Kingdom Builders
- June 24, 2021
- ebb & flow games
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Kingdom Builders" is a city-building and action-RPG game where you construct your kingdom and fight off enemies alongside your loyal companions. Your villagers will assist you in various tasks, such as chopping wood and attacking foes. Explore procedurally generated dungeons, level up your characters, and defend your kingdom at night to keep your villagers safe from the Corrupted Kingdom. The game features a relaxed playstyle with no time limits or complex mana systems.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a cute art style and charming visuals that appeal to players.
- Gameplay is enjoyable and combines elements of base building and dungeon crawling, providing a fun experience.
- There is potential for future updates to expand content and improve gameplay mechanics.
- The game has been abandoned by the developers, leaving it unfinished and without future updates.
- There is a significant lack of content, with many players completing the game in just a couple of hours.
- Gameplay mechanics are currently shallow, with issues such as poor AI behavior and limited resource management.
- graphics17 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 24 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the cute and charming art style, vibrant colors, and overall aesthetics that evoke comparisons to titles like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. However, some users noted performance issues and described the graphics as simplistic, suggesting that while they fit the game's casual tone, they may not meet the expectations of all players. Overall, the visuals are seen as a strong point, but there are concerns about their execution and performance on various systems.
“The art style is really nice, the controls are simple, the story (what's there anyway) is charming, and the main mechanic is an okay idea.”
“Kingdom Builders is a brand-new casual, light-hearted city builder with a kid-friendly tone and great visuals.”
“World designs: lush green top-down valley with a lot of rich colors and overall cute aesthetics.”
“Maybe in the future it'll be good, but the game is kind of boring at the moment, and I don't understand how I'm having performance problems with it when my computer can run The Division 2 on high graphics.”
“I get that the devs were aiming for something that goes well with the game’s art style, but it did not work out and just sounds like a generic tune mass, so I turned it off.”
“It reminds me a lot of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Stardew Valley, and a basic hack/slash tower defense game, with Link's Awakening (the revamped Switch version) type graphics.”
- gameplay17 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally described as smooth, fun, and intuitive, with a charming art style and simple controls. However, many users express disappointment with the limited content currently available, noting that the game offers only 1-4 hours of gameplay, which feels insufficient for its price. While the core mechanics show potential and are enjoyable, players are eager for more content and improvements, particularly in areas like inventory management and gameplay loops.
“The gameplay is smooth and fun.”
“The gameplay is intuitive and pleasant, and I love the character models.”
“The gameplay is fun and addicting.”
“I know it's early access, but it's also $14.99, so I expected more than 2 hours of gameplay.”
“Currently, the game has about 30 minutes of gameplay to offer, which is really nothing.”
“EA is simply not an excuse to put out a foundation of a game with little to no gameplay loop and charge way more than what it's worth.”
- story6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The story in the game is described as minimal, with some users noting that it lacks depth beyond the initial cutscene. While the narrative has a charming premise about building an empire and overcoming familial darkness, many feel it is underdeveloped and not substantial enough to warrant a purchase. The art style and design are praised, but the overall storytelling leaves much to be desired.
“The art style is really nice, the controls are simple, the story (what's there anyway) is charming, and the main mechanic is an okay idea.”
“I love the cute design of this game and the story is about building your own empire far from the darkness of your family member to retake control of what the prince has lost.”
“It reminds me of 'New Little King's Story' for the PS Vita.”
“I was looking forward to the story expanding, but development has ended, so do not buy this game.”
“Secondly, there's barely any story besides the opening cutscene.”
“The story is about building your own empire far from the darkness of your family member to retake control of what the prince has lost.”
- stability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been a significant issue for many players, with frequent bugs and glitches leading to frustrating experiences, such as complete freezes and a lack of auto-save functionality. While some aspects of the game are praised, the recurring stability problems, especially during critical gameplay moments, have led to recommendations to wait for fixes before purchasing.
“This isn't to say that what is there isn't good; I think the art is nice and it's not buggy.”
“Not buggy.”
“Really fun game, and I can put up with bugs and glitches to a certain degree... but when I play a game for 2 hours and it just stops working... can't click, can't move, can't do anything... including saving the game... and I have to restart from scratch... well that is a game killer for me. What kind of game doesn't have auto save? Save your money until the bugs are worked out.”
“I love the game, although whenever I go into the dungeon on the first floor and kill the very first enemy, the game freezes and I cannot alt+F4, so I have to open Task Manager and end the task.”
“The game also freezes whenever the monsters come to my village.”
- music5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The music in the game features a cute art style and excellent sound design, with relaxing background tracks that some players find repetitive. However, there are mixed opinions on the background music's alignment with gameplay, with some feeling it does not complement the experience effectively. Overall, while the sound design is appreciated, improvements are suggested for both the background music and user interface.
“The cute art style and excellent sound design, along with the subtle background music, create an immersive experience.”
“The background music enhances the overall atmosphere of the game, making it more engaging.”
“The sound effects complement the gameplay well, adding to the overall enjoyment.”
“The background music and UI could use a facelift.”
“The background music is super bland; it doesn’t go along with the gameplay at all.”
“The relaxing music is quite repetitive.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be quite tedious, particularly due to the extensive XP farming required for leveling up. Additionally, issues with AI behavior, such as standing still at crafting stations, and the cumbersome process of loading and unloading items with the mule or donkey contribute to the overall grindiness of the experience.
“There's a lot of XP grinding/farming needed to level up.”
“Sometimes the AI would stand still by the anvil even when I'm done with making the weapon, so what I do to make it follow me again is that I have to craft a weapon again, which is a little tedious.”
“The mule/donkey loading/unloading is kind of tedious.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the game's monetization strategy is perceived as a cash grab, with players feeling disappointed by its lack of content and the inability to receive refunds. Many users express a preference for smaller, promising games over those that prioritize profit over quality and player experience.
“Steam won't refund it either; it is an empty shell of a game and it looked like it had a lot of potential, but the devs just seemed to be doing a cash grab.”
“I'll take small content games with promise like this any day over an 8-year delayed, mass profit advertising mess like some game that definitely baited all of our wallets.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users report performance issues despite having capable hardware, suggesting that the game's optimization is lacking. While there is hope for future improvements, the current experience is described as underwhelming and frustrating.
“Maybe in the future it'll be good, but the game is kind of boring at the moment, and I don't understand why I'm experiencing performance problems when my computer can run The Division 2 on high graphics.”
“The optimization is terrible; I constantly experience frame drops and stuttering, even on lower settings.”
“I expected better performance from a game that looks this simple. It feels like the developers didn't prioritize optimization at all.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for its lack of replayability, with users noting that for its price of £11.39, which is typically associated with roguelikes or larger titles offering extensive playtime, it fails to provide any incentive for repeated playthroughs.
“This game costs £11.39 GBP, which is a somewhat hefty sum for an indie game. Usually, games at this price are roguelikes or larger titles that offer many hours of playability. This game has complete and utter zero replayability.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized as relaxing and enjoyable, enhancing the overall experience by allowing players to engage in combat without the pressure of difficulty. This balance creates a fun environment that encourages casual play.
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game has been criticized for falling flat, with some players expressing disappointment that the overall experience lacks engaging content and features, making it less enjoyable.
