King's Bounty: Dark Side

About

In "King's Bounty: Dark Side," players embark on a new journey to a mysterious part of Teana, choosing their hero's race and class as an Orc, Demoness, or Vampire. The world is in chaos as elves plunder Orcish villages and human knights invade Atrixus, while a castle of the ancient Morton clan is threatened by vampire hunters. It's up to you to lead your army and bring peace to this troubled land.

Genres & Tags

Role Playing

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

63%

Audience ScoreBased on 738 reviews

story86 positive mentions

stability56 negative mentions

The game offers a fresh perspective by allowing players to play as the 'bad guys', which adds a unique twist to the series.
The combat system remains engaging with a variety of units and spells, providing opportunities for creative strategies.
The humor and writing in the game are enjoyable, with many funny dialogues and references that enhance the overall experience.

The quest log is often vague and poorly designed, leading to confusion and requiring players to seek external help to progress.
The game is plagued by bugs and crashes, particularly on certain platforms, making it frustrating to play.
Many quests feel repetitive and drawn out, with excessive backtracking and fetch quests that detract from the overall enjoyment.

story
476 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
71%
11%
The story in this installment of the King's Bounty series is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the humor and the fresh perspective of playing as the "bad guys," while others criticize it for being convoluted and poorly executed. Many reviews highlight the abundance of fetch quests and vague quest descriptions that detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration and confusion. Despite its flaws, some players found enjoyment in the quirky narrative elements and the engaging dialogue, making it a memorable, albeit flawed, entry in the series.
- “My favorite story in the series so far.”
- “I found the story very well written and areas have more 'value' because inhabitants will say new things and give you new quests all the time when you revisit the area.”
- “The story is fun and refreshing since this time you get to play as the 'bad guys'.”
- “The story is an absolute mess because of it, and it really doesn't help that the creators try to make the evil character likable by having them say things like 'I don't like torture, but I'll do it because we have to.' This doesn't make them any less despicable, and I almost felt a little sick of some of the things the game does to make you progress (such as finding and torturing the happiest person in the lands? Why?), for pointless reasons.”
- “The end 'twist' of the story is completely braindead.”
- “I felt dumber just for having experienced this game's awful story.”
gameplay
106 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
60%
11%
The gameplay of the latest entry in the King's Bounty series has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its repetitive nature and lack of polish, including awkward map design and various bugs. While some appreciate the familiar hex-based, turn-based combat and the introduction of new mechanics, others criticize the linear quest structure and tedious fetch quests that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game maintains the core gameplay elements of its predecessors but fails to innovate significantly, leading to a sense of stagnation within the series.
- “Another entry to the KB series with an ideological twist, some innovative gameplay elements resembling X-COM or Evil Genius, and also political motives the reflections of which can be easily found in the history of the real world.”
- “The gameplay is extremely fun with hex-based, turn-based battles at the core of it.”
- “It has fun gameplay of previous parts plus even more quirky humor (organizing dirty election campaigns, or kidnapping princesses for industrial production of dragon riders)!”
- “The gameplay is repetitive.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay gets worse as the game goes on.”
- “The game offers virtually nothing that is new: same graphics, same gameplay, same everything, more or less.”
graphics
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
67%
15%
The graphics in the game show a mix of opinions, with some praising the vibrant colors and detail, while others criticize them as outdated and in need of an overhaul. Many reviewers noted that the graphics have not significantly improved from previous titles in the series, leading to a sense of stagnation. Overall, while some aspects are visually appealing, the consensus is that the graphics feel dated and lack innovation.
- “The graphics still look great and pack in lots of colour and detail.”
- “The graphics have aged very well over the years (or maybe they patched it, not sure).”
- “I initially bought it just because I thought the graphics looked so great.”
- “The graphics feel like a game 10 years older than it is and the gameplay is so uninspiring I reached for a book to read.”
- “The graphics are pretty badly dated at this point, it's time for an overhaul.”
- “It's just like any other King's Bounty game without even one single improvement in the graphic aspect.”
humor
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
97%
5%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, featuring genuinely funny dialogue and creative writing at times, but often falling flat with forced or cheesy jokes. Players appreciate the quirky and dark humor, especially in the context of playing as the villain, though some find the humor inconsistent and sometimes bland. Overall, while there are standout moments of wit and clever references, the quality of humor varies significantly throughout the game.
- “The writing is often humorous and creative.”
- “It has fun gameplay of previous parts plus even more quirky humor (organizing dirty election campaigns, or kidnapping princesses for industrial production of dragon riders)!”
