Last week we got our first look at the action game Kingmakers where you travel to the past with modern weapons. The trailer announcement teased the sort of medieval combat we’d see in Mount & Blade before throwing in a huge twist. Instead of using bows and swords, you’re using guns from the future alongside a pickup truck to drive into knights.
Kingmakers combines the time travel of the movie Army of Darkness with the hybrid combat of the Kingdom Under Fire games. While slaying enemies from the third-person perspective, you can also control armies from an RTS view. It’s a silly concept that sounds like a gun mod I’d download for Mount & Blade.
Kingmakers Announcement Trailer
Even though we don’t know much, the Steam page revolves around changing the course of history to save the future. We see a brief glimpse of an apocalyptic future before the pickup truck teleports to the past. Something clearly went wrong and with how the butterfly effect works, I’m sure we can fix it in the medieval era.
Regardless of how in-depth Kingmakers goes with its story, it makes a good case for more AA games. I don’t expect every developer to take risks and try ridiculous concepts, but it’s a delight when they get a chance to. I doubt many of us expected a medieval game with an attack helicopter in it.
This could make for a fun senseless chaos as you battle massive armies. However, I’m curious about the sandbox side that they’ve only hinted at so far. I tried reaching out for more info but haven’t heard back. The Steam page doesn’t say much aside from building your own kingdom and one trailer briefly shows resources.
This makes me wonder how detailed the city building will be and what you can do with it. Is this the sort of game where you start with a village and over time build it into a large castle? Or is it more like an RTS where you place a barracks to pump out units? In the exclusive trailer from IGN, I also noticed an “End Turn” button while the resources were visible on screen.
Kingmakers Official Trailer via IGN
While it’s clear the combat takes place in real-time, it does make me wonder how the turn-based system works. Perhaps buildings are made over a certain amount of turns. Or maybe there’s a timeline for certain events after so many turns. Since the button also mentions an enemy invasion next turn too.
It’s tough to know what kind of game Kingmakers is but I’m sure we’ll learn more later. As of now, I’m struggling to guess what the gameplay will be outside of using guns in giant medieval battles. Similar to others comparing it to Mount & Blade, I’d love for an overworld map, but I have a feeling it’s less of a sandbox like that. And will likely follow a set story revolving around certain scenarios instead.
Screenshot via the IGN Fan Fest 2024 trailer for Kingmakers.
In doing so, I’m sure it’ll have multiple endings or opportunities for you to mess up. We already have one example at the end of the announcement trailer. It shows the future with large cat ships flying around as one unloads a ton of skulls. While I can’t quite be certain, I don’t think that’s a good sign. Part of me almost wonders if we’ll get an Assassin’s Creed vibe with Templars also time traveling.
For now, I’m curious to see how much Kingmakers has going on even if its’ gimmick is the main draw. Currently, it’s sitting at the 71 most wishlisted game on Steam. And that’s bound to increase as the developers show more of it.
Jeff is a journalist with over 10 years of experience writing, streaming, and making content about video games. With an associate degree in journalism, he’s a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and more.