KINGDOM of the DEAD
- February 10, 2022
- DIRIGO GAMES
- 4h median play time
Kingdom of the Dead is a fast-paced horror FPS with a brilliant aesthetic and soundtrack. Though it lacks polish, this love letter to old school horror games proves to be a fun experience with some fun moments of hopeless terror.
Get on Steam"Kingdom of the Dead" is a rogue-like first-person shooter set in a sprawling, procedurally generated catacomb. Fight through hordes of the undead using a wide array of weapons, while managing your hunger and sanity. Your ultimate goal is to uncover the mystery behind the kingdom's decay and find a way to escape.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The unique hand-drawn art style and atmospheric visuals create a captivating experience.
- The gameplay is fast-paced and satisfying, with enjoyable gunplay and a variety of weapons.
- The soundtrack complements the game well, enhancing the overall mood and experience.
- The AI is simplistic and predictable, leading to unchallenging encounters.
- There are numerous bugs and glitches, including enemies getting stuck in walls and performance issues.
- The game lacks depth in mechanics and level design, making it feel repetitive and shallow over time.
- graphics106 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are characterized by a unique hand-drawn art style that many players find visually appealing, often likening it to a blend of black-and-white aesthetics with splashes of color. However, this striking visual design is frequently criticized for causing visibility issues and being accompanied by janky animations, which detracts from the overall gameplay experience. While the art style is a major draw, it is often noted that the graphics alone cannot compensate for the game's shortcomings in mechanics and AI.
“The graphical quality (design-style, architecture, etc.) is mesmerizing and is alone worth the cost of the game, but I find the levels intriguing and an element on their own.”
“The hand-drawn black and white art style of this game does more than just look cool; it makes the environments of this game even spookier.”
“Gorgeous aesthetic, unique for the genre and largely well executed (particularly in regards to the environments).”
“This game actually hurt my eyes when playing because of the extreme light and dark employed as a result of the graphic design.”
“Art style and black & white graphics make it hard to see enemies at times.”
“The graphics are not really going for photo-realism, but I would expect it to run a bit smoother.”
- music69 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its unique and catchy soundtrack that complements the game's aesthetic and atmosphere. While some players found the synth elements to be oddly placed, others appreciated the retro and spooky vibes reminiscent of classic horror games. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, enhancing the gameplay experience despite some criticisms regarding sound design and track transitions.
“The music is really unique and I enjoyed my time listening to multiple tracks.”
“The soundtrack is extensive and so good, perfectly fits the vibe.”
“The music is amazing and I am looking forward to a soundtrack release.”
“The music in the first mission is terrible and completely breaks the immersion.”
“Soundtrack was kinda hit or miss most of the time.”
“Music really doesn't match the graphic's vibe.”
- gameplay61 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while it features a unique visual style and interesting mechanics, it often falls short in execution, feeling simplistic and lacking depth. Critics highlight a focus on aesthetics over substance, with gameplay described as generic and sometimes janky, leading to a less satisfying experience. Despite these shortcomings, some players find the gameplay enjoyable and fun, particularly praising its retro shooter elements and level design, though they suggest it could benefit from further polish and complexity.
“Gameplay-wise, it’s a run n’ gun shoot 'em up with a heavy focus on movement and agile navigation, swapping weapons to pound the dead back into the dirt with precision aiming and even dishing out a sword that can be charged for a devastating attack!”
“A unique visual style and a simple but effective gameplay loop with a solid mix of weapons and enemies make for a fun, if short game.”
“The way save points are actual objects/locations to find, guns needing to be discovered, and by having secondary/bonus objectives, you've done a lot to incentivize exploration and add variety to the run and gun gameplay.”
“Mechanically not deep enough for what it wants to be.”
“Overall the game's art style is alright but sadly fell flat when it comes to gameplay execution.”
“Very style over substance; in terms of gameplay, there isn't really anything here you can't get better either in the games this is inspired by or its fellow spiritual successors to those games.”
- story38 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally perceived as simplistic and cliché, with many reviewers noting a lack of depth and engagement throughout the missions. While some appreciate the intriguing setup and memorable boss encounters, others criticize the redundancy and disconnection in the narrative, leading to a less satisfying experience. Overall, the storytelling is seen as a missed opportunity, with potential for more character development and humor that remains largely unfulfilled.
“Tons of baddies to kill, fun story to go through, some awesome giant setpieces (seriously the train and ship levels are great), and some really, really good music on top of everything.”
“Though the dialogue and story are limited, they are really well done and set up a really compelling vampire hunter D-style relationship between hunter and weapon.”
“There is enough story to keep you interested, but not enough to be distracting from the exceptional gameplay.”
“Overall, every mission has the same pacing with the same weapons and about the same enemies, so it gets redundant quickly and it's not satisfying enough to keep me engaged.”
“Short review: decent idea, terrible execution: an FPS with a horrible sound system, buggy enemies, a cliché story, trivial bosses, and so on.”
“I also wish there was more story as you played through the levels; even dialogue with your sword about what's going on while you fought would have added a lot to the game.”
- atmosphere16 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its unique blend of retro-horror style, compelling art direction, and engaging sound design, creating a vibrant yet spooky setting. Reviewers highlight the effective use of music and color schemes that enhance the overall experience, making each level feel distinct and immersive. While some gameplay elements may be less polished, the strong atmospheric elements are considered the standout feature, drawing comparisons to classic titles like Castlevania.