- “The story is quite interesting, but it's especially the humor used throughout it which makes for a great experience.”
- “Quests are designed almost exclusively around terrible backtracking and padding, written very poorly, unclear in a lot of explanations, and not funny. This has been a usual issue with the series.”
- “The humor in the game falls flat, making the experience feel tedious rather than entertaining.”
- “Attempts at humor often miss the mark, leaving players feeling more frustrated than amused.”
stability
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game is widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly impact gameplay. While some players have managed to enjoy the experience despite these issues, many describe it as nearly unplayable, particularly on certain platforms like Mac. Overall, the consensus is that the game feels unfinished and poorly polished, leading to a frustrating experience for many users.
- “Not entirely bug-free, but 97% there.”
- “The game is imbalanced, buggy, and unstable.”
- “But the sad fact is that this game is extremely buggy, to the point of unplayability.”
- “Incredibly buggy to the point it is close to unplayable on my mac.”
music
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
29%
8%
The music in the game is widely praised for its captivating and diverse soundtracks, enhancing the overall atmosphere and experience. Many players find themselves humming the tunes long after playing, with specific praise for the new compositions and the way they complement different environments. However, some reviewers note that the heavy reuse of soundtracks from previous games can become tiresome over time.
- “The environment and scenery are very nice and those combined with the breathtaking music really add to the atmosphere.”
- “Once more, as with several other games, the music is simply stunning: the tune heard in the elven lands, the tune heard in the demonic lands, etc. are so different and captivate the land they describe perfectly.”
- “450 hours in and I still like the music - found myself humming it this morning.”
- “The games in this series are nearly identical in combat, gameplay, music, and visuals, so pick a different one over this one.”
- “Much as I love the soundtrack, it's also been heavily reused in each game and is starting to get a bit irritating.”
- “The soundtrack of King's Bounty has always been its strong side.”
grinding
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has been criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with players often finding themselves engaged in monotonous battles against slightly stronger or weaker enemies. Many reviews highlight the excessive back-and-forth travel between locations and the lack of engaging quests, leading to a sense of frustration and diminished enjoyment over time. While some players accept the grind as part of the series' charm, others feel it detracts significantly from the overall experience.
- “However, finding the places I actually could tackle became more and more tedious until I eventually realized I wasn't having fun, hadn't been for a while, and wasn't likely to start soon.”
- “Most of the spells are useless (especially for dark units), the artifacts are pretty bland as well, and after a certain point it all became just about grinding and fighting the same set of units (depending on the island you're located on) who are 'slightly stronger' or 'slightly weaker' than the protagonist.”
- “It's not bad, but some of the quests are extremely tedious and have you walking, sailing, and teleporting backwards and forwards countless times between destinations for no reason other than to make the game longer.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Overall, the game offers a mixed experience in terms of replayability. While some players praise its endless replayability and varied gameplay, others criticize it for being limited, suggesting that only certain races provide a worthwhile experience.
- “The game has endless replayability as it differs every single time.”
- “Good gameplay and replayability.”
- “Lots of replayability.”
- “Replayability is a joke; don't bother playing any race except for demons.”
- “Replayability is a joke; don't bother playing any race except for demons.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting significant performance issues, particularly on Mac systems, alongside various gameplay and performance bugs. Many feel that the lack of polish and awkward map design detracts from an otherwise enjoyable experience.
- “It also shows a lack of basic polish at every turn, from awkward map design to a variety of little gameplay or performance bugs.”
- “Very disappointed with the performance during the game.”
- “I would say an awesome experience, were it not plagued by abysmal performance on Mac (Yosemite, Retina 2014 MBP).”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate a sense of disappointment regarding the emotional impact of the game, with players feeling that it targets a younger audience while failing to deliver on its potential. The enjoyment derived from certain aspects is overshadowed by frustration over poor programming and missed opportunities.
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in this series is noted to be well-established and mature, reflecting the game's evolution over multiple installments. Reviewers suggest that any issues encountered are likely related to new content rather than the core character development mechanics.
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its beautiful environments and scenery, which are enhanced by breathtaking music, creating an immersive experience for players.
- “The environment and scenery are very nice, and combined with the breathtaking music, they really add to the atmosphere.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy is criticized for feeling exploitative, with users suggesting that it prioritizes profit over player experience, despite the game's enjoyable concept.
- “Good concept (and still fun) but feels like they paid the intern to churn out a cash grab.”