For those of us who fondly look back and reminisce about the way Role Playing Games used to be, Exiled Kingdoms delivers. Developed by 4 Dimension Games, Exiled Kingdoms is a single-player, isometric, old school RPG with a huge map and zero pay to win mechanics. This game was suggested to me recently by a friend as a game that “doesn’t get enough credit” and I couldn’t agree more! Let me tell you about this gem of a game.
Story
Although I am not one to be too engrossed in the story of a game, I can tell the developers of Exiled Kingdoms really cared about providing some substance. Sure there are lots of the classic “Kill x number of creatures for a reward” quests, but they usually have a story and purpose. The flow of the quests naturally leads you further into the wilds and deep into dungeons as you meet new characters and adventure to new cities. You feel like you are a part of something bigger than yourself with new content to explore around every corner.
Exiled Kingdoms is difficult
Though the combat is not what I would call intense, it is challenging. The enemies can quickly chop you down and you better hope you saved recently. Oh and the dungeons – where you will encounter many difficult foes – keep you from saving until you exit. This can become quite nerve-racking because you have a finite number of healing potions or daily heals. Plus, you can only use the daily heals outside of combat, so it’s critical to size up your opponents before each engagement. Exiled Kingdoms also has four different difficulty settings, including a hardcore mode, so there is no shortage of a challenge.
Monetization
There are absolutely zero pay to win mechanics in Exiled Kingdoms! It is a free-to-try game that requires a one time purchase of $3.99 to unlock the full game. I was easily able to decide if I wanted to keep playing the game by the time I was prompted to purchase the full version. In terms of hours of gameplay per dollar, this game tops the charts. This is especially true considering I have not seen a single advertisement during my time playing.
Items
The itemization in Exiled Kingdoms reminds me of an Elder Scrolls game. There are basic weapon types and the metal they are made of (iron, steel, etc.) determines their base damage. Items are very simple and there doesn’t seem to be the same kind of an item grind as other games have. I personally would have liked to see a crafting system, but the game has plenty of other ground to cover without needing to harvest crafting materials.
Final thoughts
I am so happy I found this game. It has so much depth and integrity. These days it is very difficult to find a challenging RPG game that isn’t pay-to-win and Exiled Kingdoms is just that game. However, because the game has minimal monetization, I fear it won’t have the financial backing it deserves. This is a huge game with many hours of gameplay to be enjoyed. As my friend said to me, Exiled Kingdoms is massively underrated and I hope the devs keep working on it and future games with the same game design integrity.
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