King Arthur: Knight's Tale
A dark fantasy tactical RPG where Mordred must stop a corrupted Arthur.
King Arthur: Knight's Tale is a tactical role-playing game from NeocoreGames, which both developed and published it. It offers a dark fantasy take on Arthurian legend, putting players in control of Mordred. The game launched on Windows in 2022, followed by PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in 2024. A standalone expansion, King Arthur: Legion IX, came out on May 9, 2024.
In the story, Mordred kills King Arthur, but both return from the afterlife. Arthur becomes corrupted by evil, and the Lady of the Lake tasks Mordred with stopping him. Players lead Mordred through turn-based tactical battles against the corrupted creatures of Avalon. Up to three additional knights from a roster of twelve can join him, though adding a new knight requires removing an existing one. Knights improve via skill trees, and titles can boost their loyalty and grant special abilities. Between fights, players can rest and upgrade their castle, including Camelot. Knights can be sent on quests, making them unavailable temporarily. Choices made during quests shift the kingdom along two axes: Christianity versus paganism and tyranny versus benevolence, which affects knight loyalty based on their preferences. Knights who stay behind can train at the castle, gaining experience points tied to the training yard’s upgrade level. A player-versus-player mode is also included.
The plot begins after the Battle of Camlann, when the Lady of the Lake brings the dying Arthur to Avalon. For unknown reasons, Arthur returns as a tyrannical despot, cursing Avalon with dark magic and unleashing undead and monsters. With little power to stop the collapse, the Lady resurrects Mordred, the man who killed Arthur. Over the campaign, Mordred can recruit major figures from Britannia’s history, including Knights of the Round Table, Morgan, Merlin, Morgause, or fey creatures. He faces Arthur’s corrupted armies, as well as Picts and the reanimated remains of the Roman Ninth Legion. After defeating Arthur, Mordred learns the conflict was orchestrated by the Fomorians—giant monsters from Celtic mythology and Avalon’s original rulers—and must defend his new kingdom against them.
Development began with a Kickstarter campaign in 2020. The game entered early access in January 2021 and fully released for Windows on April 26, 2022. Console versions followed on February 22, 2024.
Quick Facts
- Title
- King Arthur: Knight's Tale
- Developer
- NeocoreGames
- Engine
- CoreTech
- Platforms
- Windows · PlayStation 5 · Xbox Series X/S
- Released
- Windows · April 26, 2022 · PS5, Xbox Series X/S · February 22, 2024
- Genre
- Tactical role-playing
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Following the Battle of Camlann, the Lady of the Lake brought the dying King Arthur to Avalon. However, for unknown reasons, Arthur returned as a tyrannical despot, cursing Avalon with dark magic and unleashing an army of undead and monsters. With little power to stop the collapse of her homeland, the Lady resurrected Mordred, the man who killed Arthur, to stop him. Over the course of the campaign, Mordred can recruit several major characters from Arthurian legend, including Knights of the Round Table, Morgan, Merlin, Morgause, and fey creatures. He is pitted against Arthur's armies of darkness and other refugees from Britain, such as the Picts and the reanimated remains of the Ninth Legion of the Roman Empire. After Arthur is defeated, Mordred learns the entire conflict was a plot by the Fomorians, giant monsters from Celtic mythology and the original rulers of Avalon, and must defend his new kingdom against them.
Reader's Guide
King Arthur: Knight's Tale was funded on Kickstarter in 2020 and entered early access in January 2021 before its full Windows release on April 26, 2022. Console versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S followed on February 22, 2024. In November 2022, a free skirmish mode was added, alongside two paid DLCs that added more skirmishes. The game received positive reviews on Metacritic. IGN praised the depiction of playing as a heavily armored knight in tactical combat but noted that battles eventually became repetitive and felt like filler. Eurogamer felt the default difficulty had requisite tactical options but lacked depth and challenge, making battles seem boring. RPGFan called it 'a feast with meaty tactics, a sumptuous story, and luscious visuals.' RPGamer enjoyed the tactical combat but said the grimdark atmosphere could feel oppressive and repetitive.
Did You Know?
- Players can send knights on quests, making them temporarily unavailable to join Mordred.
- The game's morality system uses two axes: Christianity vs paganism and tyranny vs benevolence.
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