King's Bounty 2 preview: A detailed fantasy RPG with deep lore and strategic turn-based combat shows promise

Source: 1C Entertainment

The King's Bounty series has had an interesting run. The original turn-based RPG game, released in 1990, is considered the kick off point for the Heroes of Might and Magic games that dominated the mid-1990s. 1C Company then bought the rights to the game and applied them to 2008's King's Compensation: The Legend, another turn-based RPG. The popularity of the game spawned iv expansions, the last ane in 2022. Then, in 2022, a sequel called King's Bounty ii was announced with an expected Aug. 24, 2022, release date.

The sequel is being developed by 1C Entertainment, part of the 1C Company umbrella. It's an incredibly prolific publisher and developer, and you tin thank the team for PC series classics like IL-2 Sturmovik and Men of War. I was lucky plenty to get into an accelerate beta test to preview the game's evolution and to give my impressions almost what the game is going to be like when information technology releases adjacent month on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

A fresh face in the world of Antara

I'm a complete newcomer to the earth of Antara and, more specifically, the continent of Nostria where the story of King'southward Bounty 2 unfolds. Nostria, once the political stronghold of the entire world of Antara, is fractured and descending into chaos. Individual counties are attempting to break free of the Monarchy'due south rule, one time-loyal tradespeople are at each other's throats, and dark creatures both human being and not lie in wait forth the roads that unite villages and cities.

Nostria is crumbling. In classic RPG style information technology's up to the lowly prisoner to relieve the world.

As someone coming into the game without any universal foreknowledge, it'southward a lot to take in. And that's a skillful thing; you never want an epic fantasy RPG to seem void of content. Near people who pick up the game should be in the same gunkhole as I am, since King's Bounty 2 involves a completely new story, new characters, and new factions.

The same unfamiliarity with the broad fantasy earth tin't exist said for the three chief playable characters. Each character has a curt backstory that helps explain their level of talent when you lot pick upwards the controls. There's Aivar the warrior, the recommended starting form for anyone new to the game. So there's Katharine the mage and a Paladin whose name must go unmentioned for now. It seems that no thing which character you lot choose, you always start the game from the aforementioned jail cell awaiting pardon for an attempted assassination on the king (which, of course, you didn't actually exercise). It's RPG bread and butter stuff, with the lowly prisoner suddenly tasked with saving the world.

Source: 1C Entertainment

All character dialogue in the game is vocalization acted, and it's seemingly the same for all NPCs. That's a big task and I did hear some voices that didn't quite fit the grapheme, at least in my mind. However, the vast majority of the lines spoken experience natural. I particularly like the voices of Aivar and Katharine; you'll be hearing them a lot.

Five unique abilities come with each character, and you'll find that certain strengths and ideals will allow you lot to tackle quests in a way the other characters cannot. I very early quest had me attempting to get through an impasse guarded by three golem. Their main, a mage, was nearby merely protected by a bulwark spell. Because my character wasn't able with magic to disarm the barrier and talk to the golems' chief, I had to force my mode through by contesting them.

Source: 1C Entertainment

Speaking on ethics, in that location are four of them in the game that level up every bit y'all play and make decisions. Order, chaos, power, and finesse influence the game at all times, and quests will often end upward bolstering one of these ethics. Each ideal also has a number of talents associated with it that can be leveled up every bit your character gains experience. It's essentially the game'southward tech tree, and it seems like it tin can be reset if you make a error or demand to alter class partway through the game.

One early side quest I took on had me choosing sides between humans and dwarves, each with their own proficient argument. It wasn't an easy decision, and I still don't know if I fabricated the correct choice. Simply no thing what, one of my ideals received a scrap of attention. Eventually these ideals, if built up enough, will crusade the character to go ready in their ways and then much that they won't exist able to act against how they've been acting all game. It'due south a system that makes your choices matter from the very beginning, but I hope it doesn't completely cement players into a sure playstyle. People tin can change!

