Kingdom, Dungeon, and Hero
- July 1, 2024
- Kraken Studios
- 380h median play time
Get on Steam"Kingdom, Dungeon, and Hero" is a fantasy strategy and adventure game with a board game feel, allowing 1-2 players to form armies, manage resources, negotiate agreements, and explore dungeons in a hex-based map. Players can build and configure armies, hire heroes, and research tactics to increase their kingdom's power. The game offers the ability to create an infinite number of maps with the integrated editor, and supports both co-op and PvP modes in split-screen.
Reviews
- The game offers a well-designed blend of strategic wargaming and dungeon crawling, providing a unique experience for fans of both genres.
- The custom scenario editor and modability allow for extensive player creativity and replayability, with the potential for a vibrant community to create new content.
- The developer is highly responsive to player feedback, frequently releasing updates and patches to improve the game and address issues.
- The AI is often unresponsive and lacks depth, making the game feel less challenging and engaging during combat and diplomacy.
- Many mechanics feel disjointed and underdeveloped, leading to a lack of clarity and impact in gameplay decisions.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including crashes and a clunky interface, which detract from the overall experience.
- gameplay21 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its solid mechanics, intuitive interface, and enjoyable blend of RPG adventuring and kingdom management, allowing for engaging military conquest and strategy. However, some players noted that the tutorials are inadequate, leading to confusion over certain mechanics, and that some features feel underdeveloped or bugged. Overall, while the game shows potential with its robust core mechanics, it requires refinement and clearer explanations to enhance the player experience.
“The blending of light RPG adventuring mechanics and kingdom management along with a competent and fun war game.”
“Love the gameplay, pacing, and game mechanics.”
“Solid wargame mechanics with a variety of troop types, stacks of armies, supply, and economics.”
“Conquering the map is entertaining and challenging, but there doesn't seem to be any other kind of objective-based gameplay.”
“And some of these mechanics are currently bugged and not working as intended, if at all.”
“The game certainly has potential, but it needs some work on the key mechanics to make them feel more refined, more impactful, and less disjointed from each other.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The graphics received mixed reviews, with some praising their beauty and clarity, particularly in the hex and counter style, while others criticized them as dated and sub-par, reminiscent of early 2000s pixel art. The interface was noted to be clunky, but the overall design was described as clean and easy to read. Ultimately, the consensus suggests that while the graphics are functional, they do not overshadow the game's mechanics and gameplay.
“The graphics were beautiful!”
“It also has clean and easy to read graphics and an uncluttered UI.”
“The graphics are very good in the hex and counter style of graphics; every counter is clearly marked in all three possible styles, and the map is pretty and fully readable at a glance.”
“But no, once again, small indie developers prove that good games are such because of the systems, rules, and gameplay mechanics, as opposed to flashy animation and graphics.”
“Interface is clunky and graphics are sub-par.”
“The graphics are very wargame-style - counters on a hex grid, but that's fine.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability due to its diverse content, innovative ideas, and strong modding potential, allowing players to experience unique gameplay each time. The inclusion of an editor further enhances replay value, making it an immersive choice for fans of hex wargames and fantasy settings.
“I see a lot of replayability here, and modding potential for all your favorite fantasy settings.”
“Replay value - no game will be the same.”
“A lot of content, new ideas, and the huge potential for replayability makes this the hex wargame of the future.”
“I see a lot of replayability here, along with modding potential for all your favorite fantasy settings.”
- story3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's story concept revolves around gradually developing an immortal race of heroes, technologies, and cities over time, which users find intriguing and rich with potential for depth and backstory. However, the execution is hindered by weak AI that struggles to navigate the complex political scenarios intended to enhance the narrative experience.
“The idea of playing this game with a blank screen and slowly building up your heroes (an immortal race of heroes who work across the ages!), technologies (alchemists! … give them libraries, names, and backstory?), diplomacy (emissaries! … again, give them names and backstory?), cities (barracks, markets, etc.), and armies, slowly building up across the ages would be awesome.”
“Great design marred by a weak AI that doesn't know how to handle the politically complex multi-agent 'story' scenario that is the capstone for the game.”
- music3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it horrendous and repetitive, likening it to looped marching band music. Conversely, others praise the music as phenomenal, noting that while there are only a few tracks, they enhance the game's atmosphere and contribute positively to the RPG experience.
“The music is phenomenal, even if there are only a few tracks.”
“It's got some good music, with decent writing that adds much flavor to the locations and RPG elements.”
“The music is horrendous; it sounds like a marching band music looped.”
“The soundtrack is repetitive and lacks any real creativity.”
“The background music is so bland that it becomes forgettable almost immediately.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent crashes, softlocks, and PC freezes that hinder gameplay.
“Constant crashes, soft locks, and PC freezes.”
“The game is incredibly unstable, making it nearly unplayable.”
“Frequent crashes ruin the experience and make it frustrating to progress.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players praise the game's optimization for its quick turn-taking and smooth overall performance, contributing to an enjoyable gaming experience.
“The turns are quick, and the game's performance is smooth.”
“The optimization really enhances the overall gameplay experience.”
“I appreciate how well the game runs on my device; it feels seamless.”
