In the realm of mobile strategy games, a new contender has emerged, vying for the throne. “Kingdoms: Merge & Build” promises a kingdom-building experience like no other, where players must navigate the intricacies of statecraft and military conquest. But can this upstart rivals the grandeur of the classics, or does it crumble under the weight of its own ambition? Enter Prince Eddie, the game’s endearing protagonist, who sets out to reclaim his rightful place upon the throne. But does he possess the mettle to succeed? In this review, we delve into the world of “Kingdoms: Merge & Build” to discover whether Prince Eddie proves worthy of the crown, or if he falls short in his quest for greatness.
Gameplay Mechanics Uncovered
At its core, Kingdoms: Merge & Build is an idle game that employs a blend of city-building, strategy, and RPG elements. Players assume the role of Prince Eddie, tasked with rebuilding a kingdom ravaged by an evil wizard. Game progression centers around merging buildings, managing resources, and optimizing the kingdom’s layout to maximize gold income. Unfortunately, gameplay feels overly simplistic and lacks the depth that would make for a truly engaging experience.
Some key features in the game include:
- Building and Merging: Merge identical buildings to create advanced structures and increase gold income.
- Resource Management: Manage gold, gems, and other resources to fund building upgrades and expansions.
- Character Progression: Upgrade Prince Eddie’s skills and abilities to boost resource production and kingdom growth.
| Building Type | Resource Requirements | Gold Income |
|---|---|---|
| Farm | 100 Gems, 1000 Gold | 50 Gold/min |
| Market | 200 Gems, 2000 Gold | 100 Gold/min |
| Bank | 500 Gems, 5000 Gold | 250 Gold/min |
While the structure and progression of Kingdoms: Merge & Build show promise, it ultimately falls short of delivering an immersive gaming experience, largely due to over-reliance on in-app purchases and shallow gameplay mechanics.
Lackluster World Building and Graphics
One of the most significant letdowns in ‘Kingdoms: Merge & Build’ is its half-hearted attempt at world-building. The game’s setting, a fantasy realm with a dash of medieval flair, feels like a hasty sketch rather than a fully-fledged environment. There’s little depth to the lore, characters, or history, making it challenging for players to become invested in the world. The lack of a rich narrative framework leaves the game feeling shallow and unengaging.
The graphics, while not terrible, do little to salvage the overall experience. Weak texturing and poorly optimized UI elements make the game look dated, even by mobile standards. Some of the character designs show promise, but they’re often overshadowed by bland, cookie-cutter environments. A few notable issues include:
- Frequent framerate drops during busy moments in the game.
- Textures that fail to load properly, resulting in blurry or distorted images.
- Clunky animations that detract from the overall visual experience.
| Graphics Settings | Visual Quality | Performance Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Very Poor | Slightly Improved |
| Medium | Fair | No Significant Change |
| High | Good | Noticeable Decrease |
The Issue with Frequent Frustrating Difficulty Spikes
Kingdoms: Merge & Build’s inability to seamlessly integrate its difficulty curve proves to be a major caveat. For the most part, battles against weaker foes require little to no strategy, with victory all but assured. However, when stronger enemies enter the fray, things quickly take a turn for the worse. Without a clear indication of incoming threats, these intense difficulty spikes often feel unearned and unfair.
| Difficulty Fluctuations in Kingdoms | |
| Low challenge in lower-level battles | Unpreparedness for intense difficulty spikes |
| Absence of strategic depth in easier fights | Lack of clarity regarding incoming enemy strength |
These frustrations often stem from underdeveloped AI that relies heavily on brute force, rendering combat less about executing clever tactics and more about simply out-damaging the foe. Some potential causes of these spikes include:
- Enemy health discrepancy – overwhelming health pools compared to the player’s army
- Insufficient resources – not enough gold or other materials to upgrade armies and structures
- Unpredictable enemy movements – making it difficult for the player to devise an effective battle plan
These factors serve as proof that the game’s pacing is well off-balance.
Kingdom Management Simplified to a Fault
As you navigate the world of Kingdoms: Merge & Build, the sheer lack of challenge in managing your kingdom becomes apparent. Resources are abundant, and construction is streamlined to the point where it’s almost mindless. Buildings and upgrades are effortlessly accomplished with a few taps, leaving little room for strategy or planning.
