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The King's Bird

A beautiful game marred by repetition yet incredibly playable.
The King's Bird Game Cover
66%Game Brain Score
gameplay, music
optimization, grinding
63% User Score Based on 313 reviews
Critic Score 69%Based on 19 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchPCPlaystation 4Xbox OneXboxSteam DeckWindowsPlayStation
The King's Bird Game Cover

About

The King's Bird is a single player platformer game. It was developed by Graffiti_Games and was released on August 23, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

The King's Bird is a momentum-based precision-platformer that seamlessly combines parkour with aerial movement.

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63%
Audience ScoreBased on 313 reviews
gameplay45 positive mentions
optimization8 negative mentions

  • Beautiful, stylish art direction and evocative, dynamic soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere.
  • Unique and satisfying momentum-based flight and platforming mechanics providing exhilarating gameplay when mastered.
  • Well-designed levels with varied environments that reward exploration and skill, supported by generous checkpoints.
  • Controls can feel imprecise, inconsistent, or janky, especially on keyboard and during complex maneuvers, leading to frustration.
  • Steep difficulty curve with punishing precision platforming and obtuse or insufficiently explained mechanics creating a harsh learning experience.
  • Technical issues including save data loss, bugs, performance/stuttering problems, and poor tutorial design hamper overall enjoyment.
  • gameplay
    180 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The King's Bird features a unique momentum-based platforming gameplay centered around soaring, gliding, and precise movement mechanics that offer an engaging but steep learning curve. While the flight and physics-based controls are praised for their freshness and satisfying flow once mastered, many players find the mechanics unintuitive and poorly explained, leading to frustration and trial-and-error gameplay. The level design showcases varied challenges that highlight these mechanics, though occasional repetitiveness and control inconsistencies may hinder the overall experience for some.

    • “Gameplay centers on navigating sprawling, open levels that require a mix of running, jumping, dashing, and gliding to progress.”
    • “The core glide and surface-boosting mechanics are introduced in the prologue, and the rest of the game is just incredible level design, which is extremely difficult to master.”
    • “Tkb's main selling point is its momentum-movement mechanic, which uses the physics and velocity of your character to fly through levels and solve challenging platform-puzzles at a fast pace.”
    • “The controls and the game mechanics are very different from all other platformers and the behaviour of the player ends up unpredictable in many situations.”
    • “The gameplay and controls are horrendously bad for a precision platformer game and that alone is unforgivable.”
    • “Another issue is that the game doesn't properly teach you important mechanics. Other than the beginning tutorial, you're supposed to learn and understand how this game's mechanics work by yourself.”
  • music
    134 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty, emotional depth, and dynamic integration with gameplay, creating an immersive and serene atmosphere that enhances the visual experience. However, many users note the soundtrack's limited variety and repetition, which may lessen its impact over extended play. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a major highlight, elevating the game's mood and enjoyment despite occasional monotony.

    • “The sound design and dynamic musical score further elevate the experience, reacting fluidly to player movements and enhancing immersion with a soundtrack that flows in tandem with the game’s graceful pacing.”
    • “The elegant visuals and evocative soundtrack create an immersive world that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.”
    • “It’s a wordless journey fully told through its beautiful animations and breathtaking soundtrack, and it features some of the most graceful and engaging platforming you'll find on the indie side of the gaming world.”
    • “The only blemish in this department is the under-utilisation of the king's bird storytelling devices and the lack of diversity in the soundtrack.”
    • “Because of the confusion and the repetitive music tracks, I have taken my rating down from highly recommended to just recommended.”
    • “- the music and aesthetics don't change up much, giving levels little sense of mechanical or thematic identity.”
    • “- the music just abruptly cuts when you end a level and it makes the game feel like an unfinished product.”
    • “The true biggest offense of this game is its soundtrack.”
  • story
    104 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in this platformer is minimalistic and largely abstract, told non-verbally through environmental storytelling, symbolic imagery, murals, and music, focusing more on atmosphere and player interpretation than a clear narrative. While some find this poetic and immersive, others feel the plot is vague, sparse, or underdeveloped, often taking a backseat to challenging gameplay and level progression. Overall, the story serves mainly as a subtle framework rather than a driving element, appealing more to players who appreciate mood and symbolism over traditional storytelling.

    • “The game eschews traditional storytelling, instead relying on evocative environments, graceful animations, and subtle world-building to immerse players in a poetic journey of escape and self-discovery.”
    • “Without dialogue or explicit exposition, the story of a girl fleeing a harsh kingdom unfolds through environmental storytelling and symbolic imagery.”
    • “The visual and audio storytelling devices utilize the crafted world well and add to the theme of discovery, relying on player interpretation rather than text to directly tell the story.”
    • “The story is present only in the trailer and at the ending and it's honestly impossible to understand what it means.”
    • “Almost 2h playing this game to just ~5min of story.”
    • “After the prologue and introduction, the plot takes a back seat in favour of just grinding out levels.”
  • graphics
    98 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics are widely praised for their minimalist, colorful, and atmospheric art style, creating stunning and immersive environments with fluid animations. Visuals scale well across platforms, maintain clarity even in fast-paced sequences, and contribute significantly to the overall experience despite some repetition in level design. While the aesthetic is often cited as a major strength, a few users note that it can sometimes obscure important gameplay details or feel underutilized.

