King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame

51%
Game Brain Score Based on 428 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame Game Cover
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.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

51%
Audience ScoreBased on 428 reviews
story73 positive mentions
optimization24 negative mentions
  • The game features a captivating story and engaging RPG elements that enhance the overall experience.
  • The graphics and art style are visually appealing, providing a unique atmosphere that immerses players in the Arthurian lore.
  • The combination of RTS and RPG mechanics allows for a variety of unit customization and strategic gameplay.
  • The game suffers from severe performance issues, including frequent crashes and poor optimization, making it frustrating to play.
  • Many players have reported bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, including unresponsive units and game-breaking quests.
  • The battle mechanics are often criticized for being simplistic and lacking depth compared to other strategy games, leading to a less engaging experience.
  • story213 mentions

    The game's story is generally engaging and features a captivating narrative, particularly in the single-player campaign, with elements reminiscent of classic RPGs and a "choose your own adventure" style. However, many players noted that the story is linear and can feel restrictive, often leading to frustration with gameplay mechanics and pacing. While the storytelling and voice acting received praise, technical issues and a lack of depth in certain character arcs detracted from the overall experience.

    • “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, and often you realize that the previous options wouldn't make a difference after all.”
  • graphics66 mentions

    The game's graphics receive mixed reviews, with some praising the impressive visuals and art style, while others criticize technical issues, poor performance, and dated graphics. Many players note that despite the aesthetic appeal, the game suffers from significant stability problems, including crashes and graphical glitches. Overall, while there are moments of visual excellence, the inconsistent performance detracts from the experience for many users.

    • “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 KA1... in short, this game was the biggest disappointment to my Steam purchases so far.”
  • gameplay61 mentions

    The gameplay of this title is a mixed bag, featuring interesting mechanics and immersive quests, but it suffers from a lack of polish and refinement, leading to frustrating experiences. While some players appreciate the unique blend of RTS and RPG elements, others criticize the battle mechanics as unbalanced and reminiscent of a lesser version of the Total War series. Overall, the game offers a unique narrative experience, but technical issues and gameplay inconsistencies detract from its potential.

    • “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.”
    • “I enjoyed this RTS; it has some really cool mechanics and the quests inside it are rather immersive.”
    • “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 some others of the same style like Total War, you'll find the game falls behind on that point.”
    • “Flat boring gameplay.”
  • optimization49 mentions

    The optimization of "King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame" has been widely criticized, with many players reporting severe performance issues, crashes, and numerous bugs that hinder gameplay. While some users have 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.”
    • “Then there's the countless bugs all over the place, the fact that the game is so poorly optimized it crashes half the time so you can't even get past the start menu, and the text for the game will force you to squint.”
    • “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.”
  • stability30 mentions

    The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous reports of bugs, crashes, and performance issues, particularly during the main campaign. While some players note improvements over time, many still experience frequent freezing and graphical glitches that impact gameplay. Overall, despite its potential appeal to fans, the game remains plagued by stability problems that detract from the experience.

    • “The game used to run poorly, but it runs great now.”
    • “Running the game through King Arthur's game folder (not Steam), it runs great!”
    • “The game has significantly improved in stability and performance.”
    • “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.”
    • “Third, I am not sure if this is a coding issue, but the game chews a lot of system resources, and my PC isn't slow, but without being on max settings the game glitches if I try to alt+tab, shift-tab, or do anything else that involves leaving it.”
  • music16 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising the soundtrack as fantastic and immersive, enhancing the overall atmosphere and storytelling. Others found the music to be merely fine, though it generally fits well with the game's scenery. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the experience, technical issues have detracted from the enjoyment for some players.

    • “The soundtrack is absolutely fantastic and adds to the immersion.”
    • “Story and music is awesome.”
    • “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, voice acting is okay, but the role play seems to be a choice between ending up a really nice guy or a complete prat. The only bug I have encountered so far is that the game will lock up promptly at the start and end if you don't move your mouse.”
    • “The music really fits the scenery and definitely ensnares a player into the game.”
  • replayability10 mentions

    Overall, the game exhibits limited replayability, primarily due to its simplified mechanics that reduce depth. While the engaging story mode offers some replay value through different decision paths in text quests, many players feel it lacks the depth and variety needed for a strong recommendation.

    • “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.”
  • atmosphere6 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its depth, stunning visuals, and immersive sound design, contributing to a compelling experience. However, players note that technical instability and frequent crashes detract from the overall enjoyment.

    • “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.”
  • grinding4 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 slower, more traditional grinding seen in 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.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is perceived as lacking, particularly in the tactical battles, which are described as less controllable and entertaining compared to similar games like the Total War series. Overall, while the strategy aspect is engaging, the comedic elements fall short.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

66% average critic score

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Play time

35hMedian play time
30hAverage play time
20-40hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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