[timestamp] is a running journal and reflection on the games I play, news I’ve read, and commentary on hot topics and conversations I have come across. These will be free to read online and printed in a limited monthly edition for $15/mo Patreon supporters!

Game played: The King is Watching (PS5)

Okay, confession time. I missed a journaling day. I played The King is Watching over the last couple of days, and instead of giving myself a few minutes to write something up about my play time those days, I just played more… I have played 15 hours of the game so far, in addition to my full-time job, wife, and kids. I have been squeezing in every second I can of this game, and that’s a good thing. It’s got enough of those rogue-like progression systems that make each game worth playing, as you’ll get the in-game currency needed to unlock more content. There are advisors, starting skills, new kings with primary abilities and skills, new buildings, a gallery (that I have yet to invest in— I just want more power!), and more.

There are some games where you may start a run and think, “I want to do X build here,” but in The King is Watching, you really have to see what hand you are dealt first before you can make those choices. To me, this can be a turn-off, as I may like a system or style more than another, and I want to primarily play that, but here, it’s balanced enough that trying out weird new combinations of buildings, resources, and units can make your choice of upgrades, spells, and choices wildly different from run to run. Once you start seeing your first upgrades for buildings, you start to lean into using those, and their resource needs to create units then becomes your goal.

I have loved pausing the game and reworking my entire field once I am locked in. There is a small penalty for moving a tile, but it is negligible overall, and if suddenly you find yourself being able to harvest the resources you need, in addition to the units that require those resources, and stay fully staffed up for your army, it’s great to see. I’ve even had a full gaze of six tiles, and made a six-tile “idle” zone where I am making spells, resources, healing my units, etc. in one area, and then another area of my primary resource needs, then a full five-tile cluster of my units plus a hospital to stay stocked up. I just moved around the field depending on whether I was in a battle or not. There are just so many fun ways to engage with the game.

Initially, I didn’t know if I was going to click with the game. The controls are a little complicated with multiple sections you toggle through with a button, and as I mentioned before in a previous post, the need to use both the analog and D-pad can be a dexterity challenge. I will say, at some point I have just locked in and don’t need the tooltips (R3) as much. I am reading my current resource supply better, and the little UI touches that let you know you can or cannot upgrade or build something are more noticeable. It looked way overwhelming at first, but now I am running through the game at the max speed, and pausing at moments when I have what I need to build or cast a spell.

At this point, I have cleared out level three of the first stage, the hardest difficulty, which is like an increased heat level in Hades, if you are familiar. Each level sands off some easier settings, eventually giving you a fully on max difficulty challenge. By doing that, I have unlocked a new stage, which I have noticed adds a whole new currency and merchant in runs and mixes things up a bit more. This was unexpected, but a rad change to see that I have more surprises in store.

There is just something about a game like this, with the right combination of pacing, challenge, progression, and access, that sucks me in. This is clearly not a game for everyone. I wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone, but this is exactly my speed and style, and this has somehow overtaken Mina the Hollower, The Adventures of Elliot, and Cairn as my favorite game I have played this year. This has been a rad year for games. This is enough for me for now, though. I think I can squeeze in one run real quick before I have to go to work!