For the King, to me, is the quintessential hidden gem. I don’t know how I first stumbled upon it, and I don’t know anyone else that has played it, but it’s one of the best co-op RPGs ever. For The King 2, which is currently running a closed beta test, is everything the original For the King was, with a little bit more. Even though it’s largely the same game as the original, I’m thrilled that this brilliant game might have a chance of finding a new audience.
By way of genres, For the King 2 is a co-op, roguelike, tabletop, turn-based-RPG, but of course, that doesn’t tell you much about what it’s like to play it. I like to think of it as a virtual RPG board game, a hardcore, swords-and-sorcery adventure that’s laser-focused on technical combat and time management, with just enough role-playing elements to color the world and give your character some identity.
For the King 2 is turn-based both in and out of combat. The world map is a giant hexagonal grid that you will traverse turn by turn as you complete quests, search for treasure, and take on exponentially increasing threats. My favorite thing about For the King 2 is its quick pace. I’m not a big turn-based RPG fan because I’m very impatient, but For the King’s roguelike structure makes games move at a brisk pace, even in co-op, and with a persistent sense of dread. Runs often end abruptly with a battle your team was not prepared for, but I’m always eager to jump back in and start again.
You can play single-player, but co-op is what makes For the King so special. Each player controls their own adventurer in the party, which gives each classic turn-based encounter a collaborative twist. I get a lot of the same satisfaction from winning battles in For the King that I do from Baldur’s Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin 2, but without nearly as much commitment. For the King is the kind of session-based RPG you and your friends can jump into for a couple hours and feel totally satisfied.
The sequel has few new mechanics worth mentioning. Combat now takes place on a 4x2 grid, and each character is allowed to take a bonus movement action on their turn. This change adds a layer of tactical strategy that wasn’t in the original, since enemies will have attacks with different patterns, and heroes have abilities that can buff tiles on your side of the board. It’s a unique mix of classic turn-based and tactics-style combat that feels unique to For the King. Combat is like a slower version of Mega Man Battle Network, and I can’t get enough of it.
There’s new classes and some added complexity to build crafting that has been interesting to explore. When you start a new run, everyone gets to choose items from a shared list of starting gear. You can pick up armor and trinkets that enhance the role your class is designed for, or try to offset their weaknesses. I’m enjoying experimenting with different starting builds, and unlocking new ones with each failed run.
For the King 2 is a roguelike that’s just as punishing as the original. Every few turns, the difficulty will increase and all of the monsters on the board will level up. You have to be as efficient as possible, only take fights that will make you stronger, and judiciously decide which goals to pursue. It can be challenging to make the right decisions, especially in a co-op setting, but that’s where For the King 2 finds the fun. You have to go into understanding the success of a long process marked by frequent failure, and just try to play a little bit smarter on every fresh run.
My complaints about For the King 2 at this point mirror my complaints about the original. In the first For the King, keeping your group together on the world map can be tedious and force you to waste turns while stragglers catch up. This doesn’t seem to have changed much in the sequel, though there's hints of a vehicle called a landship that is accessible later in the game that could solve that problem. There’s also a lot of unexpected difficulty spikes that are hard to anticipate until you have a lot of experience with the game. The UI is kind of messy and difficult to use, which I normally wouldn’t fault a game for during closed beta, but the original also has an abstruse UI. It looks and plays almost exactly like the original, which would normally put me off, but in this case I’m just happy for more For the King.
You can request access to the closed beta test, which runs from today until May 16, on Steam.