King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame
- November 24, 2009
- NeocoreGames
- 18h median play time
It's a grand strategy game that dares to veer off the beaten track, which brings with it a host of great gameplay, mixed with some annoying and unhelpful quirks. Recommended for fans of the Total War series.
Get on Steam"King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame" is a strategy game set in a mythical version of medieval Britain. As Arthur, you'll build Camelot, recruit famous heroes like Lancelot and Merlin, and fight in real-time battles against human and supernatural enemies. Your heroes' strengths and weaknesses will impact the outcome of battles, making unit composition and management crucial.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique blend of RTS and RPG elements, allowing players to engage in tactical battles while managing a kingdom and making moral choices.
- The storyline and Arthurian lore are engaging, providing a rich narrative experience that enhances gameplay.
- The game features a variety of quests and character customization options, adding depth and replayability to the overall experience.
- The game is plagued by frequent crashes and technical issues, particularly on modern systems, making it nearly unplayable for many users.
- The AI can be unbalanced, often overwhelming players with superior numbers and abilities, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The controls and camera mechanics are clunky, which can detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- story98 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story is a significant highlight, drawing players into a rich retelling of Arthurian legend through engaging text-based quests and a choose-your-own-adventure format that impacts gameplay. While the narrative is praised for its depth and immersive atmosphere, technical issues and crashes detract from the overall experience. Players appreciate the blend of strategy and RPG elements, with choices affecting character development and faction relations, making the story both enjoyable and replayable.
“If you're into Arthurian legend, then this game will draw you into its story, which involves unlocking heroes and powers that can assist you on the battlefield.”
“The story is engaging, the combat is exciting and fun, and the art direction really brings the Arthurian legend to life.”
“The game therefore heavily hinges on its story, which luckily is mostly enjoyable.”
“King Arthur lore fans, be careful as the story is very inaccurate.”
“Some of the story missions become a wall of text and a type of 'choose your own adventure' book, where a wrong decision can alter the outcome and hurt you in an upcoming battle.”
“Not even close, the difficulty of this game's missions swings at random from stupidly easy to nigh impossible, with no regard to the game's difficulty setting or even the description of its missions.”
- gameplay26 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame" is a mixed bag, with some players praising its rich RPG elements and strategic depth, while others criticize its poor mechanics and frequent crashes. The game offers a unique blend of strategy and RPG mechanics reminiscent of Total War, featuring a strong progression system and a morality dynamic that enhances choice-based gameplay. However, the overall execution is seen as lacking polish, leading to a frustrating experience for some users.
“Great story and fun gameplay.”
“King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame has a lot of depth and you really come to appreciate it as the game progresses, adding more and more mechanics along the way.”
“An interesting and oft-overlooked gem, it offers a unique take on total war-style gameplay, both in the campaign and in the battles.”
“So bad... crashes randomly, keyboard stops responding in the middle of battles, tutorial completely useless, outdated gameplay, graphics, etc... just don't.”
“It's a rather bad gameplay experience.”
“Poor mechanics and not very well made.”
- graphics20 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful art style and rich atmosphere, while others criticize technical issues such as crashes and outdated visuals. Many users appreciate the unique artwork and variety in unit designs, but note that the graphics could benefit from updates to match modern standards. Overall, while the visuals are often described as nice or surprisingly good, they are overshadowed by performance problems and inconsistencies in gameplay.
“Great visuals, atmosphere, story, sounds and music.”
“Nice graphics, beautiful art style, half decent plot, good music and great fantasy atmosphere.”
“Graphically, the game is quite beautiful and there is a nice variety of units and hero customization.”
“It has graphic problems and runtime errors.”
“So bad... crashes randomly, keyboard stops responding in the middle of battles, tutorial completely useless, outdated gameplay, graphics, etc... just don't.”
“Battle concept almost entirely identical to Total War, but all aspects (controls/battle depth/graphics) worse than RTW, which was released years before this game.”
- stability8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some players find enjoyment in the game, the persistent bugs and unresponsive interface have led to negative reviews and frustration among the community.
“Bypass it and it freezes on the end turn for the next battle.”
“Crashes and freezes too much.”
“While I find myself wanting to like this game, as it does have some very fun moments, the overall lackluster polish that is the glitches and crashes ruins the game for me.”
- music8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its captivating and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience with a rich soundscape that complements the visuals and story. While some reviewers noted that the music can be a bit repetitive, it is generally well-adapted to the game's mood and contributes significantly to the fantasy atmosphere. Overall, the combination of great music and detailed graphics creates memorable moments for players.
“Great visuals, atmosphere, story, sounds, and music.”
“Detailed graphics, very nice music, and well-drawn pictures add to King Arthur on top of the gameplay.”
“The music is captivating as well.”
“Another high point is the music, a bit repetitive, but quite adapted to the mood of the game.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its stunning visuals, beautiful art style, and immersive sound design, which collectively create a rich fantasy environment. While the story is engaging, some players note that the gameplay can be challenging at times and may experience occasional bugs. Overall, the atmosphere significantly enhances the gaming experience, contributing to its replayability.
“Great visuals, atmosphere, story, sounds, and music.”
“Nice graphics, beautiful art style, good music, and a great fantasy atmosphere.”
“Rich atmosphere (graphics and music), known but interesting story, fun to play, although some battles are quite tough, great replayability.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a robust morality and religion system that significantly enhances replayability, allowing players to explore different roles and choices. With a rich atmosphere, engaging story, and enjoyable gameplay, it offers a well-rounded experience that encourages multiple playthroughs. Overall, players find the replay value to be quite strong, despite some challenging battles.
“The morality/religion system offers real trade-offs and greatly increases replayability.”
“The morality system adds nice replay value to the game, as you can replay the game and take on a different role as the good guy or bad guy...or maybe a bit in between.”
“Rich atmosphere (graphics and music), known but interesting story, fun to play, although some battles are quite tough, great replayability.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers note that the humor in the game is reminiscent of Creative Assembly's current Warhammer titles, but it was executed earlier and with more impact, highlighting its cleverness and originality.
“The funny thing looking back at it now is that a lot of the formula Creative Assembly is using now with Warhammer, this did much earlier and with greater effect.”
“The humor in this game is absolutely top-notch, with clever writing and hilarious character interactions that keep you laughing throughout.”
“I love how the game doesn't take itself too seriously, with witty dialogue and absurd situations that make every playthrough a joy.”
