The Monarch: First Light

About

The Monarch: First Light is a single player casual strategy game. It was developed by Citadel Games and was released on April 3, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Full Release About the Game The Monarch is a Kingdom-like strategy game that has minimalistic control & smooth gameplay with power-up aspects. The gates of hell open each night, terrorizing the land. As the player, you must find a way to destroy the gates and defend your lands in the process! Gather coins, recruit peasants, train units, build powerful structures, gain power-ups, and adapt!…

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Single-Player

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78%

Audience ScoreBased on 55 reviews

atmosphere2 positive mentions

monetization14 negative mentions

The game offers fun and engaging gameplay, making it enjoyable despite its limitations.
The art style and atmosphere create a unique vibe that some players find appealing.
As a demo, it provides a glimpse of potential, with players expressing interest in the full game.

The game is misleadingly presented as a full game when it is actually just a demo, leading to disappointment.
It lacks originality, heavily borrowing elements from other games without adding anything new.
There are technical issues, including crashes and poor optimization, which detract from the overall experience.

monetization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of this game has been criticized as misleading, with many users viewing it as an advertisement rather than a legitimate game. Players express frustration over the practice of publishing demos and ads as full games, which detracts from genuine developers and misleads consumers. Overall, the sentiment is that this approach is a cash grab that fails to provide value to gamers.
- “If you enjoy advertisements, you can consume them for free on the web or on YouTube without needing to add them to your game library, download them, and then launch the advertising.”
- “While it might seem like an innocuous mistake, publishing demos and advertisements as if they are full games is misleading and, in some ways, harmful.”
- “It's impossible for me to recommend this incorrectly published advertising spam to gamers; you deserve better than adverts.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players criticizing it for being a poorly executed imitation of other titles, suffering from unnecessary 3D elements that detract from the experience. Conversely, others praise its engaging mechanics and addictive nature, highlighting the enjoyable learning curve and atmospheric music that enhance the overall experience. Overall, while some find it lacking in depth, others appreciate its minimalist design and the fun of discovering new gameplay features.
- “It has really good content for a prologue and the music is so in tune with the atmosphere that it supports the gameplay in the background.”
- “I really like the game; I'm not really good at it and make a lot of mistakes, but still it's fun and you are eager to improve your gameplay.”
- “When I started to play, I just couldn't stop playing, because it looks so simple, so minimalist, but is a great experience that you need to learn a lot of stuff. All you discover is part of the gameplay; I don't know how they did it, but they designed the game in a way that discovering new features is part of the challenge and part of the fun.”
- “The monarch is an unusual, but badly made ripoff of Kingdom/Kingsdom: New Lands, with graphics that poorly imitate Minecraft, and gameplay elements stolen from Vampire Survivors.”
- “The 3D feels to be negatively affecting the game, because in this game it only adds more distance to travel just as slowly as in the 2D Kingdom game, without adding much to the gameplay.”
- “But I do think it lacks gameplay features; maybe there's more to come, but the demo is not enough to understand it.”
graphics
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The graphics of the game are criticized for being poorly executed and reminiscent of Minecraft, leading to a lack of coherence in the art style. Reviewers note that while the 3D aspect offers potential, it ultimately feels like a mishmash of elements from various popular titles, resulting in a jarring visual experience.
- “This game feels like a mix of various popular titles: it's like a 3D kingdom with Minecraft Dungeons graphics, World of Warcraft sound effects and mob designs, and a Vampire Survivors leveling and skill system.”
- “The monarch is an unusual, but poorly made ripoff of Kingdom/Kingsdom: New Lands, with graphics that poorly imitate Minecraft.”
- “This game feels like a mix of various popular titles: it's like a 3D kingdom with Minecraft Dungeons graphics, World of Warcraft sound effects, and mob designs, along with a Vampire Survivors leveling and skill system.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive quality, enhanced by a well-suited musical score that complements the gameplay. Players appreciate the depth and richness of the environment, which exceeds initial expectations of simplicity.
- “It has really good content for a prologue, and the music is so in tune with the atmosphere that it supports the gameplay in the background.”
- “The first moment I saw this game, I thought it was going to be a very simple game, and I loved the atmosphere of the game.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, leading to a subpar performance that detracts from the overall experience. Many users express disappointment, suggesting it feels like a poorly executed imitation of other titles.
- “The game is quite poorly optimized; it feels like a blatant copy. I don't recommend it.”
- “The performance issues are frustrating, making it hard to enjoy the game.”
- “I experienced frequent frame drops and long loading times, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is highly praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, effectively supporting the gameplay experience, particularly in the prologue.
- “It has really good content for a prologue, and the music is so in tune with the atmosphere that it supports the gameplay in the background.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

The Monarch: First Light is a casual strategy game.

The Monarch: First Light is available on PC and Windows.

The Monarch: First Light was released on April 3, 2024.

The Monarch: First Light was developed by Citadel Games.

The Monarch: First Light has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its atmosphere but disliked it for its monetization.

The Monarch: First Light is a single player game.

Similar games include Lord Ambermaze: Prologue, 7th Domain:Tree of Chaos Prologue, Citizens: Far Lands - Prologue, Corsair`s Madness Prologue: Jungle`s Island, Iridio: Prologue and others.

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