King's Bounty II

I’m enjoying it as much as I have any of the previous games and I’m nearly 70 hours in so I’d say it’s pretty decent value for money. I suspect most people (certainly myself) have become used to being able to pick up the other games in the series for about $5 or so on special… so having a new game in the series come out at full price seems a bit harsh… but it’s pretty reasonable considering how much gameplay there is here and how much of a technological advancement it is (but yes… you can still get a bit stuck on scenery if you walk/ride the wrong way on/off something… so some things never change). I’d certainly recommend grabbing King’s Bounty II… if in doubt, wait for a sale… but as I mentioned… I’m nearly 70 hours in and still have some questing to do.

Different look but familiar and beloved gameplay with some successful innovations. Any issues are relatively minor and do not significantly detract from the enjoyment.

King’s Bounty II is an excellent compromise between new and old and is a great time in general. As I’ve already mentioned, keeping a series going for a long time is difficult, and I’m sure that coming up with a proper sequel almost a decade after the last game was released was a difficult task. Difficult or not, however, 1C Entertainment managed to make it happen—and their final product is pretty great.

King's Bounty 2 lives up to its name in the sense that it delivers abundance. Like an ultra-compressed version of Skyrim, it feels full of things to do even if it doesn't necessarily excel at any of them. The combat is solid. The role-playing is solid. The questing and adventuring and writing and everything else are solid, too. It's comforting and familiar and simply does what it does without a great deal of fuss. In many ways it feels like the ideal pandemic lockdown game. I'll happily load King's Bounty 2, pull up the covers and settle in for the weeks and months to come.

Role-play and tactics cannot be combined much more consistently. The developers only have to tweak the balance.

King's Bounty 2 is an excellent title overall, which owes much of its ability to thrill to his strategic side.

Kings Bounty 2 takes many good aspects of the predecessor and expands them with new mechanics and extras. Thanks to differences in altitude and obstacles, the fights are now much more tactical, but also not 100% balanced.

King’s Bounty II boldly leads the series in a new direction and while it’s not perfect, I’d call this revolution a success. Instead of remaining a mindless Heroes of Might and Magic copy stripped of economy, the whole layer of exploration morphed into a traditional RPG – a crude, simplified and naïve in terms of the story, but still surprisingly enjoyable and charming. Turn-based combat lived to see some minor updates, but retained its spirit, which means it can be immensely fun. The first step was made, next time I want more of the same but with a much bigger budget. [11/2021, p.36]