King's Bounty II Review (PS4)

The King’s Bounty franchise is older than many of its fans. Ironically, it took the series more than 30 years to go back to its roots gameplay-wise, something that many of the younger fans don’t yet realize.

The last titles in the King’s Bounty series, Dark Side, dates from seven years ago and while it was well received by the media and players alike, it didn’t quite bring anything new to the table. After the first King’s Bounty game that made its debut back in 1990, the franchise went for a Heroes of Magic formula where you explore a map, stack troops and conquer castles to build bigger armies.

You’re not going to find that in the most recent entry in the series, King’s Bounty II, but that’s not really a bad thing. Whereas all the previous games in the franchise were deemed as sequels or spinoffs, King’s Bounty II is the full-fledged sequel to the first King’s Bounty game that we’ve all been waiting for.

But first things first, so let’s talk a bit about the King’s Bounty II setting. Nostria is the fantasy world that you’ll explore (riding or on foot) in your attempt to it from the darkness that threatens to engulf all kingdoms. It’s a recurrent premise that sometimes it’s well implemented into a game that become compelling enough to keep you going, but that’s not the case in King’s Bounty II.

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Make no mistake though, King’s Bounty series isn’t known for its enthralling narrative, compelling story and plot twists, as developers always went for a subversive, tongue-in-cheek writing. Unfortunately, we don’t get either in King’s Bounty II.

I desperately wanted to like King’s Bounty II, but there are just so many issues with the game that I can’t give it a pass mark. First off, this is a departer from the series, as in you’ll be playing a RPG with turn-based strategy elements, not the other way around.

The gorgeous visuals that make just about every other previous King’s Bounty game a pleasure to play are gone in King’s Bounty II. My first experience with the game was completely under par in all aspects. Visually, the game doesn’t look good at all, the UI is terrible, and the controls are clunky.

In King’s Bounty II, you get to choose from three pre-defined characters that have their own background story, so you can’t have your own character. You can either play a male warrior, a female paladin or a female mage. I don’t mind the lack of character customization for the sake of the story, but each of these classes are also tied to the game’s difficulty. In King’s Bounty II, there are no difficulty options to adjust. Instead, you are advised to play the warrior character if you want an easier time in the game or, if you want a challenge, you should pick the mage.

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Also, the first hour or so is in no way representative for the game. While I understand that developers wanted to slowly immerse players into the world and teach them the mechanics, I believe that could’ve done a much better job. As it stands, the beginning of the game is the worst part of King’s Bounty II. Thankfully, you don’t have to spend too much time reaching the game’s main hub.

Just like in the previous games, you’ll spend a lot of time exploring the world. However, this time around you’ll be exploring the scenery in third-person view, riding a horse or on foot. Everything related to movement in King’s Bounty II is clunky. I gave up riding because you can’t pick up items while you’re mounted, which happens pretty often when you’re entering a new zone. Add to that the wonky camera and awful controls and you have a recipe for failure.

Moving on to the strategic part of the game, I’m sorry to say that it’s just as disappointing as the technical side. Everything has been streamlined probably to tap into new audiences. The skill tree is more generic than ever and many of the abilities that you get don’t weigh as much as they pretend.

A lot of the features that made King’s Bounty a fun series to play have been cut from the game, including marriages, rage, item leveling challenges, and perks hunting. Armies are limited to five units and Leadership, but troops variation is lackluster. There are quite a few improvements that the battle mechanics need, including a way for units HP to show up without the player having to hover on them each time and a speed toggle.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion