King's Bounty II

A fun experience for a gamer of any background. King’s Bounty II gives us a world full of interesting characters, fun side quests, mysteries to solve, and challenging yet rewarding battles

Though King's Bounty II's presentation is certainly crumbly in ways that would only be endearing to folks partial to PS3 level jank, there still remains a compelling RPG and turn based strategy hybrid here. Bolstered by non-linear storytelling, deceptively deep world building and the sort of accessible strategy that embraces genre newcomers and stalwarts alike, King's Bounty II is a deeply appealing effort that does ample justice to its namesake.

I miss Might and Magic. Both the mainline series and the phenomenal Heroes of Might and Magic spinoff. It was the game that put blending strategy and RPGs on the map. It’s also the reason I’m rambling about old RPG franchises now. See, there was a game before the first Heroes of Might and Magic. One made by the same company that set the stage for HOM&M’s future success. It was called King’s Bounty. And now over thirty years later, long after the death of its successor, we finally rece...

King's Bounty 2 is a good game, perhaps average for others. However, if you love fantasy genre, this world will provide you with several hours of entertainment.

A flawed return for a classic series that doesn’t quite nail the transition to an open-world third-person perspective. Interesting and fun combat balances out the bland exploration somewhat.

King's Bounty II offers numerous options to keep you playing its 40-hour campaign. Unfortunately, it suffers from questionable design, janky movement while exploring, and confusing alignment system outcomes. It can be a treat for long-time fans, but it's also rough around the edges.

King's Bounty II is a turn-based tactics / CRPG hybrid set in a medieval high fantasy world filled with mystery and intrigue. However, it's definitely a mixed experience as it can be engaging and enjoyable but I can't wholly recommend it because of a few serious problems.

King’s Bounty II is a tactical RPG developed and published by 1C Entertainment. The game is the latest entry in the King’s Bounty game franchise, and a direct successor to the first game in the series, which was originally developed by Jon van Caneghem in 1990. Blending a fantasy setting with turn-based combat, the game is set in the kingdom of Nostria. With the kingdom being threatened by dark forces, it’s up to you to save the day.

A disappointing game riddled with poor level design, painful movement speeds, a punishing learning curve for new players, and a bad UX.

Manage to get through King’s Bounty II‘s battles, though, and you’ll be rewarded with engaging exploration and a decent narrative that leaves you wanting to find out more about the fate of the world you’re in. Despite not looking great, it truly is a world that begs to be explored. Unfortunately, many of the battles are simply too unforgiving and frustrating to encourage you to keep going. Reloading an old save again and again isn’t fun and ultimately, it’s hard to recommend King’s Bounty II – unless you genuinely do enjoy getting defeated again and again.

I will forever be confounded that this game exists as it does. With texture-work that would look at home PS2 and RPG mechanics that could go back even further it feels like a relic. There is nothing egregiously wrong with it, and if the battle system looks interesting to you, it could be worth getting on sale. Launching at $49.99 US though I can’t recommend it in good conscience to anyone.

King's Bounty II is a well-meaning sequel that unfortunately lacks the character required to live up to its predecessors. Mediocre storytelling and shrug-inducing graphics and sound are partially redeemed by a decent combat system, albeit one without the courage to experiment.