King's Bounty: The Legend

About

King's Bounty: The Legend is a single player role playing game with fantasy and comedy themes. It was developed by Fulqrum Publishing and was released on May 1, 2009. It received very positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

"King's Bounty: The Legend" is a fantasy-themed, turn-based strategy game with RPG elements. As a hero leading an army, you explore the world, complete quests, and engage in tactical battles. The game offers a variety of unit types, equipment, and magical spells to utilize in your journey. Your choices and outcomes are influenced by a morality system, adding depth to the narrative.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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86%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,111 reviews

story98 positive mentions

grinding47 negative mentions

Engaging tactical battles that require strategic thinking and planning.
Rich world-building with a variety of quests and humorous dialogue.
Deep hero progression system with meaningful choices and diverse unit types.

Outdated controls and interface that can hinder gameplay experience.
Repetitive combat and grinding can lead to fatigue over long play sessions.
Difficulty spikes and unbalanced enemy encounters can frustrate players.

story
392 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
71%
4%
The story of *King's Bounty: The Legend* is characterized by a blend of classic fantasy tropes and humorous dialogue, creating a light-hearted yet engaging narrative that keeps players entertained through a multitude of quests. While the main storyline is often described as generic and slow to develop, the game compensates with a wealth of side quests and quirky characters that add depth to the experience. However, some players find the quest tracking vague and the overall plot lacking in complexity, leading to a mixed reception regarding its narrative depth.
- “The story, the characters, the music--god, the soundtrack is beautiful.”
- “The incredible scenery, storytelling, and depth make this game an absolute all-time classic.”
- “The story picks up the charm and runs with it, going with a tone that's just self-aware enough to elicit a few chuckles but never enough to pull you out of the game entirely.”
- “The combat feels quite basic, and the storyline lacks depth, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “The story is long-winded, slow to develop and thus far uninteresting.”
- “The story is mostly forgettable, and the running around to restock troops becomes tedious.”
gameplay
176 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
56%
6%
The gameplay of "King's Bounty: The Legend" is a blend of turn-based strategy and RPG elements, reminiscent of the "Heroes of Might and Magic" series, offering a mix of tactical combat and exploration. While many players appreciate its depth, strategic mechanics, and engaging combat, some criticize its repetitive nature and slow pacing, which can lead to a sense of tedium over extended play sessions. Overall, it provides a solid experience for fans of the genre, with a rich world to explore and a variety of character classes and abilities to master.
- “You choose one of three classes—warrior, paladin, or mage—which significantly alters your gameplay experience by affecting how you interact with the game’s three skill trees: might, mind, and magic.”
- “The gameplay is a mix of RPG and turn-based strategy, creating a refined system that is pleasant to play with.”
- “The tactical gameplay is tightly composed, varied, and often quite brutal, keeping the spirit of the original King's Bounty while adding much better graphics and a smooth gameplay system.”
- “The lack of army-leveling mechanics beyond your own hero means that battles sometimes become repetitive as you optimize your strongest stack.”
- “With such simple and repetitive combat mechanics, it's difficult to imagine spending 30-40 hours playing.”
- “However, the gameplay does eventually start getting stale later on in the game and I found myself starting to dread the battles which were fun at the start but just became tedious and dull in the later game as they just took so long to complete.”
graphics
162 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
42%
2%
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, characterized by a charming, cartoonish aesthetic reminiscent of titles like Warcraft III. While some players note that the visuals show their age, they still hold up well for a game from 2008, featuring colorful environments and detailed animations that enhance the overall experience. The art style, combined with a vibrant color palette and thoughtful design, contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, making it visually appealing despite not being cutting-edge.
- “The graphics hold up pretty well for a game from 2008, especially the backgrounds and art for the battle scenes.”
- “The artwork is very colorful and sort of like a more detailed version of Warcraft or Diablo artwork.”
- “The graphics are beautiful (with a big variety of textures in most environments), your units are very detailed and the game has some very good looking special effects (spells, detailed shadows, bloom).”
- “The graphics weren't great, the game felt dated, but I had fun playing it.”
- “The game shows its age in graphics but otherwise remains mostly glitch-free and playable even on modern computers.”
- “Graphics are dated now (and haven't really improved in future sequels either) but, nevertheless, they are still pleasant-looking and very colorful.”
