FOR THE KING REVIEW

I won't go so far as saying that I don't like roguelikes. I can name several people I have had fun with, as well as some industry darlings like FTL or Binding of Issac. I think that roguelikes are not meant for me. After dying several times, I get easily discouraged by playing the same level for the dozenth consecutive time. I am not able to make any progress. This is especially true after a particularly successful run of the game. I give up trying to make it further when that too ends in failure.

Roguelikes must grab my attention mechanically. Because roguelikes are mechanically boring, I have found that they lack complex narratives or gripping stories. This is what I most value in my games. For the record, I played FTL for 7 hours and I still love it. However, I am currently playing For the King by Iron Oak Games for more than 20 hours and I'm not bored.

FtK lets you, along with up to two others, take control of a group of three adventurers on a quest for the kingdom's salvation. The game map looks a lot like a boardgame. It is composed of hexagonal tiles that each of your heroes can cross independently. You will also find many enemies randomly spawning on the map that you can fight to earn experience and loot using an old-school turn-based combat system. There are also towns where you can buy supplies and dungeons that will offer a limited number of encounters.

The rolling of "dice" determines everything. The number of "dice" that you roll will determine whether your character succeeds or fails. This includes movement, where faster characters get more movement points every time. Combat is where your character needs to equip the weapons they are most skilled at.

I believe there are a few factors that make FtK so successful. The first is the fact that every attempt doesn’t feel very similar. Many roguelikes claim that every attempt will be completely different. What they really mean is that while the rooms look the same, the couch and fridge are now in different places. Ooooooooo...

FtK The couch, the fridge, and the bed are all important to visit every time you go over the map. However, the map's layout changes quite a bit each time you play it. This provides enough variety to me so that, while the adventure is the same each time, I don't find it boring.

Its variety is one of the best things about the game. You can encounter a variety of random enemies, including mini-bosses and events. There are also many weapons and bonuses that you can use to help build your character. The best part is that you can increase the number of each item every time you play.

Lore Books are earned by completing objectives in a game. These Lore Books can be used to purchase new items, encounters, or events. You will feel a constant drive to reach the top of each game and a desire to go back to access new content.

It is also encouraging to know that there are multiple campaigns to play. There are many stories to go through, objectives to accomplish, and enemies to defeat. There is a lot of content that you can play and will keep you entertained.

Another thing to remember about FtK, is that it prides itself on its difficulty. This is my main complaint with the game.

Any game that says "this is very difficult and you shouldn’t expect to win it easily" is one I am suspicious of. This doesn't necessarily mean that you need to be skilled or have practiced a lot to beat the game, but that it will constantly dick you over just to make the game more difficult. Dark Souls is not so much being stupid for the sake of saying "git gud".

Although I do not feel this is the case,CompletelyThe case withFtKUnfortunately, I have to admit that every time I lose a game, it has almost always been due to RNG. It is not because of carelessness or lack of skill.

It seems to me that the game is an all-or nothing RNG. There are only two states that your playthrough will take place in. Either you are doing well and happy with your progress and position. You could be losing, or you are on the edge of losing. There is no middle ground. You can't feel secure in your current position, but you know you will be able to get back on track. There is never a time when things are going well, but you feel like something could go wrong and cause you to lose a few rungs. It feels more like if one thing goes wrong, it's a signal for all other things to go wrong. You will eventually lose.

It meant that I would play with Tim often and they would have a strong party. We would be clearing dungeons easily, stomping on fights, and generally be in a good place. You get into a fight, your characters miss multiple hits, and your party is severely damaged. It seems as though there is no recovery, and your two hours of carefully planned progress are lost in a matter of minutes. Particularly bad are encounters that destroy your hero's equipment. You might want to restart the fight after these encounters because you won't be able anymore to fight.

This circular argument of "all or nothing" is a reflection of the issue of combat. Each weapon has its own combat ability and every ability can be used to hit multiple rolls. You get a perfect strike if every roll is successful. Sometimes, you also get some bonus like piercing damage or an enemy debuff. Even if the damage dealt is severe, every missed roll results in the bonus being eliminated. The enemy can also dodge it or block it entirely.

Some heavier weapons allow you to deal five strikes, along with one or more other moves. You can take out a large chunk of enemy health with five hits. Your damage can be quite reasonable if four of the rolls are hit. However, it is best to stop tickling your enemy if it falls below three rolls.

This is the kind of thing that adds frustration to the game. There is no middle ground in how everything goes. Rolls are either perfect or pointless. If you get a few bad rolls, luck will dictate that you do. Then, a great run could quickly turn into a disaster. Due to the nature and difficulty of the game, it can be extremely difficult to get out of this "right on the edge" state. A wipe is almost always possible.

This means that you are more likely to fail than you are to succeed. In fact, Tim and I lost almost every game we played in 20 hours together. It was somewhere in the middle part of the campaign.

Despite numerous party combinations and varying luck at item drops, this was the case. Once we reached the middle point with an event that was totally lackluster and once with one that was geared towards the fucking tooth, both parties died equally shamelessly.

The alternative to constant failure is to reduce difficulty from normal to easy, and to accept the loss of your pride. You then have to deal the usual issue with these "difficult” roguelikes. The gap between normal and difficult feels like turning down the difficulty to baby mode (it does not say it's easy ).

This all boils down to the fact the RNG seems too harsh and there isn't enough time to recover from difficult situations. All of these criticisms could also be met with the reply "git gud", and we are now in a Mexican standoff. The game is a little too dependent on perfection, which means it's more skill-based than luck-based. As we all know, relying on luck is not a good idea in a market where the goal is to improve your skill and play again.

You might find that unlockable content is what makes the difference. This means that you will need to die many times to unlock the stuff that will make your next runs easier. The rate you unlock items is very slow if this is the case. This ensures that you get a steady stream of new content, which might appear in your next run.

Overall, I believe that the core gameplay loop works well and that the sheer amount of content may be enough to keep you entertained for quite a while. This makes it well-worth the investment. The downside is that I feel that the act of unlocking more content may become repetitive and less enjoyable. This is only due to the fact that it can be so difficult to progress by your own merit.