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Kingdom Wars is a single player and multiplayer open world city builder game with fantasy, medieval and historical themes. It was developed by Reverie World Studios and was released on April 1, 2013. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Kingdom Wars is a free to play 3D MMORTS with real-time siege combat, without the pay to win element so common in the genre. Kingdom Wars offers beautiful 3D online world, where players construct strongholds, direct citizens, complete quests and eventually manage a global empire.

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68%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,794 reviews
story49 positive mentions
stability99 negative mentions

  • Enjoyable and addictive mix of RTS, city building, and MMO elements with unique fantasy races (Humans, Elves, Orcs) and special units (dragons, dwarves).
  • Fair free-to-play model with reasonable in-game ways to earn premium currency, not heavily pay-to-win.
  • Active and helpful developers and community support, with ongoing updates improving gameplay, stability, and content.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs, glitches, and crashes including unit pathfinding problems, stalled battles, and occasional loss of progress.
  • Multiplayer population is very low, leading to long matchmaking times and limited PvP and co-op opportunities.
  • UI is clunky and unintuitive, with poor unit control, overlapping elements, and issues with mouse input; quests and tutorials lack clarity.
  • story
    286 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story offers a decent but somewhat repetitive quest-driven experience with each faction having its own campaign and lore, though it often suffers from bugs, unclear objectives, and pacing issues. While some players appreciate the multiplayer co-op quests and evolving world narrative, others find the storyline shallow, grind-heavy, and occasionally frustrating due to quest-breaking glitches. Overall, the story provides a basic framework that supports gameplay but lacks depth and smooth progression.

    • “There is a long story and quest chain, almost like its a single player campaign in an online game, you'll be doing quests but they can be done in co-op too.”
    • “Each faction has a very generous quest line which I estimate to be around 30+ hours worth per side, not counting replayable missions.”
    • “The quests help to push you in the right direction while you're starting out, and after just a few hours you'll be making some really steady progress toward the more end-game options.”
    • “The game's story and lore are unimaginative and yawn-inducing, with generic, Tolkien-esque knockoff vibes stemming from the three main factions: the humans, the elves, and the orcs/goblins.”
    • “The story mode has a certain point where it bottlenecks and stops with anything but the same missions. The lore is lackluster, the graphics only subpar, and let's not even get into the connection issues.”
    • “I had quests bug out, forcing me to restart the entire quest line because the dialogue happened in the main game screen, then the dialog scene began and there was no way to exit it again.”
  • graphics
    266 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics are largely considered dated, clunky, and sometimes glitchy, with visuals reminiscent of early 2000s or retro RTS games. While some appreciate the nostalgic or functional style and find the graphics adequate for large-scale battles on modest hardware, many note the lack of polish, occasional bugs, poor optimization, and a need for graphical improvements or updates. Overall, graphics are viewed as a secondary aspect behind gameplay, with mixed opinions on their impact on the experience.

    • “The game’s gotten a graphics update, and it does look a lot better than it probably did when it first came out.”
    • “The graphics are also great.”
    • “The graphics are amazing, the battles and wars going on all around you add so much content to your experience that there is really no way to get bored of it.”
    • “Terrible optimization with terrible visuals is such a mess.”
    • “Ugly, heavy use of post effects, popping in models, textures, visuals, clunky, feeling very raw and unpolished; bugs and music issues make the game feel empty with sparse and poor sounds.”
    • “The graphics are so poor you sometimes can't pick out smaller units from the terrain.”
  • gameplay
    229 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Gameplay in this game is highly polarizing, with praise for its strategic depth, unique faction mechanics, and engaging city-building elements. However, many reviews highlight significant issues such as bugs, slow pacing, poor AI behavior, clunky controls, and frustrating pay-to-win elements that detract from the experience. While some find the gameplay addictive and rewarding after overcoming initial hurdles, others are discouraged by technical problems, lack of tutorials, and imbalanced mechanics.

