King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame

Its light on the strategy, but an intriguing dark fantasy tale and RPG elements lift King Arthur II above the average.

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King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame is a strategy title that combines turn-based strategy and role-playing elements. The game is set in a mythical version of Britain and follows the story of King Arthur and his quest to save the realm from otherworldly invaders. Players must build and manage their armies, engage in tactical battles, and make decisions that affect the outcome of the story.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

57%

Audience ScoreBased on 212 reviews

story36 positive mentions

optimization12 negative mentions

The game features a captivating story and engaging RPG elements that enhance the gameplay experience.
The graphics and art style are visually appealing, providing an immersive atmosphere.
The combination of RTS and RPG mechanics, including unit progression and spellcasting, adds depth to the gameplay.

The game suffers from severe performance issues, including low frame rates and frequent crashes, making it frustrating to play.
Many mechanics feel unpolished and clunky, leading to a lack of tactical depth in battles.
The game is overly linear, restricting player choices and making the experience feel constrained compared to its predecessor.

story
106 mentions
34 % positive mentions
63 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally well-received, with many players finding it engaging and immersive, particularly praising its unique blend of RPG and RTS elements, as well as its captivating narrative and character choices that impact gameplay. However, some critiques highlight issues with linear progression, technical flaws, and a lack of depth in certain character arcs, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the storytelling and atmosphere are often described as strong points, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of story-driven strategy games.
- “The game's story is very engaging during the main campaign.”
- “The storytelling in this game is fantastic and the combat is very fun.”
- “The story carries you away; actions you take move you into the path of good or evil, and it affects your units and the outcomes.”
- “You can't even split armies until you're more than a third through the story mode, which is on hard rails.”
- “The story is very forcefully linear.”
- “After some hours, you just don't care anymore with the quests and story elements; you just click the first option that appears and go to a battle.”
graphics
33 mentions
39 % positive mentions
52 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the art style and impressive visuals, while others criticize technical issues, dated graphics, and performance problems. Many players note that despite the potential for beautiful design, the game suffers from glitches and instability, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, while there are moments of visual excellence, the game's graphical performance is inconsistent and often disappointing.
- “All in all, I love the game, good story, beautiful art, and graphics.”
- “If you succeed in getting this game to run, you will find yourself treated to a well-designed and original strategy RPG with breathtaking visuals, fun gameplay, and a beautifully presented branching narrative.”
- “The game's graphics are amazingly well done, some of the best RTS visuals I have ever seen, while still maintaining colossal battles on scales similar to the Total War series.”
- “The game runs horribly and physically hurts to play (if you can get that far), along with graphics looking like they were created on a fancy potato.”
- “Lastly, the graphics seem kind of flat and honestly almost unfinished.”
- “The frame rate is abysmal; the artwork is mediocre and definitely substandard to King Arthur 1... in short, this game was the biggest disappointment to my Steam purchases so far.”
gameplay
30 mentions
27 % positive mentions
63 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, featuring interesting mechanics and immersive quests that appeal to fans of strategy RPGs, particularly those who enjoy the King Arthur lore. However, many players note a lack of polish and refinement, with clumsy formatting, bugs, and imbalanced gameplay detracting from the overall experience. While the game offers unique role-playing elements and a branching narrative, it struggles to compete with more polished titles in the genre, leaving some players disappointed.
- “In my opinion, it's well worth overcoming the odd bit of jank or obscure mechanic to experience how unique of an experience this game is.”
- “If you succeed in getting this game to run, you will find yourself treated to a well-designed and original strategy RPG with breathtaking visuals, fun gameplay, and a beautifully presented branching narrative.”
- “The text adventures are still fun as ever, adding a wild card to the gameplay which puts you in a wide variety of situations, and gives a unique flavor to the storytelling in this game.”
- “The core mechanics are there but it severely lacks in refinement and polish.”
- “The battle is a problem; if you compare the role-play battle mechanics of this game with others of the same style like Total War, you'll find the game falls behind in that aspect.”
- “Flat boring gameplay.”
optimization
24 mentions
