Having been through a dungeon I can say its the best part of the game.
That being said, Ill admit it did take some configuring to stop the graphical glitches.
This game dosent do anything new but It combinds a lot of really good game elements into a more solid game (gameplay wise) than Ive seen in quite some time.

7/10

By the way, Ive noticed this trend in Steam and it is actually really bad for Steams community.
Buy early access game, play less than an hour of it, complain if the Loading screen dosent look amazing. Refund.
There are some who seek to make themselves a recognized critic, some are just doing it because its trendy.
Please stop. There are plenty of great games with mixed reviews that are actually really solid games, if only complaining
wasen't so popular.

Kings and Heroes is a classic MMO ARPG style game, with solo or co-op available. It left early access last November, but saw a very rocky start with frequent server restarts and such. As such, I decided to wait and see if fixes were forthcoming. There has since been one update and one hotfix, the latter happening January 5th. Since that day, the development team (Industry Games) has gone silent and the community fell all the way to the point where today, I was the fifth person to log into the game. For a game where being an MMO is a central theme to the dungeon raids the game features, that isn’t so great. So, with all that said, how is Kings and Heroes as a gaming experience?


I haven’t really experienced any story in the game outside of the standard one or two liner set ups for fetch quests. This is very much a “make of it as you will” type game as far as story goes. I won’t rate this category as a result


The gameplay in Kings and Heroes is not too dissimilar to MMO’s as a whole. If anything, the gameplay mechanics in Kings and Heroes are much easier to grasp, and the gamepad is even a viable option, which is nice.

Annoyingly however, this game opens up by fetch questing you to death. Go here, kill “x” amount of this creature, bring back proof or body parts, rinse and repeat. It really doesn’t give you a lot of reason to keep on until you are ready for raids. Playing solo, this ends up being quite boring. I imagine that playing with friends or even other randoms would elevate the experience, but you know when there are only two players on at any given moment, your odds of playing with others are slim to none.

Overall, there isn’t really too much to say about gameplay as a whole. Combat is simple and efficient point and attack style, interactions are at the click of a button, and so on. I did get stuck on a couple objects that forced a restart, but fortunately, wherever you left the game is the same general area you will spawn in when you restart the game again.

All told, this is a 5 out of 10. Functional and approachable, but nothing out of the ordinary


The graphics in Kings and Heroes tend to vacillate between standard MMO fare and stuff a bit more Elder Scrolls-ish in appearance. There is some very nice use of color and such in this game. However, character and enemy builds and animations definitely hearken back to days of old in appearance and aren’t so stunning.

All in all, this is a nice looking game. 6 out of 10


There was really nothing about the audio in Kings and Heroes that I found noteworthy, and I struggle to even recall any specific sounds.

5 out of 10


What is an MMO without players? Exactly. I have no way to really take advantage of this key feature and it doesn’t appear as though anybody else does. You really would need to coordinate with people you know to make this work, and given how many other options there are for people’s attention and time, I haven’t found that option to be viable either.

0 out of 10


Typically, this is the part where I would say that the game is raw but shows promise and just needs a player base, because that really is what you get with Kings and Heroes, except for the fact that the game has seemingly been abandoned by its developers, who have moved on to another project, which pretty much guarantees that there will never be much more of a player base than there is now. Additionally, the game is really still in an early access state in many ways. I can’t recommend this until or unless the development team shows back up, addresses the myriad issues reported on their Steam forums, and then do something to attract new players. If that happens, I will revisit this. Otherwise though, Kings and Heroes is a stay clear for now.

I was honestly hesitant to purchase because of some of the reviews but finally pulled the trigger after reading some of the developer notes and updates and I am very glad I did. For an EA game this one shows A LOT of promise. The developers are very active and have provided regular updates.

PROS SO FAR: Graphics are better than I expected; lots of loot that can be used for upgrades or for crafting; healers aren't a dead weight class and can actually heal and do some damage; good character customization options with the amount of loot and ability to change the colors of your gear; mounts to explore a large open world; fun with a party of friends.

CONS SO FAR: Class balance still needs some adjusting; small population at least on the US server (I joined with some friends so not been a problem for me...so far); it has a large open world that looks good but is boring due to a lack of content (hopefully more will be added soon); dungeons get repetative;

OVERALL: I like the game and will keep playing to see where the developers take it.

*Gets on SoapBox*
After actually reading the game description, reading several reviews, and finally playing the game. I have come to the conclusion that a lot of the reviewers do not understand what EA is:

"Early access is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can pay for a game in the EARLY STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT and obtain access to INCOMPLETE, ALPHA OR BETA VERSIONS of the game, while the developer is able to USE THOSE FUNDS TO CONTINUE WORK ON THE GAME." Which obviously most reviewers did not read this in the description so I doubt they will read it in my review. So to anyone considering this game I would say keep in mind, IT IS NOT A COMPLETE GAME.