    • “May not be the prettiest RTS you've seen (even for 2013 standards) but the gameplay mechanics are what I play games for in the first place.”
    • “I love how the world map looks and the game mechanics. I don't play a lot of strategy games like this but the way this game was made just feels right. I think I'm gonna get the medieval version as it is newer and the developers by this time fixed the bugs and glitches that the other ones had. I can't wait to see what it has in store for me.”
    • “The looting, construction and squad/formation system, as well as the training and siege mechanics are very peculiar and enjoyable, actually making you feel like you're fighting in the harsh medieval age and adding a very important and heavy strategy factor.”
    • “Gameplay is ridiculously overcomplicated, poor directing, hints, tips etc., regular load or server connection issues, it won't let me use my existing account so not really cross-platform and it says my ID is already taken... yes I know, I took it lol but it seems linking accounts is out even though others don't have this problem.”
    • “The actual gameplay however is glitched to hell, AI is very disobedient making micro management extremely frustrating, I got into a PvP match it didn't load my army and when one of the enemies left it loaded my army with the remaining enemy's army on top of mine which is not supposed to happen, you're supposed to spawn on opposite corners of the map.”
    • “The gameplay is buggy, the pathfinding on units is atrociously bad (they can easily get themselves killed, so you can't really command them to go one way then quickly go to manage other units elsewhere, since they'll likely get themselves killed with their own poor pathfinding.”
  • stability
    99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely criticized for its persistent and numerous bugs, including glitches in quests, unit pathfinding issues, freezing, crashes, and desyncs, which significantly impair gameplay and multiplayer experiences. Despite ongoing updates early on, support has waned, leaving many errors unresolved and frustrating players. While some find the core gameplay enjoyable, the overall stability is poor and detracts from the game's potential and appeal.

    • “Unstable and buggy game, you will lose your city when their system goes down permanently and then have to start again losing hundreds of hours.”
    • “Armies stuck on mountains, special units bugging out your whole army and forcing you to disband them completely, user interface glitches, connection errors, desync in PvP, general unresponsiveness of units to the point of ignoring your commands completely, pathfinding issues... I could go on and on.”
    • “I have played the game for quite a few hours, spent around $60 on in-game crowns, and the moment I got to a quest with any large amount of things going on the game FPS drops to 0, and freezes making the game unplayable.”
  • grinding
    36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in this game is widely considered slow, tedious, and repetitive, with resource farming and unit progression requiring extensive time investment. While some players find the grind manageable or even enjoyable as part of the strategy, many criticize its heavy emphasis on microtransactions to bypass the lengthy farming and the lack of engaging gameplay during these phases. Overall, grinding is a significant barrier that can impact player enjoyment and pacing.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “And it isn't too grindy as you can try new things every attack and the quests rotate missions.”
    • “So although many of the sieges are similar, they are not tedious, and since some players have been at this game for a year or two, it is sustainable.”
    • “Most of your battles will be farming the same area of the map repeatedly for "crowns," a currency you can farm or buy from the shop.”
    • “Slow, grindy and with the micromanagement focused on the boring parts like economics and watching over your farmers so they don't stand idle or get eaten by wolves when they wander off, but none of the fun stuff like actually choosing where to place your buildings and walls and you know, build a city and castle to your liking.”
    • “If you want a full castle you are either going to spend weeks grinding your nose off.”
  • optimization
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including frequent performance drops, lag spikes, crashes, and poor engine efficiency, which negatively impact gameplay even on high-end PCs. While updates have brought some improvements, bugs and UI design flaws persist, and certain platforms (like the Steam version) experience worse performance than others. Users note that large battles and complex scenarios exacerbate these issues, although some report better performance using the developer's client instead of Steam.

    • “The graphics, performance, and the gameplay itself have gradually improved over time, with updates coming out frequently enough for a game you only pay for once.”
    • “New units, new buildings, better performance, vassals, and unit balancing (and that's just the tip of the iceberg).”
    • “#1: Performance = the game performs very well on my low-end computer; I have specs below the minimal requirements, and my graphics card is outdated by 8 years.”
    • “Either way, your choice of region and traits will play an immense factor in the performance of your strategies.”
    • “Terrible optimization with terrible visuals is such a mess.”
    • “Not to mention it's poorly optimized and lags like hell on a good computer.”
    • “Expect big performance issues, and even if you lower the settings, the game still has weird performance problems.”
  • monetization
    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Monetization in the game is heavily centered around microtransactions, which are often seen as intrusive and necessary for progressing or obtaining the best upgrades, though some players can manage without paying by joining strong alliances. While many microtransactions are cosmetic, certain in-game advantages tied to premium currency can create pay-to-win concerns, especially in PvP. Overall, the monetization is viewed as a downside that detracts from an otherwise enjoyable and unique MMO-RTS experience.

