Medieval Kingdom Wars
- January 3, 2019
- Reverie World Studios
- 25h median play time
"Medieval Kingdom Wars" is a grand strategy game set in the Hundred Years' War era. Players start as a minor noble, with the goal of managing their kingdom and expanding their territory through real-time combat. The game offers a unique experience with over a dozen nations and 50 Lords to choose from, as well as additional content like the "King's Campaign" and "Zombie Mode" DLCs.
Reviews
- The game combines elements of Total War and Age of Empires, providing a unique gameplay experience.
- The developers are very active and responsive to community feedback, regularly updating the game.
- The siege mechanics are engaging and add depth to the gameplay, making battles feel epic.
- The user interface is clunky and difficult to navigate, making it hard to manage units and buildings.
- The AI is often predictable and lacks strategic depth, leading to repetitive gameplay.
- The graphics are outdated and can be visually unappealing, detracting from the overall experience.
- gameplay292 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Medieval Kingdom Wars is a mixed bag, showcasing a blend of real-time strategy and grand strategy mechanics reminiscent of titles like Total War and Age of Empires. While the core mechanics are engaging and offer depth, many players find the execution lacking due to clunky controls, poor user interface, and various bugs that hinder the overall experience. Despite these issues, the game holds potential for improvement, especially with ongoing developer support and updates aimed at refining gameplay elements.
“The game offers an immersive experience with stunning visuals, deep and complex gameplay mechanics, and an engaging storyline that keeps players hooked from start to finish.”
“The core gameplay loop of building your town, building an army, sending it to battle, capturing another town, and then building that one up is pretty addictive.”
“This game is amazing; if you like real-time strategy games, then this game is for you. It's a combination of many different strategy games, so it has its own unique style of gameplay and really exciting battles.”
“Medieval Kingdom Wars holds potential for a small 3-man indie team, but struggles with fluidity and core mechanics.”
“The gameplay is cumbersome.”
“Overall, the game is ambitious in its design, but execution is disappointing after a few hours of gameplay.”
- graphics292 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they appear outdated and reminiscent of early 2000s titles. While some appreciate the charm and atmosphere created by the visuals, others criticize the poor optimization, clunky animations, and lack of detail in unit designs. Overall, the consensus suggests that while the graphics may not be cutting-edge, they do not significantly detract from the gameplay experience, especially for those who prioritize mechanics over visuals.
“The game offers an immersive experience with stunning visuals, deep and complex gameplay mechanics, and an engaging storyline that keeps players hooked from start to finish.”
“The graphics are great and the gameplay is great.”
“The artwork for this game is amazing!”
“The graphics are atrocious and the animations are horrible.”
“The optimisation is poor, which results in abysmal graphics quality and low frame rates, despite running it on specifications above the minimal requirement.”
“From the very first screen, it's obvious that the graphics are going to be a special kind of bad.”
- stability61 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 95 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with many reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues that hinder gameplay. While some players acknowledge the game's potential and express hope for future improvements, the overall consensus is that it is currently in a very buggy and unoptimized state, leading to frustrating experiences such as freezing, lagging, and unresponsive controls. Despite these issues, a few players find enjoyment in the game, suggesting that it may improve with ongoing updates.
“It runs great with minimal bugs, with the most noticeable issue being a ballista outside of the tower it was built in, which is not a big deal at all.”
“I have an older PC build from around 2014 running Windows 10, and the game runs great.”
“Game starts with flashy (kinda) cinematic.. jpag looking option buttons, I am running a 2080ti and I was getting 10-15 frames with stutters and random glitches.”
“To put it very bluntly -- the tutorial is not new-player friendly, it's crap and filled with bugs and glitches -- the UI is an amateur creation which makes gameplay tedious, endless mouse-clicks, and no way to alter key-bindings at all.”
“This game has a lot of potential, but holy buggy/laggy/unoptimized chaos.”
- story53 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the immersive experience and engaging narrative tied to historical events, while others criticize the lack of a structured storyline and confusing tutorial missions. Many feel that the game offers potential for rich storytelling but currently falls short due to its minimal narrative depth and reliance on player-driven experiences. Overall, while there are elements of a compelling story, significant improvements are needed to enhance coherence and engagement.
“The game offers an immersive experience with stunning visuals, deep and complex gameplay mechanics, and an engaging storyline that keeps players hooked from start to finish.”
“I love every bit of the design and storyline.”
“But, I like it, I really do. I like the accuracy in historical events, I like that I have to think profoundly before I do something specific, I like that I get to change the whole story based on my actions. It's a really fun game and I recommend it if you're into strategy games, especially since it's only $20.”
“The game doesn’t have a dedicated story, beyond the concept of the 100-year war, and some narration whenever a kingdom gets eliminated, as the story is your own to make.”
“The tutorial, which more or less serves as the game's story, is poorly written.”
“Storyline and tutorial need some heavy work done.”
