‘King of the Castle’ is a Party Game of Rulership & Noble Backstabbing
King of the Castle is a party game about beating the king or being the king, asking you to make narrative choices to rule (or undermine the current ruler).
King of the Castle is a narrative driven, party game where one person is the King (basically the one who owns and is starting the game). Everyone else can join via their mobile phone or sign into a web-browser like in Jackbox. The King has their own goals in the game, and everyone else is split into different factions all fighting to be in charge of the world instead of the king. Your goals all need to be achieved in a set amount of seasons, with goals changing depending on how the story goes.
The King, although they are alone, does have some advantages that the nobles do not. The King is able to pick the storyline that everyone is participating in next, and there are some decisions that are just for them which can restrict what the nobles are able to do. When it comes to the nobles themselves playing, this is through decisions they make in these various story lines.
Each storyline on the map of King of the Castle has a few options that can be picked to resolve the narrative. The king is able to sometimes veto a resolution or select one they prefer, but other than that, the decision is down to the factions. Each faction has its own priorities that might make their decision. You can clearly see on the decisions what they would increase or decrease when it comes to stats, and some stories only affect the stats of specific factions.
Through having a bunch of factions fight it out against a monarch, the game itself feels sleek and balanced. Nobles vote, the King tries to influence the vote, and whatever the outcome gets the most votes is then played. This continues to affect the story, with things previously mentioned coming up again, making the tale feel really interactive and that it truly involves all of the people playing it.
King of the Castle has done something really unique when it comes to party games. The world itself evolves and changes depending on the decisions being made by the players, and there are tons of surprises hidden in this game as well. The story can be so much more than traditional party games, as the various players get invested in their faction, their goals, and overthrowing the king. It’s captivating and feels great for those who like strategy games and a compelling, twisting story.
At the preview for King of the Castle, we were able to check out three factions: “Sexy Vampires” were romantic but not great at fighting nobles, the Patricians were into trading and making money, and a clan in the north called Ragnarok were brutes that were into battle. There were a few other factions as well, but we weren’t able to dive into them. These factions all did feel unique and their stories stayed true to their characters and desires based on their descriptions.
Stats are always visible in the game, showcasing what each faction has in Farming, Military, Faith, Defence, and Trade. The King’s stats are different, having Authority, Stability, and Treasury stats. This forces the King to attempt to get factions focused on each other while keeping their stats where they need them to be and the factions will need to fight for their own place within the game. When we played the game, there was a lot of negotiating, yelling, and reminding people that they should be voting on specific things. All of this added to the fun and the chaos. It was really great when we all agreed on something and when we disappointed the king!
When it comes to players, the game can apparently host three to twenty-four players locally. However. it’s been claimed that Twitch streamers can use chat to create a game with three thousand players. This allows for a lot of variety in your gaming experience, especially with three players verses three thousand. When we played the preview, we actually played with about 50 players, which felt really fun – far more than with bots.
In the end, King of the Castle is creating a really unique party game experience, that I haven’t seen anything like before. Party games that have more of a narrative driven concept is something that really adds to the party game genre, and it will be interesting to see what different paths and aspects people discover – especially when it comes to Twitch users!
King of the Castle is currently in development, but in the meantime, you can add it to your Steam Wishlist.
