Even at its initial release, The King is Watching stood out as an excellent roguelike strategy game. However, it suffered from significant drawbacks that often hindered the overall enjoyment. Subsequent updates and the “Crowns of History” expansion have successfully addressed most of these issues. Now, the game constantly beckons players back, eager to experiment with its diverse mechanics.
Pigeons Guarding the Realm
In The King is Watching, your primary goal is to defend your kingdom from encroaching forces of darkness. You have the power to customize each incoming wave, allowing you to regulate difficulty and potential rewards. The chosen threat level directly influences the strength of your adversaries but also increases the influx of vital resources needed for meta-progression. Furthermore, activating specific advisors grants beneficial effects that synergize well with various kings.
All buildings responsible for producing resources and combat units start inactive. To activate them, the King’s “gaze” must be directed towards them. Each ruler possesses a unique gaze shape, distinct abilities, passive bonuses, and morale-based buffs (kingdom morale is boosted by wine, special units, and specific constructions). Every King also comes with a set of quests, such as felling trees, defeating bosses, or enhancing troop health, offering valuable rewards upon completion.
Following a balance overhaul, constructing offensive structures has become more manageable. With their aid, even high threat levels no longer seem insurmountable. A clever combination of upgraded peasants and a pigeon coop allowed us to overcome the Golden Dragon, a foe that previously posed immense challenges – the “pigeon bombardment” left the colossal reptile no chance.
The game provides a preparation phase before powerful bosses enter the fray. Each boss possesses unique characteristics that make battles distinct: one might rain fire from above, another summon reinforcements, or erect barricades. Escalating threat levels activate additional boss abilities, such as reduced production, filling your army limit with useless creatures, weakening spell damage, or impacting your gaze. Countering these challenges requires the construction of specialized buildings.
Completing the game and its various challenges rewards you with resources. These resources are essential for purchasing kingdom and troop upgrades, new combat units, kings, and advisors. The measured pace of meta-progression thoughtfully allows players to better grasp the numerous intricate game mechanics.
New Locations and Kings – Fresh Challenges
The Cemetery
This location allows you to recruit grave robbers. These are weak, temporary units tasked with unearthing relics. The artifacts they discover can be traded with a charming elf for upgrades and unique units. If you choose, this mechanic offers the potential to assemble a formidable army of the undead.
The Volcano
A fiery location in every sense, where you can harvest a new resource: Runes. These are granted for sacrificing units and materials or by increasing wave difficulty. In exchange for Runes, an alluring demoness will reward you with upgrades and the chance to assemble an infernal army. However, striking deals with demons often brings unpleasant consequences, such as volcanic activity impacting your kingdom.
Edge of Madness
This is arguably the most unusual location in terms of its mechanics. Here, enemies are invulnerable until you activate a special building. This invulnerability is balanced by the fact that most enemies remain passive on the battlefield, allowing ample time to prepare before initiating a cleanse. King Taizong truly shines in this region; his specialization in offensive buildings enables players to eliminate most threats without sustaining losses.
Kings from the “Crowns of History” Expansion
Queen Cleopatra
Her abilities allow her to transform corpses into Canopic Jars, summon, and revive Egyptian warriors. Playing as Cleopatra unlocks barracks for unique units that require these Canopic Jars for recruitment. As this ruler, you’ll find yourself consuming clay more frequently – a resource typically useful only under specific circumstances and otherwise largely negligible.
Taizong
A master of offensive structures. This monarch’s first ability places invulnerable archers on walls and grants a blueprint for a powerful combat building. His unique traits are so effective that you can confidently lean into a strong defensive strategy, saving resources typically spent on raising an army.
Xerxes
Transforms his army into “glass cannons.” Xerxes’ passive ability significantly boosts warrior power but critically reduces their health in return. The ruler’s active skill, which grants temporary invulnerability, helps his squads survive crucial moments.
Diagnosis
The King is Watching remains a challenging yet captivating strategy game to master. Players will frequently face defeat before accumulated experience and meta-progression empower them to conquer its harsh trials. However, these efforts are well-rewarded: the depth of its mechanics and the expanded tactical freedom following recent patches deeply immerse players in the game.
I found it incredibly difficult to tear myself away from playing long enough to write this review, and I fully intend to return to the game. The new combinations of kings, advisors, and spells wonderfully refresh the gameplay. If developers continue to add quality content and refine the balance, the project’s replayability will truly become outstanding.