    • “The visuals are stunning: minimalist, colorful, and full of atmosphere, making every area feel unique and alive.”
    • “The graphical style is gorgeous, scaling nicely to 4K and stays crisp up close.”
    • “Unbelievably gorgeous graphics are complemented by an equally colorful soundtrack and an elegant, nuanced movement system that's a joy to master.”
    • “Slightly held back by repetitive level visuals (even if they are beautiful) making it harder to feel a sense of progress.”
    • “Visuals are the one thing going for it and even they get a little samey.”
    • “The visuals and trailers made me think this was going to be a chill artistic platformer like Gris but instead I got Super Meat Boy mixed with visuals that look pretty but can make it hard to pick out important details.”
  • optimization
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from significant optimization issues, with frequent stuttering, inconsistent frame rates, and poor performance even on high-end hardware. While visuals are praised, the gameplay experience is hindered by lag spikes and a rigid 60fps limit that doesn't suit PC players. Some users note occasional better performance but overall recommend waiting for patches before playing.

    • “Performance is generally good all around for FPS, but there are rare lag spikes regardless of your specs.”
    • “Performance suffers a bit at higher resolutions (2560x1440) with all effects enabled.”
    • “The game's optimization is not very consistent.”
    • “Controls are jank and inconsistent, and performance is bafflingly bad for a 2D game.”
    • “Major optimization issues in this game kill the framerate, and the gameplay seems like it'd remain clunky even if the framerate issue were resolved.”
    • “This game runs like absolute trash on my 2070 Super, around 45fps with stuttering.”
  • atmosphere
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its stunning, minimalist visuals and beautiful, evocative soundtrack that together create a unique, timeless, and immersive experience. While its abstract storytelling and moments of quiet can feel distant or sparse for some, most players appreciate the mood and symbolism enhancing the gameplay. Overall, the atmosphere contributes significantly to the game's relaxed yet engaging vibe, though a few desire more variety in music during quieter sections.

    • “The visuals are stunning too: minimalist, colorful, and full of atmosphere, making every area feel unique and alive.”
    • “This blend creates a timeless, almost mythical atmosphere that perfectly complements the game’s themes of confinement and liberation.”
    • “The game's atmosphere is gorgeous: a pleasant, aesthetic art style and a wonderful score.”
    • “The lack of character development or verbal storytelling makes the experience feel more abstract, which will appeal to those who appreciate atmosphere and symbolism over traditional plotlines, but could feel distant for others seeking a clearer narrative arc.”
    • “And especially in a 2D platformer game where I am absolutely not here to soak up the atmosphere or whatever.”
  • grinding
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews highlight that grinding in the game quickly becomes tedious and repetitive, especially after the early stages, making progression feel frustrating for many players. While some find the challenge rewarding for completionists, the overall experience tends to wear thin due to repetitive tasks and lackluster level design.

    • “After the prologue and introduction, the plot takes a back seat in favor of just grinding out levels.”
    • “This results in the game becoming tedious and frustrating, especially leading up to the end of the game and definitely during the final section.”
    • “The first two worlds are a lot of fun before everything becomes a tedious grind.”
  • emotional
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The King’s Bird offers a visually beautiful and artistically crafted experience that evokes the sensation of learning to fly, yet its emotional impact is weakened by a lack of clear narrative and a focus on speedrunning and collection. While some players appreciate its fluid momentum-based gameplay, others find the emotional connection to the protagonist and story underdeveloped and formulaic.

    • “The King's Bird, developed and published by Serenity Forge, is a visually stunning and emotionally resonant platformer that challenges players to master fluid, momentum-based movement within a beautifully crafted world.”
    • “This game made me feel like a baby bird learning to fly surrounded by spikes and lava.”
    • “While this lends the game an artistic and open-ended quality, it may also leave some players wanting more narrative clarity or emotional connection to the protagonist's plight.”
  • character development
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development is minimal, favoring atmosphere and symbolism over traditional storytelling, which may appeal to some players but feel distant for those wanting a clear narrative arc.

    • “The lack of character development or verbal storytelling makes the experience feel more abstract, which will appeal to those who appreciate atmosphere and symbolism over traditional plotlines, but could feel distant for others seeking a clearer narrative arc.”
  • humor
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is subtle and situational, stemming from the player's discovery process and unconventional controls. While some may find this amusing, others might find it frustrating, making the comedic appeal dependent on individual preferences.

  • replayability
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers numerous levels that provide strong replay value, encouraging players to revisit and enjoy the content multiple times.

    • “It has a lot of levels that have great replay value.”
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Frequently Asked Questions

The King's Bird is a platformer game.

The King's Bird is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and others.

The King's Bird was released on August 23, 2018.

The King's Bird was developed by Graffiti_Games.

The King's Bird has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked The King's Bird for its gameplay but disliked it for its optimization.

The King's Bird is a single player game.

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