The New Heroes or Just Another Mediocre RPG? King's Bounty II Review

Over the past few years, developers from Eastern Europe have been releasing more and more genuinely impressive games. In 2021, it was finally time for the long-awaited King's Bounty II. Developed by the studio now known as Fulqrum Games, formerly 1C Entertainment, this fantasy RPG with turn-based tactical battles launched on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. So what did we actually get? Let's take a closer look.

Characters and Story

The once-famous series spent years in hibernation, so expectations for King's Bounty II were understandably high. The game gives you three protagonists to choose from at the start: the warrior Aivar, the powerful magician Katharine, and the paladin Elisa. Pick one of them and set out to conquer the vast lands of Nostria.Although each hero has their own starting talents and specialization, the initial choice unfortunately has less impact on the adventure than you might expect. In some situations, the protagonist will simply comment on what is happening, while most quests play out in roughly the same way regardless of who you picked. Even Aivar, who is hardly a master of magic, can decipher runes and open a portal to The Beyond when a mission requires it. The main differences become more noticeable in combat. Aivar relies heavily on strengthening his army, while Katharine can compensate for a smaller force by dealing serious damage with spells.

Characters and Story

The main objective throughout the game is to uncover the people responsible for a magical catastrophe that has had a devastating effect on the world. You will run into its consequences more than once. One mysterious mage may send the hero through a portal to The Beyond to deal with the Blight, while a druid may ask you to cleanse an ancient oak of a strange disease. The side quests are more inconsistent. Some are genuinely interesting and involve investigations or helping unusual creatures. You might enter an abandoned crypt, for example, and try to restore a spirit's human form. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of routine errands built around fetching or delivering items.Does the game offer meaningful choices, and do they affect gameplay? To a degree, yes. Many of the larger quests can be resolved in several ways. Your decisions award points toward one of four Ideals: Order, Anarchy, Power, or Finesse. These points unlock access to corresponding talents and let you shape the hero's development in the direction you prefer. Outside of that progression system, however, most side events have little effect on the main storyline.

Graphics and Gameplay

Ignoring side quests entirely is also a bad idea. Without the additional experience, gold, equipment, and opportunities to strengthen your army, later encounters can become considerably harder. As a result, you constantly have to explore the world, search chests for money, and complete optional tasks. Players accustomed to fast-paced action may not enjoy this rhythm. With the combat encounters spread relatively far apart, the campaign can also feel stretched out. The game has enough mystery and investigation to appeal to players who enjoy slower fantasy adventures, but the story can feel fragmented because of the number of less meaningful errands.

Graphics and Gameplay

The visual shortcomings become obvious almost immediately. King's Bounty II presents a pleasant fantasy world, but even at the highest settings many environments, models, and smaller details can look dated.That does not stop the world from drawing you in. You still travel across large areas, meet hostile armies, talk to dozens of characters, and investigate whatever catches your attention. Strangely enough, after a handful of side quests it becomes difficult to put King's Bounty II down. Nostria has enough atmosphere and small stories to keep pulling you forward, and the full voice acting helps establish the characters and the mood from the opening hours.Varied gameplay has always been one of the defining features of King's Bounty, although the sequel changes the formula in several important ways. Every major battle is fought in turn-based tactical mode. Before combat, you select squads for your army and deploy them on a hexagonal battlefield. You can field up to five active squads at once, with additional units kept in reserve. Only one squad can occupy a hex, while the number of soldiers inside each squad depends on the unit type and the hero's Leadership. The higher your Leadership, the stronger the army you can command.

Graphics and Gameplay

Every combat unit has an Initiative value that helps determine turn order. The battles are generally well balanced, but you cannot expect clever positioning alone to carry an underdeveloped army through every difficult encounter. After combat, surviving squads that suffered casualties can be replenished for gold, while a completely destroyed squad must be recruited again. This makes preserving valuable troops especially important if you do not want to drain your finances.One important part of the original release has changed since launch. King's Bounty II initially shipped without selectable difficulty levels, but Patch 2 added three options: Easy, Normal, and Hard. These settings affect both battles and the game's economy, so players in the current version no longer have to experience the entire campaign at one fixed difficulty. The update also added several useful quality-of-life improvements, including dungeon and hidden-location maps and clearer inventory indicators.

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In the end, King's Bounty II is a decent continuation of the series with a reasonably engaging story and plenty of side quests. Its combat can become repetitive, and army strength often matters at least as much as tactical ingenuity. Even so, players who are new to turn-based RPGs can still enjoy the game. You mainly need to appreciate long stretches of exploration and be comfortable with a relatively small amount of action. Much of your time will be spent listening to NPCs, completing side quests, collecting resources, and gradually improving your army. If none of that sounds like a problem, King's Bounty II may be exactly what you are looking for. What did you think of this return to the series? Share your thoughts in the comments.

7.2/10

NOWGAME SCOREVerdict

A quick look at the game’s strengths and weaknesses.

Pros

• Engaging fantasy world with a strong atmosphere.
• Some genuinely interesting main and side quests.
• Meaningful choices in several major quests.
• Four Ideals that affect character progression.
• Tactical turn-based battles with different unit types and spells.
• Good voice acting.
• Plenty of exploration and opportunities to strengthen your army.
• Fairly accessible for players new to turn-based RPGs.

Cons

• Your choice of protagonist has little impact on the overall story.
• Too many repetitive fetch and delivery quests.
• Side content often feels mandatory for proper progression.
• Slow pacing with long stretches of exploration and dialogue.
• Combat becomes repetitive over time.
• Army strength often matters more than tactical creativity.
• Visuals already looked dated at launch.
• The main story can feel fragmented because of excessive side activities.