Kingdom Two Crowns

Review

Welcome to the third installment of the Kingdom franchise.

Two Crowns has seen some transformations that set it apart from the other two titles, with additional characters, artifacts, as well as Coop gameplay. For those who are familiar with the series, you’ll find that it plays pretty much the same as the last releases, with a few added twists. If you have not tried the series, I would recommend you start at the first release and work your way to this one, unless you're looking at the coop gameplay. It does not matter in which order you play them story-wise, I just believe it is best to start at the beginning of any series.

We start shipwrecked on the first island. As you begin exploring, the ghost of a previous ruler beckons you to follow them. It leads you down a path that has gold scattered along the way.  As you quickly collect it up and continue following the spirit you come across two peasants at a campfire. The spirit instructs you to hire them with your gold, and to light the campfire. This will establish the start of your kingdom. With fire ablaze, you will purchase tools for these two peasants who are now your loyal subjects. Your only options will be an archer or a builder to start with. You will now need to start building your defenses in order to protect yourself and your followers as you expand your empire. At night the monsters attack when the moon rises. Lose your crown and its game over. As you continue to build and upgrade your kingdom, additional classes will become available with new tools for your subjects. These will include a sickle for farmers and a spear for guards. There are mysterious shrines on the islands, and you will need to figure out their purpose. From here you're on your own; build your strategy and escape from the islands.

Released on Dec 11, 2018, by the developers Noio and Coatsink, & Published by Raw Fury, I have tagged it as 2D, Pixel, Adventure, Coop, Strategy, Randomly Generated, Casual. In regards to my rating, it is mostly easy to learn and play; there is a learning curve to the idles and shrines which makes it slightly harder, yet not overly difficult. There are plenty of features, giving the series a breath of fresh air. Most notable would be the addition of coop gameplay (does allow drop-ins). As a huge coop gamer myself, this was a great selling point. Enjoy new characters and idles, shrines, mounts, and defenses along with secrets hidden throughout the dark forest. Free DLC content will take you to exotic new lands from around the world. We currently have the Shogun DLC, in which you will need to enlist the help of the ninja to create new strategies as your adventure heads into the thick bamboo forest of Japan. There is more to come as they are programmed adding even more playability to the game. With full controller support to play it your way (I preferred the controller over the keyboard and mouse), beautiful pixel graphics and a lovely soundtrack set the mood for this addictive indie game.

I am enjoying this release as much, if not more, than the previous two games. Its unique genre-blending makes for fascinating gameplay; I can get lost for hours at a time if I don’t watch myself! Once I get friends who buy it, I’ll be able to dig into the coop, and once I do, I can pretty much guarantee it will be my favorite. I do want to play a while longer and learn everything I can before diving into the coop. I love the changes that allow you to go back and forth to islands once you leave them, a feature that will be a strategic necessity as you progress. The new mounts are really neat and fun to discover, they also serve their own purposes. Figuring out what all the idols and shrines do has been my biggest obstacle. A little background information on their use would have been nice. As this has been the formula since the first game, I really can't see playing any other way. Should I really need to, I could always head over to the wiki, although I really do try to avoid this as I prefer figuring out all the mechanics myself. The randomly generated world results in ever-changing gameplay with tons of replayability, making the title exceptional value for your library.

The time is at hand for you to decide if Kingdom Two Crowns is destined for your library. Choose your ruler, king or queen, design your crest, and expand your kingdom.

Settings.
Language
Fullscreen/Windowed
Zoom
Sound
Music
Blazon(custom code area for your crest)

Review written by DamageInc.for Zeepond.com!