• Publisher: Atari
  • Release Date: Sep 23, 2008
User Score
9.1 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 101 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 96 out of 101
  2. Negative: 3 out of 101

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  1. Oct 3, 2010
    10
    Magnificent.This is one of the best game of 2008.I cannot even begin to think how much free you are in this game.The graphic the gameplay the units(which are awsome) everything its on its place.Many quests many hours of gameplay free choise cool units some divine help :D and great worlds to explore.Pure bad ass.Look even the spells look awsome(especially fireball).10
  2. DenisStepanov
    Nov 1, 2008
    10
    A great game for all RPG and strategy fans! Amazing animations, attention to details, very interesting and intriguing battles (frankly speaking, far mor interesting, beautiful and animated than in HOMM series) and cool sounds make this game vital for all gamers who likes thinking, not just shooting. A certain must-have!
    • 3 of 3 users said yes
  3. WolfMan
    Oct 13, 2008
    10
    Agreeing with a lot of the other reviews, this is reminiscent of HOM&M but much, much better. At level 6 and thoroughly enjoying it. Only a few down points: Map could be reworked a bit, its easy to get a bit disoriented, would like a quest point marker on map, minor spelling/grammatical errors. Other than that I fully recommend it, worth the money.
    • 3 of 3 users said yes
  4. JustinT.
    Oct 8, 2008
    10
    Great strategy game, weak to moderate RPG elements - but the RPG elements really accentuate the strategy. Wide range of units, abilities, items and spells, allowing for a huge diversity in tactics. Pros: Diversity, unit "balance", randomization, depth and scope Cons: randomization, occasional lack of direction, could really use either more context help or a glossary/helpfile in game for quick lookups. Game economy seems a bit off, at least on Normal diff. Currently playing as a mage class, about halfway through the game (lvl 15ish), normal difficulty. Mage abilities, spells and related items all seem to work together very well. Very fun trying out new combos, new units and spells and very interesting with the static unit population. Expand
    • 3 of 3 users said yes
  5. Mar 17, 2011
    10
    Most underrated game I have ever played. Turn-based strategy RPG at its finest. If you are a fan of the HOMM series this game will blow you away. Be warned that it can be a rather difficult game, but that simply makes it all the more rewarding. Combat is very smooth and balanced.
  6. KabliC.
    Oct 1, 2008
    10
    Great game - immense, very rich, and although I am still journeying, already clearly a very long game indeed! Graphics are cool, but the gameplay is what you'll be glad you spent your money on: the tactical battles are great fun, challenging and thoughtful enough, and it's all wrapped up in a cosy, interesting and colorful world of adventure. So if you want some nice graphical alt-world escapism mixed with cerebral exercise in the strategic battles, with oodles of care and attention given to every inch of it -- then you might like this game a lot. There's a demo on their site so you don't have to risk much to find out for your self though. Expand
    • 2 of 2 users said yes
  7. Jamie
    Oct 1, 2008
    10
    The best strategy game I've played in years. Imagine Heroes 5 with better graphics and much deeper strategy. Warning: This game is DIFFICULT. On the other hand, it's absolutely addictive - I haven't played anything else since I got it. BUY THIS GAME!!!! If you like strategy you won't regret it!!!
    • 2 of 2 users said yes
  8. Magnus
    Nov 29, 2009
    10
    This game is awesome. Even if the fighting is very repetitive, it never gets old.
    • 2 of 3 users said yes
  9. Warchief
    Jan 16, 2009
    8
    It's a great game, indeed like HOMM saga, but really different gameplay. The battles (turn based) remind me of HOMM1 due to small number of units and small size terrain. It has some gameplay failures, like having to face a lot of weaker units constantly, having to wait for ultrastrong creeps to move from your path, and a total mess with the quests (you can totally get lost and with lack of info for some you had pending), and really bad player control (both with mouse and keyboard). Better graphics than HOMMV? I don´t think so, they are both pretty good, and they have totally different styles with different cameras. Thus said I give 8 points because the game is actually pretty good, and I am enjoying it. It's worth the money, so buy it. In my opinion, I enjoyed HOMMV more than I am with King's Bounty, but don't want to say which one is better; it's just they are really different. Expand
    • 2 of 2 users said yes
  10. MikoS.
    Oct 2, 2008
    10
    I've been waiting for a good tactical pseudo-RPG for a long, long time, then out of nowhere suddenly this. Like Heroes of Might & Magic if HoM&M was much, much better. A true gem in a year of disappointing games. Unmissable.
