Knights of Honor II: Sovereign Review (PC)

France in the XII century is not a powerhouse, with a small number of provinces and some big and centralized neighbors. I recruit a field commander, two merchants, and a cleric, and set about developing infrastructure for extra resources. I use my characters to gain more money and get audiences with all my vassals, aiming to increase trust and establish trade.

Growth is solid for a time, and I manage to defeat Brittany for some extra land. Unfortunately, I fail to get a diplomat to create a defensive pact against the biggest power in Europe, the Germans. They declare war, probably annoyed that I was expanding my web of marriages.

I put up a brave fight and even siege and secure two provinces from them. But they manage to get Flanders, Denmark, and Catalonia on their side and my good fortune evaporates. After a big final field battle, I quit the campaign and begin immediately exploring how I can do better in terms of alliances and army development.

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign is developed by Black Sea Games and published by THQ Nordic. I played on the PC using Steam. The title offers a new take on classic strategy game ideas, set during the Middle Ages.

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Gamers can choose a political entity (it’s a little early to call these nations) and then use the game mechanics to try and lead it to victory. There are three start dates, offering quite a bit of variety, and the action takes place mostly within the borders of Europe. Players can pick up the Holy German Empire and will have a somewhat easier time or go for a more obscure duchy if they want to truly work their way up in the world.

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign is inspired by history rather than bound to it. It simulates cultures and political entities and the start dates are populated with real-world figures. But it does not try to simulate the exact forces that shaped our world and a look at the map after 50 years will reveal major changes. I find this exciting because it gives players space to create their own stories, but history students might be disappointed.

The gameplay is built around the knights, their abilities, and their interactions. There are five classes and eight slots for each kingdom. All can lead armies, although marshals do it best. All will improve provinces, but you really want a merchant to get the most revenue, and enhance it with actual trading.

Clerics and diplomats will have big effects on the world, creating pacts, improving relations, and boosting religions. Spies can undermine opponent kingdoms and bribe their own characters to launch some major nefarious actions.

All knights serve as governors for provinces, even as they engage in other activities. It’s important to search for the best matches and then use the limited building slots to create specialized resource production powerhouses. A kingdom-wide puzzle of buildings can also combine to deliver complex goods, like cannon or glass.

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Developing a nation is important, but players also need to play the diplomatic game well. One of the more interesting decisions is that there’s no full alliance feature. Players can seek and gain a variety of pacts with other nations, including powerful defensive pacts or marriages. But that’s not a guarantee that they will join in a conflict.

The uncertainty creates possibilities and conflict. War is inevitable in Sovereign. To wage it effectively, players need a good economic base, plenty of levies and gold, and good commanders. Don’t forget to press friends for help, at least gold if not direct involvement. Plenty of problems can be solved with solid spy work, for those who have the money for it.

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign allows players to take direct control of any combat if they want to test their tactical skills. A good mix of units will defeat a higher number of lower-level opponents and the computer mostly does well, although it has a tendency to make its commanders vulnerable (it’s a good strategy to target them).

The game has a lot of mechanics. The knights stay center stage and I enjoyed finding ways to make them more efficient. But the rest lack some depth. I wanted province development to be more than a puzzle centered on trade goods. Tactical engagements also feature a relatively limited set of potential approaches.

But the title does not seek to create a historically-immersive title, which highlights the interplay between the systems. Creating a successful kingdom is challenging, regardless of the player’s strategy. And there’s always something to tweak, a new knight selection to try, a new development strategy to apply, in the search for victory.

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign offers a range of options for multiplayer matches, including ways to limit the impact of spies and a variety of victory conditions and time limits. Pure cooperative play is also a possibility.

Knights of Honor II: Sovereign delivers a modern presentation without dropping the clear personality of its predecessor. Players will probably spend most of their time using the political look, designed to offer a lot of information at a glance. But zoom down to ground level and you can see moving armies, thriving provinces, and even the devastation of war.

The interface is designed to make it easy to always keep tabs on the knights and their actions, while also offering quick access to provinces, the royal family, and diplomacy. The sound design is equally solid, with a soundtrack inspired by Medieval motifs, and quite a lot of voice lines for the characters.

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The Good

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