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I was looking through the Next Fest catalogue, and this popped up far, far down the list of various shovelware titles. The name caught my attention though—Kingdom, Dungeon, and Hero—reminding me of the pnp RPG Adventurer Conqueror King System. Thus intrigued, I decided to take a look, and the description intrigued me even more.
I decided to give the demo a quick shot amidst my busy schedule. It's certainly a very interesting game that plays like an SSI wargame albeit one that's less complex, and you get to go dungeon delving with a party of heroes too. Some quick thoughts:
- it plays like what you'd expect from the description. You control armies to hold the border, attack enemy armies, and capture cities/villages for resources. Meanwhile, you also have heroes that can either lead these armies, crawl dungeons and ruins, and perform missions.
- Armies and heroes can level up. Armies can gain specialisations, while heroes can upgrade their attributes.
- Basic logistics/supply mechanics are in. Your army needs food to be supplied every turn or they might starve (if they fail to forage).
- Terrain affects your unit's chance of winning a fight against an enemy unit. There are also different weathers/seasons that affect combat and resource production.
- Every turn, there is a chance for random events like plague and famine to take place.
- You can construct buildings, do research, conduct diplomatic talks, and do other typical 4X stuff in order to advance your kingdom. I haven't really played too much with these options though, so I can't say how simple/deep they are.
- Dungeon exploration is interesting. The interface is simple as you decide whether you want to go one square north, south, east, or west. As for combat, it reminds me a bit of Neo Scavenger, where you choose your actions and the results are narrated. Occasionally, random events can trigger during combat: for example, one of my mages hit a monster so hard that it crashed through a fake wall to reveal a hidden chamber with a stash of gold.
All in all, I liked what I played and will give the demo another go when I have more time this week (if they don't take the demo away after Next Fest is over).
Kingdom, Dungeon, and Hero is a fantasy strategy and adventure game. Immerse yourself in a realm of horrors, magic, and strategic conquest on a hex-based map with a board game feel. Form armies, expand an economy, negotiate agreements, send heroes off on missions, explore dungeons, find magic items and artifacts to help you win the game.
![flags.png](https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/2572400/extras/flags.png?t=1717985021)
- Play on maps with up to 50 kingdoms.
- Manage resources, diplomacy, armies, and heroes to do your bidding.
- Build and configure armies and navies of up to 6 units against the enemy. Assign a hero to lead it.
![hero.png](https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/2572400/extras/hero.png?t=1717985021)
- Hire heroes to find lead armies, govern cities, go on missions, or explore dungeons for gold, magic items, and artifacts.
- Research tactics, production, and magic to increase your kingdom's power.
![locations.png](https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/2572400/extras/locations.png?t=1717985021)
- The Editor allows players to generate an infinite number of maps. Create magic items, army types, and change images.
- The game comes with a main story scenario and multiple other scenarios to play.
I decided to give the demo a quick shot amidst my busy schedule. It's certainly a very interesting game that plays like an SSI wargame albeit one that's less complex, and you get to go dungeon delving with a party of heroes too. Some quick thoughts:
- it plays like what you'd expect from the description. You control armies to hold the border, attack enemy armies, and capture cities/villages for resources. Meanwhile, you also have heroes that can either lead these armies, crawl dungeons and ruins, and perform missions.
- Armies and heroes can level up. Armies can gain specialisations, while heroes can upgrade their attributes.
- Basic logistics/supply mechanics are in. Your army needs food to be supplied every turn or they might starve (if they fail to forage).
- Terrain affects your unit's chance of winning a fight against an enemy unit. There are also different weathers/seasons that affect combat and resource production.
- Every turn, there is a chance for random events like plague and famine to take place.
- You can construct buildings, do research, conduct diplomatic talks, and do other typical 4X stuff in order to advance your kingdom. I haven't really played too much with these options though, so I can't say how simple/deep they are.
- Dungeon exploration is interesting. The interface is simple as you decide whether you want to go one square north, south, east, or west. As for combat, it reminds me a bit of Neo Scavenger, where you choose your actions and the results are narrated. Occasionally, random events can trigger during combat: for example, one of my mages hit a monster so hard that it crashed through a fake wall to reveal a hidden chamber with a stash of gold.
All in all, I liked what I played and will give the demo another go when I have more time this week (if they don't take the demo away after Next Fest is over).