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  11. MarkT
    Feb 16, 2009
    8
    I found plenty to entertain in this game, which was - as everyone said - something of an undiscovered gem. That said, after finishing the first two zones, and more than a half of the third one, it all became a little samey. I have certainly got value for money from this game, but can't quite see myself finishing it.
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  12. Andrew
    Apr 30, 2009
    10
    Why all keep talking that Kb the Legend is like HOMM? Actually there was the original KB which gave birth to the Heroes and some other titles. It was by the far the best game runnung on IBM PC XT with 1MHz and 64Kb of memory :) I'm playing it sometimes even now. So it is HOMM like KB and The Legend is it's brilliant development. The realm is bright and beautiful, unlike a darkish Diablo sort. The world is made with care and love. Some things like buterflies or squirrels on trees wich some developers pehaps would think unnesessary make the scene nice and charming. A real fantasy world. The music is also nice, I really like some themes. It's fun to explorer the wolnd full of amusing things, doing quests, collecting stuff and deciding to whom help and to whom not. But the essense of the game is battles. There will be lots of them. The units and monsters besides basic charecteristics has special abilities (up to 7) which can change all the strategy. As enemy armies tend to become larger and larger, even a mage cannot kill all the monsters with attaking spells. But an ingenious use of troops special abilities, traps, all kinds of obstacles on the battlefield (natural and created like walls and ice), hindering enemy units spells etc. can bring down armies much larger than yours. For veterans of HOMM such tactical subtleties are well known of course and this game presents a great variety of circumstences for its application. For the novices in turn based games it can be a bit tough. So if you want just to explore the world, to learn its history chatting with NPCs, take the Easy difficulty option. You wil have a great number of battles aniway though :) But be sure that it is possible to deal with all whose monsters at the Difficult or even Impossible levels. With due troop and money management, lots of tactical considerations, spell choices and so on of course. I could say a lot more about this admirable game but well... find out for yourself. Imho a must have for RPG and turn-based battles fans. Expand
    • 1 of 2 users said yes
  13. TonyM
    Jun 14, 2009
    9
    An amazing spiritual successor to Heroes of Might and Magic! All combat all the time, but never gets old. A classic game model of easy to learn, a great challenge to master; a must have.
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  14. PoisonedBlade
    Oct 19, 2008
    10
    This game is incredibly fun and addicting! You play as the commander of an army of troops. As the commander, your stats affect the offense, defense, and size of your army. When you encounter an enemy, you fight them in a turn based battle. You also have the ability to learn spells and cast them during the battle. Send your dwarves into a berserker rage, heal your giants, hasten your wolves, give your enemies the plague... You're constantly being rewarded as you play with gold (to buy troops), leadership banners (to increase the size of your army), and runes to learn skills and spells. King's Bounty never gets old. In other strategy games the good guys and bad guys level up evenly and every battle tends to feel the same. The special abilities of the troops in King's Bounty actually change the strategies of the battles. The pacing is perfect. At no point do you feel overwhelmed or bored. It's RPG Strategy Greatness and fun for all ages! If you're waiting for a turn based PC RPG, a great strategy game, or want to pass the time before Diablo 3 comes out, this is a Must Buy! Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  15. Marc
    Oct 12, 2008
    10
    This is the best strategy game I've played in years. In my opinion, this is better than Heroes of Might & Magic IV and V, and every bit as fun as 3. The pace is perfect, the fighting doesn't get old and the units are truly unique. If you are a fan of strategy games, you must own this title.
