The ads are everywhere. Ads for a game where you play as either a commoner, noble, or royalty and try to survive life in medieval Europe. A game called King’s Choice. The ads show determined players vowing to get revenge and triumphant players enjoying their lives of virtual splendor. The game has collected sponsorships from influencers such as Loren Gray. So of course, I had to check it out for myself.
The game starts off with a cutscene where it is revealed your father was killed by Aves the Usurper. Your brother barely escaped and it is unknown if he is dead or alive. You are to be crowned Lord of Nivael in your father and brother’s absence but you must get married first. You agree to marry either Lord Ian or Lady Beth who just so happen to be head over heels in love with you. The lover you get is determined by the gender you choose when creating your character.
You deal with the problems that come with being a new leader in a war-torn land but as the story progresses you can explore your realm, acquire lovers and have heirs, make important government decisions, progress the story, and unlock other features as you play. Most things in the game are time-locked, and those features fall into one of two categories. Some events like Hunting Trips, Pirate Invasions, Balls, Knight Parades, and limited-time events are playable at specific times each day.
Other activities like the Champagne Fair, Patrol, Lover Encounters, and resource collection all can happen at any time of day but you can only participate in these a certain number of times before a waiting period is put into place. After the waiting period is over the activity will be open again, or the player can use special items such as wine, or collection chances, to open the activity.
The Ads
King’s Choice has plenty of false advertisements out there, including Loren Gray’s sponsored mini-playthrough. In her ad she claims to play as Allie, an important character to the story of the game, who unfortunately, isn’t a playable character. Other ads show women trying to gain a powerful Lord’s favor, queens having to make tough choices about who should inherit the throne, and ladies being thrown into prison, none of which happen to the character.
Review
When it comes down to it, King’s Choice is not as advertised. It’s not a sexy, choose-your-own-adventure game, you can’t play as many of the characters featured in the ads, and it’s a long, arduous process to become successful without spending real-world currency.
Another issue with the game is the lack of inclusion. All character options are white and while you can change the gender of your lovers after acquiring them, when you encounter them throughout the story they will appear as the opposite gender. There are no androgynous character options for genderqueer players. These could easily be fixed with more character options, a third option when choosing your gender, and an option to choose your desired lover gender.
Despite all this, I was quickly hooked by the enthralling story. The game’s time based structure forces you to wait before continuing with the story, or from competing against other players, which prevents burnout and gets me playing multiple times throughout the day. While the ads did get me playing, they don’t showcase the best parts of the game and choose to flaunt false gameplay instead.