For The King 2

• DEVELOPER: Iron Oak Games
• PUBLISHER: Curve Games
• PLATFORMS: PC
• GENRE: Tabletop RPG 
• RELEASE DATE: November 2, 2023 
• STARTING PRICE: 24,99 €
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

The second installment of the already popular RPG game For The King, not only promises a fun multiplayer experience and various improvements to its predecessor, but truly dignifiedly combines tabletop, turn-based and RPG mechanics. Although five years have passed since the first part, the premise is still the same, the idea is that you go on an adventure with a party of four (no longer three) with the intention of completing five chapters of the story, while fighting a procedurally generated map and various enemies and bosses.  

In my 30 hours of playing, I realized that For The King 2 is a surprisingly demanding and difficult game, in the sense that the difficulty of playing, unlike the first part, has jumped significantly. Interestingly, enemies make smarter tactical decisions, they will target characters with the lowest health or those in the background that deal more damage, so your tactics and character placement on the board will matter more. You have to play smart and that's exactly what the game asks of you. One mistake can cost you a chapter, which means playing from the beginning. Some may find it irritating that they have to redo everything when they lose, although there is an option to save and restart the game from where you left off to at least cheat the system in some way. This can be really frustrating, and it's not like we get much after each playthrough, other than lore points to be able to unlock in-game content. 

There is change, but the general impression is not optimistic  

Igra je par tjedana nakon svog launcha bila vrući nered; od velikog broja bugova, nezgrapno korisničko sučelje, izbacivanje tijekom igranja, nebalansiranost između likova, itd., međutim, 13 developera je uspjelo pretvoriti ovu igru u sasvim nešto posebno, jer su u obzir uzeli svaku povratnu informaciju. For the King 2 ima ukupno dvanaest likova, pola starih, a pola novih i dovršetak kampanje zapravo nije krajnji cilj, jer ćete uvijek imati nešto novo za isprobati, kao što su lokacije na karti i razni predmeti.  

Unfortunately, not all characters are the best, especially since most of them depend on their passive abilities and very often I took the ones that I know work. For example, the farmer's passive ability to summon a scarecrow to the front lines, which serves as a shield for up to five turns, makes him a great option for defending characters in the background. However, its slowness was a key drawback when exploring the map. Of course, in order to unlock this character you have to pass a certain part of the game, which can be extremely tiring for some. Additionally, the Lore Store offers too few unlocks to motivate repeat playthroughs, especially when most classes are not significantly different from the four core classes.

For The King 2 inherited many of the weapons from the first part, but there is a significant flaw when it comes to their effectiveness. Weapons deal significantly less damage, which is analyzed in detail based on various attributes: Intelligence, Strength, Awareness, and Luck. Additionally, there is an abundance of clothing, armor, rings, gloves, shoes, hats, and helmets with a variety of designs, each with different models. But ambiguities around rarities can make things difficult, especially if you're not familiar enough with the genre. Even so, I appreciate the wealth of options the game gives us to explore and try. 

Larger maps, interesting quests, more gameplay and new mechanics - not everyone's cup of tea 

Glavna petlja igre vrti se oko toga da morate poraziti neprijatelje, nadograditi opremu, skupljati zlato i povisiti levele svojih likova. Meni se osobno nije svidio veći opseg svake mape u poglavljima, jer je istraživanje dosta ograničeno, vremenski ovisimo o raznim questovima i neprijatelji svako malo nestaju ili se ponovno pojavljuju. Na kraju je ispalo učinkovitije ubrzati glavni zadatak nego razvlačiti vrijeme za borbu s neprijateljima u određenim fazama poglavlja. Srećom, spas se može pronaći u raznim sporednim questovima koje sadrže istraživanje tamnica, donose dobar loot, trebate poraziti točno označenog neprijatelja i raznolike su pa mi je na kraju više zabave otišlo na to.  

We will only mention some new mechanics, for example, in the second chapter, a completely new mechanic of traveling with the help of a land boat was introduced. The land boat allows all the characters in the group to move together and the efficiency of the trip is significantly increased. However, when characters are on a ship, some passive skills that would normally be active while walking or after a round ends stop working. Chapter 3, for example, brings the ability to destroy minecarts before they reach their destination to gain experience and even get new gear.  

The mercenary system is a new mechanic added to the game and allows you to hire mercenaries with four characters, but the whole system has little value. At the beginning you only have a few of them unlocked, later you can unlock them in the Lore Store, but the big minus is that they randomly appear in cities, they last a short time and cost a lot, it's only worth taking them if you're already going towards the very end.

Verdict 

No matter how much novelty the sequel brings, it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth after you've successfully completed it. At first glance, For The King 2 represents what we would expect from a sequel; improved mechanics, visual upgrades and gameplay balancing have created a more aesthetically appealing and deeper RPG. However, the differences between the classes are not prominent enough to really make the game much more tactical. The procedurally generated maps, while visually interesting, didn't bring significant gameplay changes or mechanical challenges that would encourage replayability. 

Still, I can't deny that For The King 2 is fun. When it comes to combat elements and exploration, it's hard to ignore the fact that For The King 2 is a game best enjoyed with friends. Also, it is very simply designed and offers a very attractive fantasy adventure world full of various stories and enemies. However, the smallest things are still the most visible in games like this, which can spoil the gaming experience for some, and if you haven't already played the first part, then the second certainly evokes the dignity of the first game.  

Review copy provided by the publisher