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  16. e_k
    Oct 15, 2011
    9
    A good game, and a fun update the original (1990). You play one of 3 characters, exploring the fantasy world, fighting enemies, and finding treasure. Combat is turn-based, and your retinue can be of any kind of creature that you will encounter in your travels, be it peasants, pirates, snakes, zombies... While many tasks are repetitive, the game provides enough that it continues to be engaging. Sometimes there is a bit too much text to read when interacting with characters, but the occasional funny dialog makes it worth it. Graphics look somewhat like those in Torchlight (2009). Music is ok, if uninspiring. Comparable to the non-turn-based HoMM games, but feels "bigger" because of the perceived freedom in travel around the world. Expand
  17. Jan 8, 2011
    9
    This is a wonderful gem of a game. There's a LOT of game play packed into this title; expect to spend over 40 hours per playthrough, even more if you are a completionist. Combat is very tactically oriented and a good tactician can make it through many tough battles with minimal, if any, losses. With careful planning and a few tricks, it is possible to play through the whole game without a single loss at all. The three classes play very differently, and the randomization of some game elements ensures that no two games will be quite the same. You can be incredibly aggressive and force your way through the game with brute force, or you can take a more careful approach. The units are varied, and even units from early areas of the game can be useful at the very end. My only complaint is that the storyline is absolutely linear. As the player, you can make zero significant storyline decisions, and this reduces the depth that this game could have. Expand
  18. Apr 15, 2011
    9
    If you like Mel Brooks movies you'll love this video game. It's an awesome mockery of every video game trope that ever existed. Some of this is thrown in your face (like piles of gold just lying on the ground waiting to be picked up) but what makes the game special is the amount of it that's hidden. Select your Hero page, right click on a portrait of one of your children, select 'info' and you will be greeted with this gem: "Your child, besides giving useful bonuses, takes his place in your heart and in your wife's equipment slot." There is much more from the fountain of wit that created this hilarious game. The only reason this game doesn't get a ten from me is that the pacing of the game is off. There is too much running back and forth to buy soldiers for your army from vendors that are randomly scattered throughout the game and there are times when you need to grind out battles just to get the exp so you can tackle a boss. When the two combine the game play bog downs and even the chuckles cannot save it. Still, this game is all about blowing **** up and having a laugh while your doing it. The game never takes itself seriously and this allows it to sparkle with wit and charm. Unique, highly recommended. Expand
  19. Aug 5, 2011
    10
    Entretenido, divertido y mejor que muchos juegos actuales de su mismo genero. No es necesario que un juego sea mas complejo para ser mejor, y Kings bounty lo demuestra. Ojala sacaran una nueva entrega. (aparte de las dos expansiones con las que ya cuenta.)
  20. Aug 21, 2011
    8
    This is a must for all the "Heroes of Might and Magic" fans. :) And if you have never played "Heroes", than this is a good place to start! Even though it's not as deep in strategy as "Heroes" (you cannot build castles, for example), the game features similar turn-based combat and world-exploration mechanics. The story is light-hearted and humorous, as are all the characters in the game (and their quests). Just make sure you get the MODS for this game - because they are essential for making it a lot A LOT easier to enjoy this Epic Quest :) Expand
  21. Feb 26, 2012
    9
    Everything you'd want from a modern turn based fantasy strategy game plus 1000% more. No kidding. So many weird things and surprises. They used to make games like this in America. Now I guess Russia handles it --and oh so well!
  22. Nov 28, 2011
    8
    King's Bounty is a very solid, entertaining and addictive game. A must-play for turn-based fans. The storyline, even though it seems told by Google Translate, is somewhat of a departure from your regular fantasy story and albeit slightly weak at times, always invites the player to move on and learn more about the world he's part of. The humour does occasionally get lost in translation and starts to feel slightly awkward. Russians have strange views on women. There's an RPG aspect to the game but it only rarely shows during conversation; occasionally you're asked to make a choice but it never has great impact on the world around you. The other aspect to the RPG game-play is that of leveling your character and the box of rage, which houses 4 entities that will fight alongside you if you can persuade them to do so. There are 3 types of characters to choose from when the game starts. I have only finished the game as the knight, who seems to be able to command very large armies, but I assume that the Paladin and Mage come with different skill-trees. You are free to equip whatever items you come across, there is no class-restriction on them. You could make a mage-knight if you wanted to, assuming you can find the right items. Items and store-inventory (Including minions that can be hired) are randomly chosen at the start of the game. This increase replayability by quite a bit but may also mean that you will never complete some of the sets of items no matter how important they might be to your army. Combat is intruiging, always open for experimentation and often very fulfulling when you take out stacks of enemies far larger