- optimization52 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including lag, crashes, and poor graphical optimization. While some users experienced smooth gameplay, particularly on lower settings, the consensus is that the game requires substantial improvements in optimization to enhance the overall experience, especially during larger battles. Despite its potential and enjoyable gameplay, the current state is described as "horribly optimized" and in need of urgent attention from the developers.
“I have read a few issues concerning the optimization of the game - honestly, I had no issues during the gameplay whatsoever.”
“Its competent for what it does, it handles combat fair enough with not many performance issues and I didn't run into many bugs, just 1 or 2 small issues that would be patched out by now.”
“The developer made the early access period long and every week there are updates that improve the performance.”
“I am being honest, I get that this is a 3-man dev team, but serious guys, outsource some help or something. This is horribly optimized and weirdly built; the whole UI needs to be rebuilt.”
“This is the first time I have ever recommended a game that is clearly unfinished and not optimized.”
“The state of the game is currently unoptimized.”
- music39 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating the medieval-style soundtrack that enhances immersion and fits the game's theme. However, some users noted issues with volume levels, repetitive tracks, and occasional glitches, suggesting that while the music is good, it could benefit from more variety and better integration with gameplay elements. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point, though it has room for improvement.
“The game contains good-sounding medieval-style music, recorded from instruments.”
“The music is a pretty standard medieval theme, which is actually quite nice; it fits the theme and helps with immersion. I wish there were more tracks because what's there is pretty good.”
“The soundtrack is fantastic; you will feel all the time in a thirteenth-century tavern with a bard who is about to recite his poetry.”
“When you pause, the music glitches or stops.”
“Coupled with issues with music being very loud and other things, their audio designers need to take a look at this ASAP.”
“Too few tracks and some sounds seem to be misplaced, as one that sounds so much like a battle theme starts playing during city management, startling me a few times and making me think I was being attacked.”
- grinding17 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with many citing issues like a cumbersome UI, repetitive battles, and the need for manual management of multiple towns and cities. While some appreciate the depth this offers, the overall sentiment leans towards the grind feeling unrewarding and overly time-consuming, particularly in the mid to late game. Despite some fun elements, the lack of diversity and technical flaws contribute to a sense of monotony in gameplay.
“Town/city management is tedious; you have to manually upgrade every building, which becomes a chore when you own a large number of towns.”
“As you can see, the game is full of flaws and technical issues that still haven't been fixed, making it tedious and annoying to play. It lacks diversity, and the campaign quickly becomes boring, with no goal other than just conquering the whole of Europe.”
“It's nothing but grinding to take the next place, and it doesn't feel rewarding when you do.”
- replayability14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The reviews on replayability are mixed; while some players appreciate the potential for varied experiences with different factions, many express frustration over the lack of manual save options and linear gameplay, which significantly limits replay value. Some users feel that without the ability to restart battles or save at will, the game loses much of its replayability appeal. Overall, while there are claims of substantial content and replayability, many players believe improvements are needed to enhance the experience.
“As a result, no two playthroughs of the game are alike, providing endless replayability.”
“It's a great game that offers a lot of replayability.”
“I think I counted 40 or so lords to play, divided among maybe 16 factions, so the replayability is enormous.”
“The only gripe I have is that the replay value isn't very high outside of trying another kingdom.”
“There is no replayability, and choosing a different faction brings nothing new.”
“As for replay value, I don't see any.”
- humor11 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is well-received, with players appreciating the witty dialogue, amusing tutorial voice acting, and the developer's engaging communication style. Many find the interactions, both in-game and through community channels, to be lighthearted and entertaining, contributing to an enjoyable experience. Additionally, players have noted funny bugs that add an unexpected layer of amusement to gameplay.
“The dialogue has its funny moments, and I love the way the developer communicates with their users, both in and out of the game.”
“The tutorial had me laughing, not in a negative way, but because of the funny comments and jokes of your marshal.”
“Having the chatbox available makes the single player campaign almost like multiplayer; everyone is super friendly and funny about what they are doing and how they are doing it.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its immersive medieval atmosphere, effectively capturing the period through impressive graphics, sound, and music. Reviewers highlight the convincing ambiance that enhances the overall experience, making it a standout feature despite some gameplay challenges.
“The game has a great medieval atmosphere; the ambience of the medieval period is well reproduced, and the graphics, sounds, and music all fit in to immerse the player.”
“What's great is the atmosphere - it's just fantastic!”
“Very good game with a lot of potential and a unique atmosphere.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game emotionally engaging due to its heartwarming historical elements, which foster a sense of connection to the development process. However, the chaotic gameplay and tactical limitations detract from the overall emotional experience, leaving some feeling frustrated rather than immersed.
“The historical accuracy, though minimal, is decent where it matters and is heartwarming to see.”
“That in itself made me feel like I was part of the game development myself.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's monetization strategy appears to be underdeveloped, likely due to the small team size, leading to potentially misleading advertising and a lack of adherence to established standards in the RTS genre.
“The game is made by three people, and as you would expect, they lack an advertising manager and a game tester who understands the standards of RTS games.”
“I think the advertising is a little misleading on this point.”