King’s League: Odyssey review: bite-sized battles

Like knights? Like management games? Then this is likely a game for you. King’s League: Odyssey is the sequel to Malaysia-based Kurechii Studio’s first King’s League game, and boy, is it done well.

The king has recently been replaced by another, and you need to fight your way up to sit at his round table once again. This can only be done by conquering all the local leagues and tournaments in the land, and you can only do this by recruiting a team of fighters!

A slew of different classes are available, each with different growth rates and helpful passive abilities in the arena. You won’t really get to play them, though, because King’s League: Odyssey focuses on team management more than the fights. Battles in this game are all auto-attack, with their outcomes being decided solely by how well you’ve been building your team.

Still, the game is pretty entertaining based on that alone. King’s League: Odyssey operates on a tight timeline; you’re sent headlong into a battle every month, so you’ve got to keep your team on its toes or you’ll lose. Training your knights uses gold and crystals, which can be earned at tournaments and through side quests. Along the way, you can also explore dungeons for unique heroes, and conquer other towns and locales for increased gold and crystal production.

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Since King’s League: Odyssey is a premium game, you don’t have to contend with a stamina system. Instead, I found myself caught up in the game’s frenetic pace. How fast the days tick by can be adjusted for different speeds, but sticking with the middle speed gives you enough time to make decisions, and goes quickly enough for you to enjoy the ride.

This pace is what makes the game most enjoyable. There is never a dull moment as you’re climbing up the leagues, going from your humble little hamlet to the big city. King’s League: Odyssey has an immense attention to detail, and everything from the way the doors shut after each battle to a simple on-screen selection has a high polish. Battles are especially enjoyable to watch; Kurechii Studio has done something right with that Western-yet-chibi art style they’ve improved on from the first King’s League game.

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However, I was expecting a bit more for a premium game. Eventually, you get to go against the King himself, but this is where the pace drops a bit. I lost to the King’s entourage in the first fight, but was allowed to return home to train and try again. Because training is limited by the amount of crystals you had, I was forced to wait, grind some quests out, and wait again until the next month ticked over and I had a new supply of crystals with which to improve my team. This waiting got interminably boring and completely destroyed the pace of the game.