    • “The game is great so far, it has a little bit of microtransactions but it is really easy to get the currency with in-game money. If the devs give this one a bit of attention, adding more content and fixing some stuff, it could very well become a banger since there is nothing like it out there—a great choice for anyone that wants an MMO and RTS in the same package!”
    • “While the game encourages some microtransactions to get ahead, they may not be needed at this point if you get in with a good alliance.”
    • “I like how the city grows and how the in-game currency is farmable and not just for in-game purchase.”
    • “Instead, I reinstalled it and found it's nothing but slow, tedious gameplay or microtransactions.”
    • “This freemium Frankenstein is not worth even the time invested, no matter how many in-game purchases of some crappy reskin of your lame hero.”
    • “PVP side I wouldn't recommend it since it has an in-game store, which breaks it. People can buy a chest and become a pain more or less right away; it boosts people up since you need a resource called crowns which you get from quests and other means, but you can also get a lot by doing in-game purchases.”
  • music
    21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's music generally fits the setting well, featuring a medieval or traditional tone that some users find relaxing and immersive. However, many players criticize the lack of variety, repetitiveness, and occasional bugs causing music to abruptly stop, leading some to prefer turning it off. Overall, the soundtrack is appreciated for its effort and atmosphere but could benefit from more diversity and polish.

    • “The city management is relaxing and the music is a mix of Scottish and English and it sounds nice.”
    • “Very nice the music in the background, maybe to expand with other musics to add in a future pack!”
    • “The music fits the time period this is set in and doesn't disappoint, although more variety would be needed.”
    • “The music was fine for the first loop, now it's just grating.”
    • “Music-wise, I would not applaud in any case. The music fits the setting but seems to drag on and on with the same simple tune, only randomly changing once you engage in combat or enter a different city.”
    • “Music can stop playing at any moment, which makes the game feel really empty. Sounds are very sparse and not particularly good.”
  • humor
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is often derived from its glitches, quirky language, and amusing character designs, providing some entertainment despite numerous bugs and technical issues. While some players find the early game and certain gameplay elements funny and engaging, others feel the game's humor is overshadowed by its frustrating bugs and unpolished state. Overall, the humor adds charm but is a mixed experience due to inconsistent execution.

    • “I chose humans because I always do; you start off by having a village and a town elder instructs you how to manage it with a very funny and old language.”
    • “It's not bad, it's really fun and who cares about the graphics? Those can come later; at least the main game is funny and good.”
    • “Seige weapons are inaccurate but funny, but do a lot of damage and what's cool is they use resources to fire.”
  • replayability
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers strong replayability through multiple unique factions, diverse play styles, and extensive quest lines, providing over 30 hours per faction. While some criticize the lack of depth and UI shortcomings, most players appreciate the challenging PvE and PvP battles and overall sense of achievement. However, replay value may vary depending on personal enjoyment of the quest content.

    • “This game offers a ton of replay value, rich lore, cool faction units, and epic PvE and PvP battles ranging from sieges to open field.”
    • “Each faction has a very generous quest line which I estimate to be around 30+ hours worth per side, not counting replayable missions.”
    • “Each have their own strengths and defenses, which means a variety of different play styles, thus giving the game replay value if you ever wish to restart.”
    • “I think the designers have made some bad choices here and there. Instead of improving the UI and deepening the game, they have gone for breadth and made more races, which, although it adds replayability, doesn't improve playability.”
    • “There is still a lot to do to make the game more playable for a larger public, but the developers are active or at least seem to be active.”
    • “Each faction has a very generous quest line which I estimate to be around 30+ hours per side, not counting replayable missions.”
  • atmosphere
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for its highly immersive and realistic atmosphere, effectively making players feel as if they are truly inside the siege. Many consider it one of the most atmospheric RTS experiences available.

    • “One of the most atmospheric RTS games I've played, and I've played a lot.”
    • “A realistic atmosphere makes you feel like you are inside the siege!”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    While the game has some frustrating bugs affecting gameplay, such as unit pathing issues and resource losses, prompt and helpful support from moderators helps alleviate player disappointment, leaving many with a positive emotional experience overall.

    • “As far as reliability is concerned, I've faced a couple of heartbreaking bugs whereby my hard-earned gold disappeared in transit, but within a few minutes of posting my problem in the general chat channel, rather polite and decent moderators refunded my resources and left me a happy elf, swimming Scrooge McDuck style in my pile of gold again.”
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24h Median play time
39h Average play time
5-40h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 21 analyzed playthroughs
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Kingdom Wars is a open world city builder game with fantasy, medieval and historical themes.

Kingdom Wars is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 39 hours playing Kingdom Wars.

Kingdom Wars was released on April 1, 2013.

Kingdom Wars was developed by Reverie World Studios.

Kingdom Wars has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Kingdom Wars is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Kingdom Wars 2: Battles, Medieval Kingdom Wars, Stronghold Kingdoms, Stronghold Crusader 2, Infinity Wars: Animated Trading Card Game and others.