A mix of tertiary-person exploration and turn-based combat

Source: 1C Entertainment

King'due south Bounty 2 splits your fourth dimension between 3rd-person exploration and plow-based, hex-manner gainsay. At times it feels a scrap like Skyrim as you lot run around finding treasure, meeting new characters, and solving bones puzzles, except with a more linear flavor. At other times it feels similar Civilization, with your individual squads of units taking turns attacking or defending on a hex grid. No affair which part of the game in which you're currently partaking, the level of item is high. The gear you find shows upwards on your character, buildings you lot explore feel either abandoned and creepy or cozy and lived-in, and the puzzles don't feel out of place or shoehorned in just for the sake of information technology.

The combat in King'south Compensation two is a lot deeper than it seems at showtime glance. You will demand to program carefully to vanquish tougher enemies.

And one time a battle starts, the game moves you to an overhead camera that you lot can pan, zoom, and rotate for a clear view of the fight no matter what. Battle areas seem to all be carefully crafted, which makes all the ones I saw seem varied enough to remain fresh. You're non just battling on an open field each time. You might be in a snowfall-covered forest for one fight, with the side by side one in the ruins of a castle. While the melee attacks are fairly straightforward, the spells y'all tin can unleash from your book of magic look fantastic.

With wait, defend, counterattack, zones of control, healing, buffs, and debuffs, there is a pregnant amount of depth to combat. I tried going head-on with some tougher enemies, ignoring any strategy, and was speedily shown the error of my ways. While your hero can't fight directly from one of the hexes, they can aid the ground forces's units with spells.

Source: 1C Entertainment

These spells can be researched, constitute, or upgraded, and it seems like all characters tin can use magic to some extent. As for your army, yous can have up to five squads or units on the go at once, with an unlimited number in reserve set up to fight. You outset out with hardly anything, of course, simply I can see how the diversity volition have people carefully choosing their five units before each battle once they're further into the game.

In terms of backstory and lore-edifice, in that location are tons of notes, plaques, books, and extra lines of dialogue with random NPCs to fill yous in. Correct from the start the game drops you into the center of an unfolding story that involves an attempted assassination and a crumbling monarchy. There is the main quest that sort of carries on naturally, but there are also a agglomeration of random side quests y'all can find around the world. These more often than not add something to the lore of the game and as well provide you with gear, treasure, and experience.

Despite the two quite unlike ways the game is delivered — third-person exploration with voiced dialogue and hex-way plough-based combat — everything seems to fit together adequately well. It's a flake more linear than I was expecting, with the game generally presenting a primary route with a few branching paths here and at that place. At that place are discoverable fast travel locations as well. Just don't become in expecting a true open-world game that lets you try to reach everything you run into on screen.

Heading into King'southward Bounty two'due south launch

Source: 1C Amusement

Male monarch's Bounty 2 is expected to launch in most a month. Every bit it stands now the game seems to be in a stable state, with solid sound design and deep video options. I saw no crashes or major bugs, but there is still certainly room for improvement. The game currently lacks the ability to rebind keys, which is always a no-no for PC games. At that place is also some jank to do with the horse y'all receive at the offset of the game. Mounts are notoriously difficult to get right, and 1C still has some way to become on that forepart.

In that location might also be some balancing issues to practice with the main quest. In my first run through the game equally Aivar I completed a bunch of the side quests presented to me, leveling up and receiving better gear. When I went dorsum through with Katharine the mage I focused on the primary story simply. At i signal I reached a battle that is seemingly incommunicable to win without being at a higher level. An RPG is all well-nigh the side quests and story lore so virtually people likely won't run into this problem, but those who desire to run through the storyline only will have some trouble.

I'm overall optimistic nearly King's Bounty 2. It seems like it wants to proceed the game'south tradition live with rich storytelling and a detailed fantasy world. But it's also all-around to newcomers similar me thanks to in-depth tutorials that do a good chore of explaining the game'south fundamentals. And with so much written and spoken content to practise with lore, the globe created here is already taking up a spot in my head. King'southward Bounty 2 is expected to release Aug. 24, 2022, on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. Until and then, check out a bunch of our picks for all-time Xbox games and all-time PC games to assistance you laissez passer the time.

A return to Antara

King's Bounty 2

King's Bounty 2, the official sequel to King's Bounty: The Legend, is a story-driven RPG with 3rd-person exploration mixed with turn-based combat. Information technology's expected to release Aug. 24, 2022, on PC, Xbox 1, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. You tin can preorder now.

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