music
101 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
66%
31%
3%
The music in "King's Bounty: The Legend" is widely praised for its emotional depth and cinematic quality, often likened to soundtracks from major films. Players appreciate the variety and thematic relevance of the tracks, which enhance the game's atmosphere and storytelling. While some find certain pieces repetitive over time, the overall consensus is that the soundtrack significantly elevates the gaming experience, making it memorable and enjoyable.
- “It's unbelievable how great the soundtrack is.”
- “The music is beautiful and fits the ambiance of the game.”
- “The soundtrack is absolutely amazing; there have been times where I would just sit in front of my monitor just listening to these themes.”
- “This is simply not a good game; the combat is terrible and it is boring with a horrible soundtrack.”
- “Music is like from a mobile game; quests are dull and the whole grinding process gets really depressing after 20 hours into the game.”
- “The soundtrack overall is okay, though I was definitely tired of listening to the same music by the end of the game.”
humor
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
99%
4%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its charm and cleverness, with many players highlighting the funny dialogue, quirky characters, and humorous quests that enhance the overall experience. The writing is described as engaging and often hilarious, providing a light-hearted take on the fantasy genre that keeps players entertained throughout their journey. While some critiques mention inconsistencies in humor quality, the majority agree that the game successfully blends humor with gameplay, making it a delightful adventure.
- “What it delivers is a richly imagined fantasy world filled with humor, charm, and challenge, offering dozens of hours of exploration, tactical combat, and RPG-driven character progression.”
- “The colorful world, the silly humor, the relaxing yet tactical battles all come together in a really enjoyable way.”
- “The game's writing takes advantage of the cheesy fantasy setting by coupling it with cheesy fantasy humor that always gets a laugh.”
- “I stopped playing the 'Violetta's Soul' mission, which is one of the endgame missions, because I was just tired of the same battles, uninteresting quests, and unfunny jokes.”
- “The humor in this game falls flat; it feels forced and lacks any real wit.”
- “I expected some laughs, but the jokes are so stale that they make the gameplay feel even longer.”
grinding
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight that the game features significant grinding, often described as tedious and repetitive, particularly in the context of resupplying troops and engaging in battles. While some players appreciate the adventure and atmosphere, many find the grinding to be a major drawback, leading to a sense of burnout and frustration, especially in the later stages of the game. Overall, the grinding aspect is seen as excessive, detracting from the overall enjoyment and pacing of the experience.
- “The game does not respect your time; it is needlessly grindy and repetitive.”
- “A major problem is the constant need to backtrack because you need to replenish your troops after a few battles, which can get really tedious throughout the game.”
- “The battles become tedious and dull in the later game as they just take so long to complete.”
replayability
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
43%
11%
The game boasts high replayability due to its diverse class system, branching skill trees, and randomized elements such as item drops and enemy placements, which encourage varied strategies and approaches in each playthrough. Players appreciate the multiple difficulty levels and the charm of the story, contributing to its lasting appeal. While some users noted limited replayability when focusing on a single class, the overall consensus highlights a rich experience that invites repeated play.
- “It’s also remarkably replayable thanks to its class system, branching skill trees, and multiple ways to approach combat.”
- “A lot of replayability as starting a new game will yield different item drops and different items for sale at castles throughout the world which will influence your playing strategy (e.g. snake ring that gives bonuses to snake units).”
- “It's an extremely deep - and very challenging - turn-based strategy game with a smattering of RPG elements and nearly limitless replayability thanks to the almost complete randomization of the units and items that you can find at the beginning of each new game.”
- “There is no replayability mostly but the game is long enough; hard difficulty is well balanced.”
- “I've only played one class, but replayability seems low.”
- “Some replay value in that the units available/used in opponent's groups are randomized on each playthrough, so what worked one time through won't the next.”
atmosphere
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
79%
5%
16%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its vibrant visual style, enchanting music, and immersive fairy-tale quality, creating a captivating fantasy world that resonates deeply with players. Despite some criticisms of gameplay repetitiveness, the overall ambiance, characterized by charming graphics and a nostalgic feel, enhances the experience and draws players into its narrative. Many reviewers highlight the successful blend of art and sound that evokes a classic adventure spirit, making it a standout in the genre.
