King's Bounty II (2021), the first new game in the series since Dark Side, was developed by 1C Entertainment on Unreal Engine and co-published by Prime Matter[1][1][1]. It is set in Nostria, a human kingdom that occupies a whole continent of the world of Antara and whose borderlands are struck by a mysterious calamity[1][1].

Development and release

• 1C Entertainment announced it on 14 August 2019; it was being made in Moscow and planned for 2020 on PS4, Xbox One and PC[1].
• On 11 February 2021 publisher Deep Silver and 1C Entertainment moved it from March to 24 August 2021, saying the content was complete but needed more playtesting and polish[1].
• In June 2021 it moved to Prime Matter, Koch Media's new label, as its first game, keeping the release date[1].
• Released on 24 August 2021 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch[1][1][1]; PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions followed in September 2023[1].
• Patch #2 (17 February 2022) added three difficulty levels — Easy, Normal and Hard — and dungeon maps[1].

Heroes and ideals

• The player picks one of three heroes — Aivar the warrior, Katharine the mage or Elisa the paladin — whose name, gender and appearance cannot be changed[1]. Elisa is a peasant from Lorian who believes it is her mission to save Nostria[1].
• Four ideals shape the hero and the army: Order against Anarchy, and Finesse against Power[1]. Anarchy talents improve income and trickiness, Order healing and morale, Finesse spellcasting, Power damage and defence[1].
• Units belong to the ideals too: bandits, assassins and the undead to Anarchy; Nostria's guards and sorcerers to Order; magical creatures such as golems and elementals to Finesse; griffins, dwarves and trolls to Power[1]. See King's Bounty II — ideals and creatures.

Editions

Three digital editions were offered: Day One, Lord's and Duke's[1]. The Lord's Edition adds five weapons and armour pieces (Rod of Deception, Frosthammer, Staff of Harmony, Tyrant's Sword, Armor of the Hollow), a "Heroes & Villains" premium pack and the King's Watchdogs unit; the Duke's Edition adds the digital artbook and the soundtrack by Evgenii Shvarev[1][1]. No story add-on was released.

Reception

• Metacritic: 63 from 44 critic reviews; the per-platform scores range from 57 to 73[1].
• StopGame praised how the four ideals create variety and put the campaign at more than 50 hours[1].

The studio

After Tencent bought it in November 2021, 1C Entertainment renamed itself Fulqrum Games on 30 June 2022[1]; the King's Bounty II trademark is held by Fulqrum Publishing[1]. Store links: where to buy the King's Bounty games.