King's Bounty II | Proven, an irresistible mix

King's Bounty II | Proven

A few weeks ago we talked to you, after attending a long presentation for the press with lots of gameplay hands off, of King's Bounty 2, describing it as a highly promising work and able to convince us from the first impact. Now, after finally getting our hands on a full-bodied trial version, we are here to confirm those first impressions and to sing the praises of 1C Entertainment. In short, King's Bounty 2 has definitely convinced us and we can't wait to enjoy the full version of the game, with the title officially released on PC, Xbox, PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch on August 24th.

We tested the game with the following PC:

GPU: Zotac RTX 3070 Twin Edge OC MOBO: Asus ROG STRIX Z370-F RAM: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16GB DDR4 3200MHz CPU: Intel i5 8600k 3.6 GHZ SSD: Sabrent SSD 2TB Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 Keyboard: Corsair K70 LUX Red LED Cherry MX Brown Mouse: Fnatic Flick 2 Headphone: Logitech G930 Monitor: Samsung C27HG 70 Quad HD 144Hz HDR

Between game role-playing and turn-based strategy

The trial version of King's Bounty 2 that we had the opportunity to try included about ten hours of gameplay, complete with numerous main missions and a slew of side quests. There was no shortage of dungeons, numerous battles and different locations, with 1C Entertainment which certainly did not skimp on content and has indeed filled this version with as much content as possible, thus allowing us to gain a thorough understanding of what King's Bounty 2 will be. A long series of elements well blended together, in a game formula that has been able to charm us and from which we have really struggled to detach ourselves.

King's Bounty 2, for those who have not yet learned about the future title of 1C Entertainment, is a particular hybrid between an RPG and a turn-based strategy, in which it is possible to wander through villages, plains and dungeons such as in a classic Western RPG, with the battles taking place instead in turn based. A symbiosis on paper that works and which, when proven by facts, has left us with excellent sensations. From what we have had the opportunity to try, each of the two game souls has in fact its own very specific identity, with neither of them prevailing over the other, but managing to complement each other well. A balance that will obviously have to be evaluated more thoroughly in the final version of the game, but which seems to be well studied today.

A classic RPG

As regards its role-playing component, King's Bounty 2 is articulated as the most classic of RPGs. A fantasy world to explore, quests to complete, skill points to assign, vendors from which to buy anything and much more: the work of 1C Entertainment has all the trappings of the case, with the overall experience that on this side seems to be complete and able to cover everything that one would expect to find in a work of this kind.

The quest system appeared to be particularly successful in this test. In King's Bounty 2, many missions can be solved in several ways, each of which allows you to vary both the progress of the quest itself and the rewards received. Denouncing a double-agent guard, for example, will allow us to obtain great respect from the city guard, while keeping silent about his crime will allow us to be able to recruit particular troops. Decisions that are then reflected on a system of 4 ideals (order, power, cunning and anarchy), on which both the skills of our hero and the bond with the various game troops depend.

Every single one In fact, unity belongs to one of these four ideals and, although it is possible to deploy any troop regardless of one's moral orientation, focusing on warriors far from it will lead us to have less motivated and combative armies. Conversely, synchronizing these two elements will lead to your sides having greater verve in battle. Certainly an intriguing mechanic, but that we could not fully explore in the preview version, given the few hours of play available that made it impossible for us to bring our hero to strong orientations.

Wanting to find the classic hair in the egg, what did not fully convince us in this first hands on of King's Bounty 2 was an excessive linearity of the game, with the various missions that seemed too guided. Nothing excessive, on the contrary, but sometimes feeling less taken by the hand would not have been bad.

Many units, one goal

Moving now to the turn-based strategy soul of King's Bounty 2 , it too is all in all traditional, although it is decidedly successful. In fact, the framework does not vary much from that to which the main exponents of the genre have accustomed us, with the main variant being the one dedicated to the various commanders, including, of course, our protagonist. Through the use of mana they can in fact cast a spell every turn, with which to strengthen their units or weaken those of the opponent.

The most intriguing part of the whole, however, seems to be that relating to the formation of their own army , with the player who can buy the most varied units from a large number of sellers, starting from the classic spearmen and archers up to the undead, passing through elementals and golems. A great variety of choices, which further increases the tactical rate of play.

King's Bounty 2: in conclusion

King's Bounty 2, in short, has convinced us and a lot. In fact, what 1C Entertainment has set up has all the credentials to charm lovers of RPGs and turn-based strategy, launching them into a fantasy world that is as classic as it is potentially addictive. A work that seems complete on all fronts and that, if it is able to maintain the freshness of gameplay that we found in this test, could aspire to carve out a place as one of the most interesting titles of these months. If you love even partially RPGs and turn-based strategy games, trust us and keep an eye on King's Bounty 2.

King's Bounty 2 seems to be an unmissable title for RPG and turn-based strategy enthusiasts: book it now now a copy at a great price!