Fated Kingdom Reviews

What I liked: + nice graphics + replay value + very fun gameplay + can be played on one computer + mod support (sic!) What I did NOT like: - not the most convenient control - you need a group of 2-4 people to play

The game is great, but by no means play it with randoms. In most cases, they don't know the rules well and don't have a microphone. You'd better find a group in Discord. As I wrote before, this is not a flaw in the game itself.

The game has been developing for over 2 yrs. Developers do some things rather slowly. But the core of the project is very high quality and worked out to the smallest detail. I am also glad that the developers do not release paid add-ons. Instead of that, they continue to develop the main game.

I really don't understand the thumbs up for this game. It's pretty god-awful, especially for a pricetag of $10. I got it for $3 and I'm very unhappy with it. First of all, this is a poorly optimized game. 2 other friends got it to play online and it is atrociously laggy for no good reason. We host and play all manner of games and have zero lag issues, including Tabletop Simulator. Next, the overall game is completely jacked up. The player boards are different for every player, the cards don't shuffle all the time, and the dice don't really even roll most the time. The physics is so wonky that it can send game pieces flying across the board. The rulebook was originally written in Russian, and the translation can be incoherent at times. Takes a very simple once-over by an English speaker to fix this. And this game's been out for months. So there's no excuse for that. And if the game was good, those things wouldn't have bothered me enough to downvote it. I like challenging games. What I don't like is a game that is 100% RNG and can result in ridiculous, game breaking issues. There are gaps in the rules that make it impossible to know how to play. For example, the game says that discarding cards results in removing the cards. But some instances require you to put the card on the bottom of the deck instead. Yet still, there are board spaces that say, "Choose X cards", but doesn't tell you what to do with the ones you don't choose. It's not in the rules, either. There's a skill for the mage that just forces another player to discard a card or lose a turn. There's no limitation on this skill and there's no rules about skills that says you must discard skills when you use them. Doesn't really make any sense. The dice composition is completely terrible. The Knight consistently rolls misses, barely ever hits. And the whole beginning of the game is just hoping you don't get a random monster card that kills you in one hit because you start with no items, no skills, no money, and no ability to shop. Depending on the board (which is random each time), it can mean you don't get to shop until you do a full circuit around the board. Which you most likely won't survive. So when the game isn't ending pretty much within the first couple turns, the only way to win is by milling an entire deck (again, this is a problem because we're still not sure when to discard and when to just put the card on the bottom of the deck) or fighting another player. And by this point, you'll have absolutely conflicting skills and weapons that you have no idea how to resolve because there are no real rules about it. It's just a mess. This game could have been a $1 game on TTS, but the game makers instead made a janky as heck poor substitute to get more money. I can't BELIEVE that 83% of the 250 people who bought this game and probably enjoy board games thought this was either a mechanically good game or a good virtual board game. It is absolutely terrible.

Nice project with great potential. For a long time this game was in Early Access, about a year ago it was fully released. But the developers keep updating the board game, fixing the balance and adding new features. One of the best cooperative projects in Steam.

Feels somewhat like Talisman. I was intrigued by the openess of the rules as stated in the description of the game but it didn't grasp me. It's still in early access so there's time to figure things out but the game felt clunky. Picking up pieces could cause things to fly in the air, I couldn't get creatures into my graveyard as the red player, and it's apparent that the developer's first language isn't english as some translation makes understanding rules or card abilities difficult. Given time this could be an interesting game but in it's current state, I cannot recommend.

- Old School Digital Boardgame Rules/Cards are poorly translated, makes playing difficult - Co-op and Multiplayer for 2-4 people. Not a cooperative game, and the synchronization issues really affect the multiplayer aspect - 5 characters with unique abilities Nothing much to say here. There are 5 classes and they all have different abilities and dice. - 200 Well Designed Cards Shuffling doesn't work all the time. You can't stack and pick up cards if they land on your skill/equipment tray. The art is nice, but the bad translations make it difficult to determine how a card effects game play. -Rogue-like Game Board Generation What they mean is a random board every time you play. Could be fun if the other aspects of the game were fun or polished, but bad board states just emphasizes all the other un-fun aspects of the game. -Realistic Physics and Great Visuals The visuals are pretty nice, I'll give them that. The physics are frustrating. The dice roll like they were made out of lead. It feels bad. -Easy to learn but Deep Combat System The combat system is not deep. You roll dice and look up what the faces do. Monsters will take a certain number of hits, and will wound you a certain number of times based on what is printed on the card. Skill/Weapon cards can affect combat. Pretty straight forward if you ask me. -Shared physical space and no forced rules Almost sounds like they are encouraging you to cheat. -Powerful editor for game modding The editor is a joke. I laughed when I opened it. It looks like a highschool programming project. Laggy game play for people in the same house. The excessive RNG really highlights how bad it feels to roll dice, draw cards, etc. Picking up multiple dice means you have to make sure you don't hover over other dice or you pick those up as well. Auto win and Auto loose cards kill game play, you may even end up in a limbo game where it is impossible to win, and will take forever to lose. Needs a lot of polish and love. You are better off playing something on tabletop simulator.

Be careful! The game is a digital copy of a board game without any automation of the rules. All actions must be performed manually by the players. There is no single player game either.