than yours while minimizing your own losses. The spell system seems somewhat unbalanced and you might find yourself using the same spells over and over again but that could also be down to the type of army you decide to raise and whether or not you consider losses acceptable. The units at your command are fun to play with but even more fun to experiment with; you can spend hours trying to mix and match units of different races to see what best complements your style of play. Sounds and music are pretty good. None of the dialogue is spoken and there are no cinematics but the sounds and music is definitely not annoying to listen to. (And that's a good thing because if you take your time to explore the entire game, you'll know the tunes and sounds by heart.) my only complaints are that Russian developers should start hiring professional translators and that they make you walk around far too much in this game. A lot of time goes into replenishing stacks of units because you have to remember where you bought them. Apparently, they solved the latter in the sequel. I recommend this game to any one who enjoys turn-based combat. I dislike fantasy themed games but I absolutely loved King's Bounty game-mechanics. Expand
  23. Jan 6, 2012
    5
    Simply put, this game fails to meet the expectations it sets for itself. After 6 hours of gameplay the very basic elements of the game aren't rewarding and most aren't even explained. First of all, upon starting the game you are plunged into "training" with no back-story or character reference. During "training" you're given tasks to do, but no real explanation on what your units do, what enemy units can do, or anything regarding what your character can do. Second, as soon as you enter the world you will find an alarming number of enemies who are simply too powerful to defeat. Even worse, there are enemies who fly the banner of your kingdom and nothing indicates that they are enemies until you're too close to avoid combat with these insanely high level assailants. The map is "nice" looking, but frustratingly difficult to navigate. Furthermore, enemies seem to have no boundaries. They will chase you across the entire map and when they catch you the only way to exit combat is to leave your entire army to die, which forces you to start over from nothing. Even the combat system feels very limited. During combat the abilities and powers of your troops aren't easy to reference and everything except the number of enemy troops seems to be hidden. The enemy will often use powers that "scare" your troops, causing you lose control of them for several turns, which is the ultimate role-playing no-no. And even your own character feels like a stranger to you, as he never actually participates in battle. I really, really wanted to like this game, but so many things about it are just sub-par. It's worse than unpolished - it feels like the designers simply didn't put any thought into this game. Expand
  24. Apr 9, 2012
    10
    I am highly impressed by this game. It's got a gorgeous setting. At first I was a little bothered by how it only takes a few seconds to ride your horse to some place that's supposed to be far away but the charms of the game ended up making me happy to forget this. Do you like turn based combat? Do you like fantasy settings that don't take themselves seriously? Then you can't possibly dislike this game. Thanks to all the Russian people that made this game. Expand
  25. Feb 10, 2012
    10
    I bought this game on a whim for $2 during a sale, knowing nothing about it or the franchise. It was one of the best surprises in all of my time gaming. I would happily have paid retail for this game if I'd even known about it before I bought it. It's an extremely deep game, there are tons of ways to play it, tons of items, tons of units, and a very big campaign to go along with it all. You'll spend a lot of time playing this game. It's fairly difficult depending on how you choose to play, but if you're up for the challenge it is a must play for any fan of the genre. It is one of the best games I've played in a long time. Expand
  26. May 7, 2012
    3
    Bought this game off a Steam sale. I am very disappointed other than the stunning fantasy graphical elements. The game is highly repetitive - the heroes are stuck with the same moves most of the times and the monsters are not worth fighting for. The fighting area is always the same - I was under the impression this would be an SLG game like Fire Emblem. But rather the highly repetitive gameplay reminds me of a cheap Tower Defense game. Played for 20 mins and uninstalled. The story may be entertaining at times, but the gameplay is real turn-off for a hardcore item/spell/leveling/story/farming RPG player. Expand
  27. Mar 12, 2012
    4
    King's Bounty (both The Legend and Armored Princess) is a strategy/RPG game that's incredibly inaccessible. It throws you into combat with no description of how to play, and it's very complex. I floundered around for a bit, trying to figure things out, and then I died and got sick of it. If you already know how to play this style of game, then perhaps you can find something here, but I'd recommend that everyone else avoid this title. Expand
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 26
  2. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. 90
    The game's RPG trappings are just the sugarcoating for an incredibly deep and enjoyable strategic experience.
  2. 81
    Yes, the difficulty can be very unbalanced at times, and sure the tutorial needs work, but as it stands, King's Bounty is a great game for all types of RPG fans.
  3. Even with the lower standard of graphics and sound, the game is still above board in the fun department. I really like this title and thank it deserves some big time praise for bringing back the cool in single-player RPGs.