My continued mission to go back and revisit games that I had previously either played a bit but not enough, or even missed entirely, has been bearing fruit this week. The latest title to come back under the ol’ Eye of Sauron is Super Fantasy Kingdom, a pixel-art fusion of fantasy city-building elements and auto-battler combat.
Not only does Super Fantasy Kingdom impress with its expressive yet stripped-back pixel-art style, but the charm extends beyond the visuals, and developer Super Fantasy Games (see what they did there) has done a good job of imbuing the game with playful character and a knowing wink at the fantasy tropes it borrows from.
There are two halves to the game, and they support each other rather elegantly. On the one hand, you’ve got your units, stationed at the edge of your realm (see above) and ready to fight anyone or anything that attacks. On the other hand, there is your settlement, which you’re gently expanding over time, and which sits beneath the battlefield.
Super Fantasy Kingdom feels like one of those games where you’ve never got enough resources to do everything that you want to do. The city builder elements can feel a bit prescriptive at times, and like so many timer-focused RTS and turn-based strategy titles, you’re going to spend a bunch of time waiting for shit to happen.
Luckily, you have skills in this area. Not only can you manage your workers by assigning them to jobs, but you can also cast spells to speed things up – although there’s an added cost to pulling that lever. You can also recruit new units for future runs, added to the pool via the trapper, a new unit who captures monsters on the battlefield.
Speaking of the battlefield, the combat auto-resolves, although you can move units around several positions as needed. Your team of warriors, mages, and monsters will fight until the bitter end, and those who endure each night will happily trot off to the pub for some XP and health, earned via dinner and a nice nap.
While your units can and will fall in battle, death isn’t the end, and they’ll be back in action the next day, albeit without the XP earned from levelling. That said, once they’ve all fallen, your campaign is over, and it’s time to start the loop again. Of course, this is a roguelite, so you do so with fresh unlocks and a growing understanding of how to navigate the earliest stages.
There is so much to think about and then subsequently do, and Super Fantasy Kingdom scratches the city-building itch nicely with its constant thrum of thoughtful activity. The day-night cycle creates a nice tension, and the pacing has been tuned up since last I played.
There’s a steady stream of incremental upgrades delivered to you during play, and there seems to be decent depth, and that’s only getting better as the game continues to be updated with new systems, spells, units, and whatnot. In fact, whenever I see news of an incoming update, I’m always surprised to remember that this Hooded Horse-published roguelite city builder is still only in Early Access.
Speaking of which, the game has enjoyed a steady evolution in the past few months, since it fully launched last October. We most recently had a modest Update 16, but the one before that was notable as it reworked a few key mechanics. The big change I appreciated was the simplification of the levelling-up process, which I think makes that side of the game more approachable and streamlined.
I’m going to stop there, because I intend to revisit Super Fantasy Kingdom when it is fully finished and ready to exit Early Access. What’s already here is a whole bunch of fun, and this kingdom is only going to grow in prosperity as its world and its systems diversify!