This game is STILL IN DEVELOPMENT AND NEEDS WORK, in its current state I recommend it as long as you understand what you are purchasing. So if you are looking for a COMPLETED game wait for the official release.

Like some EA games, this one had a rocky first day, but after 3 days, I think I can give it an honest review.

First, a little about the game for those of you that skipped straight to the reviews. Kings and Heroes is a first person RPG that offers a blend of lobby based dungeon running and open world exploration. Currently, the open world is there, but not populated with any content whatsoever, so that leaves us with a mostly functional dungeon crawl experience.

Several gamebreaking bugs plagued this game on launch day, but the small dev team put out 2 patches within 24 hours of each other to address them. This is Early Access, so some remain, others will be discovered, and many more will be fixed as time goes by. Currently, you can initially run dungeons ranging from small to huge on various difficulty settings from easy to nightmare. Even small can take some time, especially solo, but large really means large. They can be massive on huge. Difficulty ramps up considerably as you increase it. I don't see anyone soloing nightmare before end-game with optimized gear. Matchmaking for me has worked fine, but it seems the game tries to place you with players of the same level, so the lower levels can make it easier to just grind solo. After level 10, though, grouping became much more enjoyable. I have found the experience to be surprisingly social in dungeons. Most of my groups have chatted away as we ground our way to the lower depths of dungeons. Chat in the city is alive with people forming premade groups as well. One complaint here is that it gets pretty repetitive at times, especially in the early levels before you've unlocked different locations to crawl through.

Crafting offers a different game to those that have managed to figure it out. It works, but is clearly unfinished as of now. It is listed as "independent of character level," but this is untrue. Currently the skill levels (a max of 500) are not displayed, and are limited by your class level at 10 points per level. Crafting itself works fine though. Players can randomly obtain various qualities of crafted gear with a lower chance for purples and yellows. I can see an end game situation where one would craft endlessly for that perfect item to round out a gear set. To some this might be a turn-off. Also there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of variation on stats. With higher quality items, you get more stats on a piece, so crafting that high mitigation spell power plate is possible, but it cannot be customized. It's all RNG.

Overall, the experience offered in Kings and Heroes is fun, even if a little flawed due to early access. Time will tell if this game turns in to the fully realized vision that Industry Games has for it, or if it will simply be another one of the many EA games on Steam that never really made it. The potential is there, and there is open communication and passion from the devs. I hope that someone reading this can see what I can from this very early access game: potential.

Pros:

Great dungeon crawler.
Lots of loot to grab.
Challenging at higher difficulties.
Rewarding solo play if you can hack it.
Meaningful crafting for those that enjoy it.
Attentive and passionate dev team
Social experience.

Cons (many of these will be addressed as EA matures):

Empty open world.
Poor performance / optimization in places.
Repetitive / Grindy.
Little character customization outside of gear.
RNG nature (from primary stats to crafting outcomes, everything is random)
Numerous bugs.

The very first thing I want to address in my review is the negative reviews this game has received in it's first two weeks since launching on early access. I'm OK with people not liking something I like. What enjoyment a person derives from an experience and the qualities of that experience are largely subjective. That said, I'm not particularly tolerant of people blaming others for their own failings.

Absolutely every single negative review for this game at the time of this posting without exception can be summarized as: the game is still in early development and I don't like that. I can't emphasize this enough, because absolutely every single negative review has been posted by someone willing to take the time to write something negative about a game in development but completely unwilling to learn about it before purchasing. The wall of blue text on the store page, the forums, the developers YouTube channel, Twitch, and lets not forget THE VERY REVIEW PAGE THEY ARE POSTING ON all inform you that the game is still more or less in alpha. So if you wish to make your purchasing decisions based on these knuckle dragging cretins, then here's your sign, you can skip the remainder of this review.

The store page videos give you a good idea of the game experience the game is working towards. The key here is working towards, not at currently. Quite simply if you want to be part of the development of the game then I think you'll find it a rewarding experience. I have never seen devs as active and engaged as these. You can find them posting in the forums daily and every Friday they do a live stream Q&A session with the community. I think that's the key word there “community”. We're a community here working with the devs to make this game as good as possible. Now if you don't want to pay to be part of the testing and feedback phase of development, hey, that's perfectly fine. Check back every month or two and I think you'll eventually find a game in a state that you'll really enjoy.

