1C Entertainment is currently hard at work on King’s Bounty 2, the follow-up to King’s Bounty: Darkside, which released back in 2014. Today, the first in a series of development update videos showcases what’s changed and what is staying the same.
This new clip focuses on tweaks in the primary concepts of exploration, hero management, and tactical grid-based combat. There’s notably been a balance shift in between segments, with battle only taking up about 1/3 of the gameplay in King’s Bounty 2.
It appears there’s also a greater focus on third-person camera angles instead of the previously-seen top-down view. There are also more traditional RPG elements infused into the story this time around. Environmental puzzles and town exploration were missing from the previous games, which were entirely focused on overland exploration and strategic combat.
There are now multiple main characters to choose from, too. An alignment and morality system based around four main concepts will further change how you interact with NPCs:
- Finesse
- Strength
- Anarchy
- Order
One of the biggest changes arriving is a limit on unit sizes. You can’t have 360 snakes or 500 crossbowmen in King’s Bounty 2. It’s a bummer, but it’s intended to force change on players and encourage them to try different unit types as the story progresses.
Check out the full King’s Bounty 2 dev diary update above, and let us know what you think of the changes down in the comments! King’s Bounty 2 is currently slated for a late 2020 release.