Edit 7/30/19 I had made a post in the discussions requesting hotseat gameplay, and it has finally come to fruition, these are devs that truly listen to the players and adapt the game as they want and as the players want. Bravo Fated Kingdom! There is public matchmaking now so disregard those people that have not updated there reviews, having said that, I have not seen anyone on the public lobby so I have yet to play the game.

So, I have 60+ hours in on this game and I have to say, it's been a lot of fun. I started streaming Fated Kingdom over a month ago. Since then I have made some new friends and discovered a whole new affection for board games. Yes, there are things worth discussing, like the interpretation from Russian to English. There are also some phrasing or wording points that may seem unclear at first. Reaching out to the developers has helped a lot. The developers are still very active in the games development. From bug fixes to Rule updates. And they are quick to respond to questions on Steam and Discord. The game is meant to be a cooperative experience. 2 to 4 players work together to save the kingdom of Kinmarr from the dark forces that are battling to bring it to ruin. Each player represents a different guild. The guilds may not trust each other but agree to put aside their differences to rescue Kinmarr. There are five guilds. Knight, Pathfinder, Follower, Heir, and Watcher. Each has there own lore and unique abilities. I've played them all and it's very hard to pick a favorite. The misconception that this game is in someway a cash grab is disheartening. Because the rules or certain tasks are not AI enforced does not diminish the game in any way. The rules are well developed. The English rules are of Russian translation. I've played with enough people, who are familiar with the game, to learn that everyone has their own style of play. It's what I would call 'House Rules'. The developers intended it to be this way. Even they will play the game in different alterations. They even include an 'Official Fated Kingdom Editor Guide' with the installation. With this tool you can edit cards, tiles, guilds, and the rules. You can play the game as Co-op, PVP , or teams. In fact, the game can start out as a co-op and any one or more players can decide to go rogue. After all, these guilds do have a history of distrust among each other. I have yet to actually play a full game in co-op because somebody always decides to go rogue. Then there are games I have played in pvp between two players. The game changes each time you play. There is random tile placement and a resetting of all 4 decks. There are also cards that can flip the entire game over on it's head. There are four decks, Encounter Cards, Skill Cards, Item Cards, and Prophecy Cards. Over 200 cards in all that take the game in many directions. In ways, Fated Kingdom reminds me of board games I played years ago where there was no AI. You had a rule book and your imagination. How many people grew up putting a $500 bill in the center of the Monopoly board to cover Free Parking? It's called House Rules. Almost everyone has their own House Rules for the games they love. The most important thing about House Rules is that everyone is on the same page before the game starts. Over the past few weeks of streaming and playing Fated Kingdom, I created my own House Rules. It has nothing to do with poorly written rules. It has everything to do with players personalizing the game experience. For example; After a long discussion over Tower Cards, a couple of us thought of adding a House Rule.. When drawing a Tower Card, you can keep it as long as you have the value of the card in Creature Cards to buy it. There are times where a player is 'directed' to draw a Tower Card. What if he cannot afford to buy it? The rules would have you return it to the bottom of the deck. In our discussion, we talked about the possibility of the card going up for auction. In another instance, a player can be directed to pay silver to another player or back to the kingdom. What happens if he doesn't have the amount? The rules would have you ignore this and move one. We discussed other options. Such as the player goes into debt and must pay as he gains any new silver. Another was increasing Fate by the same number he owes. A third option was that the player taking a wound for each silver he owes. (The third was my suggestion and a very bad one to boot). The point is, the game allows for this as a House Rule or even as an edit, as intended. Not having the AI search for a specific card during game play has been called a setback to the game. For instance, you can be directed to search for a specific Guild Card, or Creature Card. To manually search for the card is not an issue, for me. It was not in issue in any match I have played, for me or other players. I remember that Fated Kingdom is an 'old school', digital board game. It's a little hands on. It's NOT an AFK game or Idle Clicker and never claims to be. For me, the very last thing I want is a game that plays itself. And if I am attracted to a digital board game, a big part of it has to do with the art, look, and virtual feel of the game. So I have to go through a few cards? So what? I like the sound they make when you flip them and lay them down to be honest. Yes, there are opportunities where you are directed to name a specific card. It may be to obtain that card, use it, or look for it. You can access the library of all the cards 'before' game play but not during. The developers designed it this way. I have had more players know exactly what card they wanted or needed to name than players who couldn't name one. This is the difference between a real player or a casual player. It is not a defect in the design of the game. I ask, in what card game is it not to a players advantage to know all there is to know about a card. To put this in perspective; Magic the Gathering has over 20,000 cards. Hearthstone has 2,496 playable cards. Fated Kingdom has 200. As for lag in the game, I have experienced little to none. I have played a few people who have said their lag was a little annoying but not a game changer. Most of the time a simple restart of the game seems to fix it. To sum it all up, you need to experience the game yourself and come to your own conclusion. Yes, there are rules to read. And each guild has different attributes to remember. Sometimes you have to re-roll the same dice because there is no duplicate. And it's beneficial to learn and know the cards. These are not things that lessen the fun or depth of game-play. It's old school. Enjoy it. I hope this review is helpful to anyone who is looking to own the game. And if you do pick it up, look for me in the lobby. My games are always public. I am usually streaming. And I try to keep it fun and entertaining.