Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 1
Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 1 is the fourth installment of the “Hero of the Kingdom” series and it’s basically the same game as the previous titles, with a new story which acts as a prequel for the other games (narrating the background of one of the less important characters from the other games). It uses the same game engine and graphics as the previous releases, but it is slightly shorter (3.5h – 4h) compared to the other episodes – maybe this is a consequence of the negative feedback that its predecessor received from the community because of how grindy it was.
Just like the previous titles from the series, Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 1 is this peculiar blend between a time management game without any time limit, a finding-objects game without it really being a HOG and a point & click stripped of any puzzles. Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 1 takes the main elements of each genre and combines them into something that is unique, but doesn’t fully adhere to any of the aforementioned genres. There are quests and NPCs you have to talk to; you need to gather items that are hidden on the map and use them to complete quests; you need to trade your resources in order to buy items necessary for completing quests and you have to find the optimal way to do all of these these (just like in a time-management game) so that you have enough resources for everything (any action you do also consumes resources). Keeping such a balance might be difficult sometimes (with the risk of you getting stuck) but luckily the loophole for making money that is present in any of the other titles is also available in Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 1 and you can use this whenever your economy bogs down. In The Lost Tales 1 in particular, it is possible to get by without using this “trick” and without extensive grinding. The game wants to keep it casual for you but lets you decide how casual you want it to be.
Yes, Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 1 is shorter than the previous installments, but it’s also cheaper than the others. It’s less grindy and more balanced, with a story equally interesting. The gameplay is still overly addictive and if I might say a tad more casual than before (it’s only necessary to acquire skills and not to also level them; the resources rarely respawn, which means that the game is not built on grinding them; tools break less and don’t need replacing that often; the map can be used for fast travelling etc.).
Overall, Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 1 is an extremely enjoyable and relaxing game, especially worth picking up if you like very casual gameplay or if you’re a fan of the series.