First Impression: Legends of Kingdom Rush

By Chris Picone, 15 July 2022

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one; the trailer captured my attention but the art style’s (while high quality) somewhat similar to some of those dodgy dime-a-dozen mobile phone games. I’m very pleased to report that, while I could see Legends playing well on a phone, it is in no way dodgy.

The cartoony artwork also made me expect an easy-ish game but again that’s not the case. Legends is a tough strategy title that really forces you to think hard on every action you take – you really need to use your special abilities effectively and only take carefully considered risks that will hurt the enemy more than they will hurt you. It’s designed to be hard because it’s also designed to be highly replayable. In an interesting design choice, while your characters level up through each campaign, they reset on every playthrough so you can try different builds each time. There are some progressive elements through the game though; although each campaign is replayable in isolation, you do play through a story, and there are some permanent ability unlocks. There are also a stack of interchangeable heroes and companions – that unlock as you play the game – that come with very different stats and abilities to allow you to adapt a range of playstyles for some totally different experiences. In fact I’ve so far found the party building aspect of the game to be its best feature. I’m only maybe halfway through the game so far but I’m in no hurry to finish – I’m pretty happy at the moment just replaying the first few campaigns and experimenting with different builds.

The verdict? Legends definitely plays a little differently to most turn-based tactical games with its roguelike elements but it’s definitely a good thing. If you’re a fan of tactical games, definitely check this one out.

Check it out on Steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1904860/Legends_of_Kingdom_Rush/