This oversimplification is somewhat alleviated by the addition of special events and quests, which provide a sense of urgency and variety to the gameplay experience. However, even these features are hampered by a lack of meaningful consequences or trade-offs. No difficult decisions need to be made, and the player is never forced to sacrifice one thing for another. Instead, the experience feels shallow and barely engaging. The management aspect of the game is reduced to simply checking in periodically to collect rewards and proceed with building.
Uninspired Customization and Character Options
One of the most significant letdowns in Kingdoms: Merge & Build is the uninspired approach to character customization and development. Upon entering the game, players are introduced to a tired character creation menu that boils down to a simple selection of pre-made male and female avatars, each with their own pre-defined stats and abilities. There is little room for creativity or individuality in this area, which hurts the overall experience and prevents players from truly feeling like their unique kingdom and ruler.
As for attire, players can only switch between predetermined costumes based on their progress and achievements in the game, offering little room for personalization and flair. This static approach stifles player expression and means that, despite progressing through various stages of the game, players’ avatars remain visually stagnant and fail to showcase their growth or accomplishments. Even selecting items for a ruler’s appearance becomes restrictive, with available cosmetic items feeling uninspired and lacking any true sense of diversity. Options such as hair styles, outfits, accessories and colors are limited, making this feature incredibly dull:
- Pre-defined character appearances with limited modifications
- Lack of customization options for a sense of individuality
- Costume swaps are the only visual representation of progress and don’t feel unique
Failed Ambitions and Underdeveloped Features
The ‘Kingdoms: Merge & Build’ experience felt shallow, offering so much potential that was unfortunately left unexplored. Merging buildings and units appeared more for basic progression instead of embracing a well-rounded strategy. When it comes to merging units, more emphasis could be put into it, such as adding special battle skills when merged or the ability to unlock exclusive units for better strategic gameplay.
Some would say the key to a successful city-builder game lies in its community and sharing options, where players have a seamless experience interacting with each other. In Kingdoms, while the “Visit Friends” feature initially seems like an entertaining addition, it serves more as window dressing than meaningful interaction. Here lies just a few of the ways this feature goes underwhelming:
- Visiting friends only allows the viewing of the town, and interaction with the visited town, seems limited to mere viewing of the town to, occasionally trigger certain gifts.
- There’s no actual challenge or competition going on, that tests players to grow better.
- The feature doesn’t leave room to teach or influence visits from other users visiting a specific town.
Because of such characteristics and lack of needed development, the time spent visiting other people’s towns grows boring due to the very minimum things you can do.
Comparison to Similar Games Reveals Missing Elements
When stacked up against its contemporaries in the casual city-building genre, Kingdoms: Merge & Build falls short. Games like Puzzle & Dragons and Dragon City have successfully integrated monster-collecting and battling into their gameplay mechanics, while Kingdoms feels bare in comparison. Even if we examine the title’s genre peers from a purely city-building standpoint, games such as SimCity BuildIt and Big Little Farmer have more engaging town development mechanics. Players can foster much more intricate cities with greater focus on simulation in these rival titles. Key aspects that are absent or underdeveloped include:
| No citizen needs to attend to | No weather or environmental issues to navigate |
| No opportunities to participate in special side quests | Options to design personalization elements, such as city names and unique landmark creations, lack variety |
In conjunction with the missing elements, some core gameplay mechanics require refining for the experience to be cohesive and interactive. Town layout options could be better realized if the developers invested time into tweaking existing game systems. Simultaneously, fresh and engaging sub-mechanics could add much-needed depth to the game, ultimately keeping players immersed and fostering the potential for active player engagement through in-game community building and interactivity.
The Way Forward
As the curtain falls on our ‘Kingdoms: Merge & Build’ review, Prince Eddie’s grand ambitions and questionable readiness are left in the spotlight. While the game showcases potential, it ultimately fails to ascend the throne of greatness. As we part ways with the land of merge-based mayhem, we’re left wondering: will Prince Eddie’s kingdom rise to glory, or will it forever be stuck in the realm of ’almost’? Only time will tell, but for now, the kingdom’s future remains shrouded in uncertainty.