- “Still, the game’s atmosphere is compelling thanks to its vibrant visual style and detailed map design.”
- “But most importantly for me, it has a wonderful fairy-tale atmosphere, the world you imagined when you read all those fantasy stories, the world you want to escape to from everyday madness.”
- “Perhaps a tedious slog, perhaps repetitive, yes, you might not have the patience to finish it, especially on the impossible difficulty, but the game's general feel and atmosphere is something that just settles in your heart deeply as a fairy tale, maybe naive, maybe stupid, maybe you are causing a mass genocide under the disguise of an epic beautiful tale, beautiful music and graphics.”
- “And in this game, this very atmosphere of classic fantasy adventure is made absolutely perfect.”
- “The excellent work of artists and composers conveys the atmosphere of a fairy tale.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marked by a mix of clunky mechanics and frequent glitches, particularly on Windows 11, which can hinder progress in the main quest. While some users appreciate the overall polish and completeness, the presence of bugs and minor issues detracts from the experience, leaving players wishing for fixes to enhance enjoyment.
- “Then, 50+ hours in, the game glitches and gets me stuck in Mehgard with no way to progress the main quest.”
- “I wish the glitches would be fixed so I could go back to my zen of enjoying this game.”
- “A lot of glitches occur more on Windows 11 than on Windows 10.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
50%
The character development in the game is praised for its depth and personal engagement, offering a rich RPG experience with compelling stories and quests. Players appreciate the vibrant environments and whimsical designs that enhance the narrative, making character interactions integral to the gameplay. Overall, the combination of engaging dialogue and diverse quests contributes to an unforgettable adventure.
- “A huge selection of possibilities, interesting character development, hundreds of quests, an interesting plot... this game will give you an unforgettable adventure.”
- “But in exchange you get richer character development, as well as stories and quests; more of an RPG experience.”
- “The game is more story and quest driven than the heroes series, making the character development more personal and integral to gameplay.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the heroes on a personal level.”
- “I found the character arcs predictable and uninspired, which detracted from my overall enjoyment of the game.”
- “Despite the vibrant world, the characters themselves feel one-dimensional and fail to evolve throughout the story.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's optimization is mixed, with some users experiencing performance issues and crashes on Windows 7 despite meeting recommended specifications. While character stats and gear significantly influence army performance and tactical options, players are advised to be cautious with field of view settings, as they can negatively impact performance. Overall, there is potential for unit optimization, but technical stability may vary.
- “Your character's stats mostly determine the size of the army he can field and contribute to his units' performance.”
- “Your hero's gear and level affect your army's performance, while fights are always on a hex grid and are turn-based.”
- “Performance issues and crashes to desktop on Windows 7 even though my rig surpasses recommended requirements.”
- “Also, try not to go too crazy with the FOV setting because it will affect performance.”
- “Not much storyline, plenty of room for tactics and unit optimization.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is negatively impacted by a lackluster storytelling experience, which, combined with excessive time-wasting elements, makes it challenging for players to engage with the narrative on a deeper level.
- “In addition to the boring storytelling, the game is made even more difficult to sit through because of its sheer amount of time-wasting.”

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90%Critics’ scoreBased on 3 critic reviews

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Buy King's Bounty: The Legend

55h Median play time

71h Average play time

36h Main story

75h Completionist

40-170h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 9 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

King's Bounty: The Legend is a role playing game with fantasy and comedy themes.

King's Bounty: The Legend is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

The main story can be completed in around 36 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 75 hours to finish. On average players spend around 71 hours playing King's Bounty: The Legend.

King's Bounty: The Legend was released on May 1, 2009.

King's Bounty: The Legend was developed by Fulqrum Publishing.

King's Bounty: The Legend has received very positive reviews from players and very positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

King's Bounty: The Legend is a single player game.

Similar games include King's Bounty: Armored Princess, King's Bounty: Warriors of the North, Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, Eador. Masters of the Broken World and others.

King's Bounty: The Legend

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PC Review - 'King's Bounty: The Legend'