“The music and atmosphere made for a really fun, upbeat yet spooky setting, and I loved the color scheme.”
“This is a truly unique experience: a brilliant setting with heaps of atmosphere that deserves to be done justice.”
“A little rough and not necessarily the hardest gameplay, but absolutely killer atmosphere.”
“The art, style, music, and resulting atmosphere make the game.”
“Kingdom of the Dead is a bit janky, but I've had a good time with it. I think it's worth playing for the art style and atmosphere alone, if you like how it looks.”
- stability15 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits a range of stability issues, including frequent bugs, glitches, and performance problems, particularly on the Steamdeck. Players report frustrating experiences with enemies getting stuck in walls, clipping through the environment, and inconsistent controller support. While the visual style is praised, the overall execution suffers due to these stability concerns, detracting from the gameplay experience.
“The game is so close to being really good, however there are too many glitches that cause you to clip out of the map and then have to wander around until you find a spot where the game recognizes you're out of bounds and kills you.”
“There are also terrible and constant glitches with enemies being stuck in walls and being able to shoot you but you not being able to shoot them, which is especially obnoxious in the hard difficulty.”
“Steamdeck compatibility: the game technically runs without obvious visual glitches, however the very first level has performance issues and the game controller support is incredibly awful; I had all sorts of weird issues and the UI requires a mouse.”
- optimization12 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, particularly with performance during the initial levels and poor controller support, which detracts from the overall experience. Many players report that while the game has potential, it is in dire need of patches to address these performance problems and improve quality of life features. Overall, the optimization concerns have led to mixed recommendations from users.
“The game technically runs without obvious visual glitches, however, the very first level has performance issues, and the game controller support is incredibly awful; I had all sorts of weird issues, and the UI requires a mouse.”
“It's just rough, and in desperate need of a patch or two to help performance, explain some things better, and improve quality of life.”
“Performance is miserable and has very clearly no proper loading system.”
“Could be a really fun game that I'd probably love, but the performance issues are outrageous, and from what I'm seeing on the forums, the dev has gone AWOL since release.”
“It's just rough, and in desperate need of a patch or two to help performance, explain some things better, quality of life etc.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is viewed positively, particularly for players who enjoy score-chasing and classic FPS gameplay, with some reviewers noting its fun factor and value for the price. However, others feel that the game's short length limits its replay potential, suggesting that while it has some replay value, it may not be substantial for all players.
“That definitely has some replay value if you're the kind of score-hunter with proficiency in older arena shooters, even if there's no unlockables for any placement (and thank you for not putting a leaderboard, I'd have hated that myself).”
“There can be some improvements, but overall this is a fun game with a good replayable factor!”
“Very short, not sure there's much replayability.”
“That definitely has some replay value if you're the kind of score-hunter with proficiency in older arena shooters, even if there's no unlockables for any placement.”
“The fact that it's only $15 at the time of writing this review makes it a must-own with its replay value.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by a dark, pulpy tone that blends the absurdity of mundane tasks—like slaying undead and sealing portals—with a comedic flair. While the missions and music are entertaining, some players find the gameplay too easy, which can diminish the challenge and comedic tension in certain encounters. Overall, it offers a unique balance of humor and grimness that stands out in the genre.
“The music and the missions themselves are definitely entertaining (perhaps lacking in difficulty) and present as humorously mundane as killing droves of undead and sealing portals is quite literally your profession.”
“Dark, pulpy, funny, and grim, it strikes a singular balance that you really won’t find anywhere else.”
“I do feel like the game can be a little too easy on some levels even on the hardest difficulty; if you are even an average FPS player on keyboard and mouse, the headshots just stack up, making some fights hilariously easy.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, especially during combat with non-humanoid enemies that complicate headshot mechanics. While the experience may feel repetitive, some recommend picking it up during sales for its overall value.
“The game just felt very tedious by the end, but it is worth picking up while on sale.”
“When facing non-humanoid enemies that you can't headshot easily with the pistol and rifle, combat becomes tedious.”
Critic Reviews
Kingdom Of The Dead Review
Kingdom of the Dead has solid combat and good level design, but it's let down by an absence of challenge and some severe performance issues.
60%Kingdom of the Dead Review (PC)
Kingdom of the Dead is the work of a developer who understands what makes classic first-person shooters so fun and captivating. The game is unafraid to be a little unfair. It takes skill to chain headshots, it is hard to deal with big groups of mixed enemies, especially on the higher difficulties. But it feels very good when you ace a boss fight with just a bit of health left over. I have been playing FPS titles since Wolfenstein 3D and I thoroughly enjoy what Kingdom of the Dead has to offer. Its biggest vulnerability is that a younger audience might not get the reference and fail to appreciate its tight mechanics. I hope that the mix of presentation and gameplay will get the title an audience that allows Dirigo to deliver on similar concepts in the future. Review code provided by the publisher.
85%KINGDOM of the DEAD Review – Blast of the past
KINGDOM of the DEAD is a pretty damned good horror FPS with enough compelling ideas to stand on its own. The monochrome, hand-drawn visuals really sell the game’s Lovecraftian-noir tone, without interfering with gameplay. Plus, its varied additional mission objectives make its difficulty settings feel more multi-layered. Still, with its short play-time, minimal plot, and lack of unlockable content, it won’t be engaging for everyone. However, for those looking for some retro FPS fun, KINGDOM of the DEAD is a unique enough experience to be worth the recommendation.
70%
