would you do this to me' at a piece of cardboard.”
- “Made me feel like a king 10/10”
- “They are really good at listening to feedback, and touching up even niche features and parts of the game not everyone is experiencing.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The game stands out by avoiding typical mobile game microtransactions, offering a fair monetization approach that respects players. Its perk system adds depth and variety without relying on pay-to-win mechanics, making it a refreshing indie title in today's market.
- “If you hate the direction game development is going in recently with microtransactions, broken promises, and utter disdain for players, or if you just want to play a super fun roguelite tower defense game that just keeps getting better, you've come to the right place!”
- “If you hate the direction game development is going in recently with the microtransactions, broken promises, and utter disdain for players, or if you just want to play a super fun roguelite tower defense game that just keeps getting better, you've come to the right place!”
- “Made in the style of a mobile game without microtransactions”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users appreciate the character development for its expressive pixel art style and cohesive visual storytelling, with character designs closely tied to thematic elements like each king's card UI. The game effectively blends automated battles and deck-building mechanics, enhancing engagement through unique and satisfying character-related aesthetics.
- “The pixel art style is reminiscent of Risk of Rain, with surprisingly expressive character design and visual storytelling.”
- “The 'art' card UI is unified to each king's character design themes and satisfying (think Death Must Die, but with a more minimalist, pixel-driven flair.)”
- “Deadlock had cool character design and the battles were automated and based on the buildings and such in your city. This channels that and it adds deck builder board game elements.”