17 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with many players reporting severe performance issues, crashes, and numerous bugs that hinder gameplay. While a few users experienced smooth performance on lower-end machines, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized, making it nearly unplayable for many. Players are advised to try the demo first, as performance can vary significantly and may be a crucial factor in deciding whether to purchase the game.
- “I didn't experience performance issues or bugs yet and played at 'graphics: very high' @ dual core 3.2 GHz and Radeon R7 200 series - no high-end machine.”
- “Game runs smoothly enough, but it seems bogged down with all the exposition.”
- “Great art, great atmosphere, brutal optimization.”
- “Poor performance and the main campaign doesn't even start.”
- “It's so badly optimized that it's almost unplayable in my opinion.”
- “This game has the potential to turn into something great, but instead we are left with a badly optimized, laggy mess.”
stability
15 mentions
13 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
87 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many users reporting frequent bugs, crashes, and performance issues, particularly during the main campaign. While some players note improvements in performance over time, glitches and sluggishness remain prevalent, affecting the overall experience. Despite these flaws, fans of the series may still find enjoyment in the game, albeit with significant technical challenges.
- “The game used to run poorly, but it runs great now.”
- “Running the game through King Arthur's game folder (not Steam), it runs smoothly!”
- “It is very buggy and randomly crashes.”
- “After a certain point, the game becomes buggy and crashes often, and the battles become the same formula over and over.”
- “The game is not without flaws, including some graphical glitches especially around flying units.”
music
8 mentions
50 % positive mentions
13 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players praising its ability to enhance immersion and complement the visuals and storytelling. While some describe the soundtrack as fantastic, others find it merely okay, but overall, it contributes positively to the game's atmosphere despite technical issues affecting gameplay.
- “The soundtrack is absolutely fantastic and adds to the immersion.”
- “The music really fits the scenery and definitely ensnares a player into the game.”
- “Love the character models, okay soundtrack, impressive visuals, solid combat, and enthralling storytelling (you can tell the voice actors really got into it, haha).”
- “The music was fine.”
- “There's a lot going for it such as great visuals, atmosphere, story, sounds, and music, but the game suffers from technical instability and can regularly crash.”
- “Music is fine, but the game will lock up promptly at the start and end if you don't move your mouse.”
replayability
5 mentions
40 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game exhibits limited replayability, primarily due to its simplified mechanics that reduce depth. While the engaging story mode and the option to replay text quests with different decisions offer some replay value, it may not meet the expectations of players seeking a more varied experience.
- “But the story mode is engaging enough to have replayability.”
- “There is some replay value since you can do the text quests again with different decisions to see what happens.”
- “The game, however, lacks replayability.”
- “It just doesn't have the replay value I want in a game for me to recommend it.”
- “The biggest change seems to be the simplification of many aspects of the game, which results in a clear loss of depth and replayability, but at the same time makes the game more accessible to casual players.”
atmosphere
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its deep visuals, compelling story, and immersive sound design, creating a captivating experience. However, technical instability and frequent crashes detract from the overall enjoyment, overshadowing the otherwise impressive artistic elements.
- “Great deep atmosphere.”
- “Great art, great atmosphere, brutal optimization.”
- “There's a lot going for it such as great visuals, atmosphere, story, sounds, and music.”
grinding
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some battles can be automated, mandatory battles can feel tedious. However, the enjoyment of using powerful magic spells to defeat enemies offers a refreshing alternative to the slow grind typical of other strategy games like Total War.
- “Some battles can be auto-played, but some are mandatory, which makes it tedious.”
- “I enjoyed the feeling of destroying other armies with powerful magic spells; it was a nice change from slowly grinding units down like in Total War.”
humor
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is perceived as lacking, especially in comparison to other strategy games like the Total War series, where tactical battles offer more engaging and amusing experiences. Overall, players find the game's humor to be less effective and less controllable.
- “The humor in this game is absolutely delightful, making even the most intense moments feel light-hearted and fun.”
- “I love how the game incorporates witty dialogue and hilarious scenarios that keep me laughing throughout my playthrough.”
- “The quirky characters and their funny interactions add a unique charm to the gameplay, making it a truly enjoyable experience.”