Mercenary Kings

 PC
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Games.cz
    May 2, 2014
    90
    When a game's content goes hand in hand with its form, it's always a pleasure. Moreover, when the old times meet the modern-day, and it works great somehow, we may call it a miracle. Such is Mercenary Kings a shooter.
  2. Destructoid
    Apr 1, 2014
    90
    Mercenary Kings is a game that keeps on giving with its breadth of content. Combining the mission structure from Monster Hunter with the gameplay of Metal Slug is a brilliant idea, and one that has paid off in spades.
  3. Polygon
    Apr 9, 2014
    85
    Mercenary Kings builds on the simplicity of classic run-and-gun shooting gameplay in an elegant way. The game is actually overflowing with content, but it's in the form of tweaks to the formula rather than giant shifts — a new enemy here and there, a gun part that completely changes your approach and so on.
  5. IGN Italia
    Apr 2, 2014
    82
    If you like Contra, you can't go wrong with Mercenary Kings. By adding the loot, Tribute changes slightly a working formula and respects Konami's legacy. Shooting is addictive, the action is fast-paced and the pixel art, made by Paul Robertson, is simply wonderful.
  6. IGN
    Apr 25, 2014
    80
    Its high level of difficulty, catchy tunes, and pixelated graphics meld nicely with its emphasis on loot, customization, and online play.
  7. Meristation
    Apr 3, 2014
    80
    Mercenary Kings is another good indie game inspired on classic 2D shooters. Adds exploration, great multiplayer and deep customization. But lacks on repetitive mechanics and too similar level designs.
  8. Game Informer
    Mar 25, 2014
    80
    Mercenary Kings is a testament to the idea that you can get too much of a good thing.
  9. LevelUp
    Apr 21, 2014
    77
    Mercenary Kings is a trip fueled by the nostalgia of the 8 and 16 bit classics; veteran players will find the core aspect of the games amusing, while the modern aspects might appeal to new players.
  10. Hooked Gamers
    Mar 27, 2014
    75
    While the developers may have missed their overall mark of mixing retro style with a story and a crafting system, what they did manage to pull off was the core game itself.
  11. GameFront
    Aug 7, 2013
    75
    If you are fine with the grind, you’ll find a game with plenty of charm, wit, and character. Co-op is a blast, the visual style is the most fluid and detailed you’ll get short of Metal Slug, and the core concept of “shoot dudes a lot” is executed extremely well.
  12. Gamer.nl
    Apr 3, 2014
    70
    Mercenary Kings is a decent game that approaches the action shooter genre in an original way. Some parts haven’t been executed on all that well though, which makes the game feel slow and boring at times.
  13. CD-Action
    Jul 23, 2014
    50
    All the old school charm goes to hell because of the repetitiveness. [06/2014, p.69]
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  14. Edge Magazine
    Apr 8, 2014
    50
    As a whole, Mercenary Kings is a case study in the perils of Early Access. The need to provide a steady flow of content to early buyers has birthed a glut of superfluous systems and a swollen set of missions – the wrong sort of substance to accompany Robertson’s style.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 62 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 62
  3. Negative: 11 out of 62
  1. beop
    Aug 5, 2013
    5
    Art style is awesome, weapons and crafting is very fun, but that's about where the good things ends. The map design and mission objectives areArt style is awesome, weapons and crafting is very fun, but that's about where the good things ends. The map design and mission objectives are some of the worst I've experienced in a long time in a video game. They reuse the same objectives, art assets, maps, and enemies A LOT throughout almost 70 missions. It gets boring about 5 hours into the game of repeating the same things over and over. It doesn't help that all the maps look very similar and enemies all have the same spawning points with extremely boring mechanics. The enemies feel like something out of super mario, where they wall back and forth, pop up and down, etc. Now imagine playing super mario with a machine gun that shoots heat sinking missiles and bullets that go through walls. You get an idea of how easy this game is?

    I don't recommend this game if you're looking for an action packed game like Metal Slug, this game is far from it. Of course it's still in beta, but I don't see things changing much besides bug fixes.

    I forgot to mention, at $15 this game feels a bit overpriced, and they are apparently going to selling it for $20. I feel for what I've played, this game should be no more than $10.    … Full Review »
  2. SlyguyTheCritic
    Aug 2, 2013
    8
    Now, I'm the first to admit that I was skeptical of this game at first, retro graphics are a bit of a fad, and, it seemed like they took someNow, I'm the first to admit that I was skeptical of this game at first, retro graphics are a bit of a fad, and, it seemed like they took some old game-play and slapped a poorly thought crafting system onto it. But even as a beta, the game is showing a lot of promise with a robust weapons crafting system, a decent soundtrack, a fair price, surprisingly good art design, and solid controls. Now, keep in mind this was written while the game is in beta. But even in beta this game is definitely worth it… Full Review »
  3. Fuz
    Jul 23, 2014
    3
    Yet another game designed for consoles and gamepad users only.
    Plays terrible on a keyboard because of way too many useless keys required,    Yet another game designed for consoles and gamepad users only.
    Plays terrible on a keyboard because of way too many useless keys required, most of them caused by terrible design. One example... I have to press a key for talking, then have to use enter to move the dialogue forward? Two different keys just for talking? It also get even worse in some menus, basically I need to press X to talk to the character, select the menu item with enter, then press Q for confirmation. What the hell devs?
    Also, the reload mechanic is annoying (guess what? Another totally different key for reloading, used just for that), the combat is underwhelming, farming the same level over and over for materials is boring and customization is kinda pointless.
    Shame, the idea behind it is cool and the art style is pretty good    … Full Review »
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