ⓘ Hooded Horse, Sidekick Publishing
In 9 Kings, players take on the role of one of nine rival kings fighting for dominance in a medieval fantasy world. Each ruler comes with unique troops, buildings and abilities. Rather than constructing sprawling cities, the goal is to build the strongest possible kingdom on a small grid and defend it against increasingly powerful enemies.
Buildings, troops and spells are placed on the battlefield using cards. Positioning plays an important role: Some buildings strengthen adjacent units, while others generate additional resources. Since battles play out largely automatically, success depends primarily on building a clever kingdom layout and making the most of interactions between different effects.
Experimenting with increasingly powerful card combinations is a big part of the appeal. With enough tinkering and the right combination of effects, players can practically break the game’s balance. The result can be enormous armies, nearly invincible units or attack values that reach completely absurd levels.
On Steam, 92% of more than 24,000 user reviews are positive. Players seem particularly impressed by the many opportunities to experiment with different builds. The accessible gameplay and addictive nature of the game also receive plenty of praise. However, there’s still room for improvement when it comes to balancing, especially since luck can sometimes play a major role. On higher difficulty levels in particular, success can depend heavily on which cards are offered.
Version 1.0 adds new cards and a fresh game mode
The biggest addition in the full release is arguably Joker Mode. Here, players can put together their own starting deck of nine cards and even tweak the game rules. There’s plenty more new content, too. 9 Kings now features more than 130 cards, over 140 decrees, more than 110 perks and over 80 quests. New abilities also provide even more opportunities to experiment with outrageous builds.
9 Kings normally costs $19.99 on Steam. Developer Sad Socket has yet to announce an exact time for today’s full release. A launch discount hasn’t been confirmed either, although one could still arrive when version 1.0 goes live. If not, it might be worth waiting for the next sale. According to SteamDB, the roguelike strategy game has previously been discounted by 55%, bringing its price down to $8.99. 9 Kings is rated “Verified” for the Steam Deck and should therefore run without major issues. The following trailer shows what the game looks like in action:
As a child in the 90s, my Gameboy was my steady companion. After school, the PlayStation was fired up. When I finally got my first PC, I was completely hooked. My passion for gaming has never waned since. For me, writing for Notebookcheck means reporting on topics that are really close to my heart – in addition to gaming, I also like to write about e-mobility, photovoltaics and innovative gadgets. When I’m not sitting at my computer, I’m probably on water rescue duty on the Baltic coast or trying to counteract the downsides of my geek life – namely sitting for long periods – at the local swimming pool.