I could write quite a bit about this game but what I think I can say that is most relevant is that it is fun. Perhaps that is an unsurprising statement from someone who has played it for 115 hours in two weeks time, but ultimately a fun game is what we're all chasing after. Clearly I have been having a good time. What I think makes it remarkable is there are many little things here that show it is made by people who are gamers like us. They have taken some of the best qualities from a variety of RPG games and made something unique yet kind of familiar. The action focus has been a rewarding departure from the more conventional RPG style which I have enjoyed very much, making it a more skill based game than you usually find with an RPG. It's not exactly an MMO but contains the better aspects of an MMORPG while lacking some of the pitfalls. All in all I think it's a very exciting experiment for an RPG that tips the hat to classics in a way that is endearing.

Abandoned, left for dead. Do not buy. A real shame.

You people need to learn patience and stop buying early access games looking for instant gratification.
The more you jump the gun and give it a negative review for no reason other then your own lack of common sense means that other people will less likely buy it and the development will cease.

I would like to see this game grow into something more and realize that development can take years.

Ignore negative reviews before the time of this one, they had server issues like any MMO launch and people whined about it, heavily. That\'s why the negative reviews generally only have 30 minutes of gameplay time, if they have more, chances are they left the game open without actually playing.

Like any MMO, Kings and Heroes had a bumpy start.
It took several hours to address some server issues and major bugs, but the team was quick to address patches that allowed the game to be playable.

- Core Systems are implemented
- Randomly Generated Loot / Dungeons
- VOIP
- Crafting System
- Pretty decent graphics

Pretty much anything you could want out of an ARPG is here.
The game needs some polish, but core content and the game is actually there, which is more than I can say for most early access games.

Is it worth the $30 price tag?
If you want to support the devs and don\'t mind going through optimization patches, bug fixing, etc. then yes.
If you\'re expecting a polished release game? No.

The game is fun, grab a couple friends and run some dungeons.

So far i really enjoy the simplicity of the game. It is like Skyrim/ Old school Everquest combat system, with Diablo dungeon running. I really think this is one of those game i will enjoy for a while to come. It is a very casual play at your own pace game that is enjoyable.

-Con: only con that i see with the game considering it is Early Access is the population seems to be low. This game would be in my top list of game if i could find good groups to dungeon with

Overall, great casual dungeoning game. The Devs seem to be really supportive and constantly updating and in forums to help.

So everyone thinking about getting this game, please do, the more people the more dungeoning we can do !

Ahh! What is this? Kings and Heroes? Finally, a new adventure worthy of my time!

I rolled myself a fine dwarven character, a cleric named Merrygold. With a blessed hammer and a joyous beard I set forth, landing in the bustling town of Everdale. What astonishing tales awaited me? What luminous treasure anticipated my hand at the bottom of a dark dungeon?

Ready for romance and danger I walked through the buildings, smiling as I examined the many races with various professions. I found myself inside a tavern, where a handful of weary travelrs rested. Suddenly, a man burst inside, calling out on voice chat in a strange accent-

"WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO ACCOMPANY ME TO SLAY SOME MONSTERS AND ♥♥♥♥?"

A strange way of wording, but I decided I would answer his call nontheless. I was about to respond to his summon when someone in the back of the room called out

"SHUT THE F**K UP YOU DAMN DIRTY ELF. THIS IS AN ORC BAR."

The two then proceeded to bicker and insult each other's mothers, while a man jumped from the top of the balcony and recited what seemed like the entire speech from Helm's Deep.

Deciding my journey lied elsewhere, I ventured to the town square, where a great statue of a courageous warrior stood. Admiring its craftmanship, I was just about to further inspect it when suddenly a robed man carrying a staff appeared at the top by some sort of teleportation spell.

"I AM YOUR KING. YOU ARE ALL PEASANTS TO ME."

This he cried out, before proceeding to rain great, firey meteors down, which the good people seemed to mostly ignore.

Feeling confused but still hopeful, I finally decided to try my combatical prowess in a dungeon. Onward I went, preparing myself for what was sure to be the fight of my life. I readied my hammer and prayed to my God, opening the first door in this accursed place.

Then a skeleton stunlocked me and I died immediately.



Actual Opinion:

You've probably read about the mechancis and bugs of this game, so I'm not going to talk that much about them. What I will say is that yes, the mechanics are solid and fun, and yes, at the current moment the game is ridden with bugs.

But hands down, my favorite feature so far is the voice chat. Everyone roleplays- badly. It's pretty damn funny. I really hope this game continues to be updated and gets at -least- a small loyal following, because I can 100% see this game having a fantastic community.

I followed a guy around the town for about ten minutes narrating everything he did. Right before he logged off he gave me a big pile of gold.

10/10 community.