Kingdom: New Lands

Kingdom: New Lands is a strategy game released in 2016, developed by Noio (based in Amsterdam) and Licorice (based in Iceland), and published by Raw Fury. It launched on 9 August 2016 for Windows, macOS, and Xbox One. As a sequel to the 2015 game Kingdom, players guide a mounted monarch who builds and defends a realm against creatures known as the Greed. The monarch can recruit builders and archers to strengthen their base, working toward the goal of ruling five islands.

Reception

Owners of the original game received New Lands as a free update. Versions for iOS and Android arrived in March 2017, followed by a Nintendo Switch release in September 2017, and a PlayStation 4 version on 16 January 2018. Critical reception was mixed to generally positive at launch.

Gameplay

In terms of gameplay, Kingdom: New Lands is a 2D side-scrolling strategy title with roguelike elements. The player character is a monarch on horseback, tasked with building a kingdom and defending it each night from the Greed. The monarch must also repair a ship to travel between five procedurally generated islands, each more challenging than the last. Starting with two villagers and a few coins, the monarch recruits subjects and assigns them roles—builders to construct defenses, or archers to fight the Greed and hunt rabbits for coins.

Coins hire new villagers from camps outside the kingdom, build walls, or repair useful structures. Subjects receive tools when coins are spent on equipment, but if attacked by the Greed, they lose their tools and become beggars. The monarch must fend off escalating waves of the Greed to prevent them from stealing the crown, which ends the game.

Release

The Android and iOS versions were initially announced for release on 31 January 2017, but were delayed to "later this winter" on 27 January 2017. The iOS version ultimately launched on 9 March 2017.

According to Metacritic, the Xbox One version received "generally favorable" reviews, while the Nintendo Switch release garnered "mixed to average" scores. Nintendo World Report praised the visuals, lighting, and strategic depth but noted frame rate issues. Nintendo Life rated it 6/10, highlighting the pixel art and soundtrack as strengths while finding the gameplay too simplistic for some. Destructoid reported technical problems with the Switch version.