Kingdom Two Crowns Review

King of Nothing

Kingdom Two Crowns by Raw Fury thrusts the player into the role of a would-be king or queen. You start with nothing but your loyal steed and the crown upon your head. Recruit citizens, build and expand your kingdom in this visually breathtaking 2D strategy game.

To construct your kingdom, you will need coins. These are used to recruit and assign jobs to loyal subjects, as well as build walls and archer towers. There are a few ways to earn coins, such as chopping down trees, farming, and hunting. I found earning coins to be difficult at first as the game doesn’t go out of its way to teach the player. However, this just made the game a fun challenge. After upgrading your kingdom a few times, you must build a ship and venture to a second island in order to unlock the ability to use stone.

While exploring the beautiful 2D landscape, it’s important to let your mount graze, which will restore its stamina. If your mount runs out of stamina, it will move slowly and make it difficult to outrun any enemies you might come across. Several of my reigns ended because my mount was too tired to run from my pursuers. Throughout the game you will encounter different mounts with unique skills. The deer mount charms forest deer, making them easier to hunt, while the unicorn mount gives the player three coins each time it grazes.

Home Before Dark

During the day, it is safe to traverse the land. Once the sun goes down, however, it’s best to stay within the walls of your kingdom.  If you’re caught outside the walls at night, the aptly named greed will steal your coins and even your crown. The greed are villainous little creatures that spawn from portals at night. They will go after coins before taking your crown, which may give your monarch a chance to escape. It’s essential to build up the walls of your kingdom and have archers to prevent these evil beings from breaching your empire. If they successfully nab your crown, your reign ends. No crown means no kingdom.

Luckily, the game lets you continue by taking on the role of the previous monarch’s heir. You will have to do some rebuilding but will not lose all your progress. The ghost of the deceased monarch will guide you towards structures that need to be repaired.

Winter is Coming

The game has four seasons, each lasting 16 days. Winter is brutal, so your monarch will need to prepare ahead of time. Farms no longer grow crops, mounts cannot graze, and animals do not spawn, meaning your archers cannot hunt. The greed will continue their nightly attacks but, with less income, it will be difficult to build and repair structures or recruit new subjects. Make sure you have some gold saved up when winter hits.

No Crown, No Kingdom, No Hand Holding

Kingdom Two Crowns does not believe in holding the player’s hand, which is both freeing and frustrating. You are probably going to die a few times before you figure things out. But ultimately the game’s hands-off approach is exhilarating, allowing the player to explore and spend coins at their own risk.

The task of building a kingdom can weigh heavily on a monarch’s shoulders. Luckily for players, Kingdom Two Crowns allows for co-op, relieving some of that burden. There are two options for split-screen play. There is traditional split screen in which players can sit side by side or sky-to-sky split screen in which the sky of each player’s split screen touches the other. This allows each person to easily play using opposite sides of the device. I was skeptical of playing a split-screen game on my phone. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how fluid the co-op gameplay was.

Kingdom Two Crowns is an epic strategy game that will immediately hook you. The art style is beautiful, the controls are easy to master, and the gameplay is challenging. Although it is a bit pricey for a mobile game, it is well worth the investment. So, what are you waiting for! Mount your horse, build a kingdom, and defeat the greed. Most importantly, hold onto your crown.