Is this bounty worth a king’s ransom?
Offering a fresh take on the fantasy series, King’s Bounty II expands upon its tactical turn-based battles to offer players a truly immersive RPG experience that adds weight to their every decision, whether leading an army into battle against unliving horrors, or building relations with local townsfolk. Experience a rich world that blends realism and fantasy, filled with compelling stories, memorable characters and moral choices aplenty. Taking on the mantle of one of three heroes – each with their own unique story – players embark on a non-linear, open-world adventure across a detailed and densely-packed fantasy landscape.
King’s Bounty II isn’t your typical open world RPG, it almost feels like two different genres mixed together with its exploration and its combat. Getting around the world is like you would expect, but combat is a different beast altogether, instead of fighting either solo or in a party of a few members, you’ll be placed on a hex grid with different units of troops to deploy against your enemy in a strategy-type fight.
It’s a clever twist and one I wasn’t expecting to work at first, I was utterly confused as how to handle fights but after a few battles, I got the hang of it. That doesn’t mean that the game was a cakewalk though, no…quite the opposite. You can easily find yourself overwhelmed if you don’t have the right setup going into battle, but luckily there’s usually a checkpoint beforehand so you can replay it again after failing with a new loadout of troops.
There is a fairly decent size world to explore in King’s Bounty II and while it can’t hope to compete with the likes of Skyrim on that scale, the game does well in its own right to provide a decent open world with many traditional RPG elements in tow.
You can tell at a glance that the game didn’t have the biggest budget, so it looks a bit dated and performance can be sketchy at times, but I didn’t come across anything game-breaking. The voice-acting is hit and miss, but the soundtrack is decent overall.
The Verdict
King’s Bounty II may not have the big RPG budget and the combat may not be to everyone’s tastes, but there is an impressive game here that I hope fans of the genre will give a chance.