ⓘ Fulqrum Publishing

In King's Bounty: The Legend, players take on the role of a royal treasure hunter who explores the colorful fantasy world of Endoria on behalf of the crown. The journey takes them through bustling cities, enchanted forests and dark swamps, as well as mines, caves and dangerous dungeons. At the start, players can choose between three classes – Warrior, Paladin and Mage – each with a different focus on magic, character progression and army management. The strategy RPG from Katauri Interactive is 85% off on Steam until August 19, bringing the price down from $6.99 to $1.04. According to SteamDB, this matches its previous lowest price, last reached in late June.

Fans of the Heroes of Might and Magic series should quickly feel at home with the gameplay. While the hero roams Endoria in real time, encountering an enemy switches the action to a separate hex-based battlefield. Raw combat power alone is not enough, however: Which creatures players recruit for their army, where they position them and how effectively they use spells and special abilities can have a major impact on the outcome of a battle. New creatures can be recruited at various locations, with the hero's Leadership stat determining how large the army can be. Talents, equipment and powerful artifacts provide additional tactical options. Later on, players also gain access to so-called Spirits of Rage. These four supernatural companions have particularly powerful abilities and can be upgraded much like the hero.

The world is not designed around strictly linear progression. Some enemies are simply too powerful when first encountered, forcing players to avoid them and return later. In addition, many troops are only available in limited numbers. Heavy losses can therefore be particularly painful, making a carefully planned army composition all the more important.

German gaming magazine PC Games reviewed King's Bounty: The Legend when it was released in November 2008 and particularly praised its successful blend of turn-based strategy and RPG elements, tactically demanding battles and imaginative fantasy world. The varied quests, boss battles and extensive character progression were also well received. On the downside, the reviewers criticized some unnecessarily long travel distances, balancing issues and the cumbersome recruitment system. In the end, the magazine awarded the game a solid 8 out of 10.

The verdict from the Steam community is even more positive: 90% of almost 4,000 user reviews are positive. King's Bounty also fares well on Metacritic, where it has a Metascore of 79 and a User Score of 8.6. On the Steam Deck, the title is rated as “Playable.”

Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.

As a child in the 90s, my Gameboy was my steady companion. After school, the PlayStation was fired up. When I finally got my first PC, I was completely hooked. My passion for gaming has never waned since. For me, writing for Notebookcheck means reporting on topics that are really close to my heart - in addition to gaming, I also like to write about e-mobility, photovoltaics and innovative gadgets. When I'm not sitting at my computer, I'm probably on water rescue duty on the Baltic coast or trying to counteract the downsides of my geek life - namely sitting for long periods - at the local swimming pool.