Article - Kingdom: Two Crowns

I have, in the name of honesty, not played any of the two predecessors of Kingdom Two Crowns and thus I had no major tip-off before I sat down with it. Which in itself is good, as it is a bit of the basic idea of reviewing; You go in neutral. The first thing that strikes me when I start it up is the inevitable retro flirt. The graphics originate from the easy-going platform adventures during the late 80s, or the early chewing gum decade and catch me right away.

The story revolves around that you, as a queen, have to deliver a crown through unexplored land. But shame if it were as simple as having tossed up on horseback, galloping through the incredibly beautiful landscape and when you arrive at what I suppose is some kind of castle, knock on the gate. Or, if no one opens, throw in the gold wreath through the mailbox and go home to Friends again. No, here it should be explored, conquered and built up along the way.


This premise is basically the whole game. You walk in a pixel-perfect 2D landscape that, despite being carefully detailed and lovingly adorned, gets tired in the long run. It sounds weird, so let me explain. Builds you by adding collected coins (coming from different activities or felled animals) on the ground in exchange for construction works. If you can build or not, you can see from a small mark in the form of a circle (and by holding down the down arrow) you release as many coins as markings, in exchange for a rapidly growing structure (which grows markedly through different stages).



The crux here is to plan. Even if your archery generates coins (after you build a defense) by dragging arrows on rabbits and other, small, dots, they will not stand on the slopes. Investing in building a functional supply caravan (costs only one coin per ride) so you will generate income to develop further. Build walls, trading areas and fold trees to expand the wall. Different stations can also be upgraded to a certain number of steps (which is at a higher cost, but which leads to a potentially higher payout). But take warning! Enemies can attack and they will be nearby they can not just sabble the wall, but if they bump into you, call the city cash. Or in the worst case; Take the crown that adorns your head and run away with it. And when they are quick little rascals - you can do nothing but look at how the screen is centered on the crown which, on top of the illusion in question, disappears away. Game over.



When you upgraded an area to the maximum, it will be to cut down a tree and continue forward. Yes, the exploration is done on the same X-axis, a few meters forward at a time. If you walk there and do not build anything, you are surrounded by darkness and the end that keeps you company is the beautifully crackling torch. But when you drive in and like a railway contractor, ruthlessly establishes you on conquered land, the light follows. It is between the planning, the production and the expansion, which the game shows, what I consider, both its strongest and weakest card. When you do not spend coins it is the wait that applies (nothing is expected times). You wander around on your horse and hope that coins will appear. Or that the caravan should come back. It can also, unfortunately, be that you become the attack and what produces coins - is destroyed. Then it can be struggling. However, you can always restart. Or go ahead and hope to stumble across a new gold mine.

The plus of the game is its graphics (which you may already have read to me for love), its sound effects and its soundtrack. Everything from squeezed watches to rippling waterfalls sounds quite lovely and the music that then, when twisting in the background, reminds of folk tales or the entertainment around the knights' round tables. Nothing I can say except the thumbs up here.



I mentioned earlier that the game's biggest card is also its biggest weakness. And what I mean by that is its pace. Sometimes the waiting times, when you just munch around while waiting for the next payout, get a little too tedious. Some may go further and look for new adventures, but I prefer to do so with some money in the purse. Or just upgrade everything in one place as much as it can. To sum up Kingdom Two Crowns, it's a tower-defense game with elements of micro-strategy that, depending on your attitude to the genre as a whole, can either amuse for shorter moments, or tire out overall. Because I have quite difficulty seeing myself sitting and lowering the hour after hour in this for a long time. Unfortunately. In view of the production, the creativity shines through, but prevails.

#Gamehag.com