[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)

What the hell is this game? I have to thank overworld.gg and their calendar feature that shows upcoming release dates for EVERYTHING all in one place. I was scrolling through it a week or two ago, and I saw this game listed as coming soon for the PS5. I’d never heard of it, and I thought the name sounded cool. That’s how normal people find things, right? The name is really good…

Anyway, not that I needed a new game to play, as Splatoon is still super fun, but my weakness for a good tower defense game is a fatal character flaw. If you check out the trailer for this game, you can see it mixes a few different things into a good stew. Is there such a thing as a “good stew?” It mixes them all into a delicious cake. There. That’s better. Along with the tower defense mechanics, there are rogue-like elements, resource management, persistent upgrades, and some light puzzle elements. The art style is really rad, too.

During the main gameplay action, you have a highlighted section of squares that are where the “king” is “watching,” and as you build out your plot of land with wheat fields, trees, buildings, etc., they are only active when you have them in your view. So instead of idle waiting and building as you’d expect in a sim-style game, you’ve got to construct these resource spaces in groups that work together when watching. You can move around your watching grid any time with the d-pad.

The only real headache is adjusting to the controls. This was first released on PC, but mapping the controls to a PS5 controller requires you to use all the shoulder buttons, the d-pad, the left analog stick, and clicking R3 for the help/tool tip windows. There is a lot going on, and a lot on the screen, at any given time. You can pause the game, something I do often, with R1 to give yourself a moment to think out your next build or move.

When it is all flowing, it is highly entertaining. This isn’t for everyone, but it is definitely for me. I will be playing it more, for sure. I am curious to see how the challenge and levels scale. There are dozens of additional unlockable skills, systems, and upgrades. For only $15, it seems like a steal.