From 1989’s Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur, to 2001’s Dark Age of Camelot, and to King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame in 2009, the iconic Arthurian legends have always been a massive pool of inspiration with which to make video games. And even in 2020, that fascination is still going strong.
Hungarian studio NeocoreGames (Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, and the aforementioned King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame) aims to put an interesting twist on the Anglo-Saxon legend in King Arthur: Knight’s Tale.
This turn-based tactical RPG in the same vein as Firaxis’ XCOM series puts players not in the shoes of the legendary King of Britain himself, but instead his nephew Mordred, who is typically portrayed as a villain in the Arthurian legend.
This time, however, Mordred is depicted as the hero of Avalon, where he is bequeathed power by the Lady of the Lake to put King Arthur to the sword. On the bright side, however, he has his trusty Knights of the Round Table to aid him, which players will get to control in the game as well.
Aside from carefully planning your moves to make the best out of the situation at hand and managing the roster of knights at your disposal, there is also the small matter of managing the kingdom of Camelot. One can upgrade their castle for more boons to their fighting units, as well as decide on what kind of Camelot players want it to be, thanks to a morality system that lets players determine how “good” or “evil” their characters and kingdom are based on certain choices made in the game.
King Arthur: Knight’s Tale is slated for a 2021 release on PC, though it is currently seeking crowdfunding aid via a Kickstarter campaign, with a campaign goal of £115,000.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
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