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For The King

For The King

IronOak Games · released Apr 19, 2018

AdventureIndieRPGStrategy

For The King is a strategic RPG that blends tabletop and roguelike elements in a challenging adventure that spans the realms. Set off on a single player experience or play cooperatively both online and locally.

Steam page ↗OpenCritic ↗
81
VGC Score
▼Declininghigh confidence▲ +8 since launch

launched at 73, updates lifted it to 81

73%
At launch
88%
Steam all-time
75%
Press
67%
Player sentiment
79%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 298 sampled Steam reviews (248 positive / 50 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

  • Multiplayer & servers7% mention it
  • Story & writing7% mention it
  • Difficulty & balance6% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

  • Difficulty & balance18% mention it
  • Controls & UI8% mention it

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

75%

32 reviews

5-15h

82%

90 reviews

15-40h

85%

107 reviews

40-100h

83%

52 reviews

100h+

94%

17 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)–758
All-time Steam reviews88%811000
Metacritic user ratings––0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)79%7353
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 151 reviews sampled · 106 total reviews in window · weighted 89.7 up / 23.7 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (21)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 70
    Pure NintendoPure Nintendo
    trust 80Jul 29, 2019

    “All in all, For the King is a seamless port to the Switch and fun experience! You are going to die and you will probably grumble about it. But then you will spend your well-earned lore points on a new event, encounter, item or class and hit that new game button one more time to start a new adventure all over again. I encourage anyone who enjoys RPG's or rogue-likes to get a copy and see just how far you can get! Until next time, good gaming.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    Jump Dash RollJump Dash Roll
    trust 76May 16, 2019

    “A joyous celebration of tabletop RPG gaming brought to console, For the King may have all the looks of a cute, fluffy, bunny, but it has an iron hard skeleton and the heart of a warrior.”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    Nintendo LifeNintendo Life
    trust 76May 20, 2019

    “Turn-based RPGs of yesteryear and today owe a lot of their fine-tuned tactics to the legacy of tabletop board games, and For The King pays tribute to this legacy with a digital adventure where anything can happen. The fast-paced nature of its exploration and combat keeps everything feeling fresh and lively, but the considerable reliance on chance does take the shine of its otherwise competent combat. However, with adjustable difficulties (which amend the severity of each death) and a sizeable amount of expansive DLC, this is one roguelike RPG that really shines in co-op.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    Invision CommunityInvision Community
    trust 73May 22, 2018

    “While it doesn’t offer anything strictly new to gamers, the combination of features which form For The King make the game challenging, mechanically welcoming and aesthetically pleasing. Although harsh at times, beyond the control of the player, the game offers in return a consistently fresh experience in the face of impending doom.”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    Cubed3Cubed3
    trust 70Oct 14, 2019

    “Although far simpler on a conceptual level than it lets on, For The King is a charming, addictive blend of rogue-like and tabletop RPG elements, culminating in an experience that is far more than the sum of its parts. ”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    NintendoWorldReportNintendoWorldReport
    trust 69May 7, 2019

    “The roguelike design also helps make it a little more varied, making this great to break out at a game night. In a way, it's like a tabletop campaign without a dungeon master. In the ideal circumstances, it's electric and even just as a solo game, it's a good ride.”

    read full review ↗
  • 75
    NintendojoNintendojo
    trust 68Aug 9, 2019

    “I’m obsessed with how cool the visual design is in For the King, I love taking on its challenges with a friend, and I sincerely hope that there’s more to come from IronOak Games. This is a delightful first outing.”

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    FingerGunsFingerGuns
    trust 66Apr 17, 2018

    “Overall For the King is a fun game that will appeal to a broad audience, but the lack of story options may just be annoying enough for people to down their swords and leave the fantasy realm for good.”

    read full review ↗
  • 75
    EurogamerEurogamer
    trust 66Apr 26, 2018

    “A beautiful turn-based RPG whose brutality can sometimes get the better of it.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    TheSixthAxisTheSixthAxis
    trust 65May 20, 2019

    “For The King is a fun and stylish RPG, but prepare yourself for classic roguelite frustrations of dying and starting the campaign again, just to get a little bit further each time. If you enjoy that kind of challenge and like board games then For The King is well worth checking out.”

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    GameSkinnyGameSkinny
    trust 65Apr 30, 2018

    “For the King has compelling visual style, cool combat mechanics, and a co-op mode, but suffers from an extreme level of difficulty and RNG nonsense.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    Metro GameCentralMetro GameCentral
    trust 64May 9, 2019

    “One of the most enjoyable roguelikes of recent years, with the heavy emphasis on RNG saved by some fun co-op options.”

    read full review ↗

…and 9 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

  1. 13th October For The King Patch Notes
    Oct 13, 2021
  2. Update 1.1.00.11326
    Mar 11, 2021
  3. Hotfixes 1.1.00.11323
    Mar 11, 2021
  4. quick fixes - 1.1.00.11310
    Mar 6, 2021
  5. Update 1.1.00.11309
    Mar 5, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  6. Bug fixes available in beta branch
    Feb 20, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  7. Weekend Hotfix! v1.1.0.11269
    Feb 12, 2021
  8. Hotfix part 2 - Electric Boogaloo
    Feb 10, 2021
  9. Hotfixes
    Feb 10, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  10. Hotfixes
    Feb 9, 2021
  11. v1.1 Pre-DLC update
    Feb 8, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  12. Update! Crossplay with Epic and a Searchable Server Browser
    Apr 28, 2020
  13. Update - PC Platforms compatibility
    Aug 21, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  14. Minor update
    Apr 22, 2019
  15. Update - 日本語 - 한국어 - 2019-04-03
    Apr 3, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  16. Limited Time Holiday Cosmetics Available!
    Dec 21, 2018
  17. Hotfix 2018-12-14 - SeaKing Update
    Dec 14, 2018
  18. Update 2018-12-13
    Dec 13, 2018
  19. Hotfix 2018-12-06
    Dec 7, 2018
  20. Update 2018-12-05
    Dec 6, 2018
  21. Patch 1.0.10.9452
    Dec 3, 2018
  22. Hotfix - 1.0.10.9406
    Nov 21, 2018
  23. Update - New Adventure! Into The Deep
    Nov 21, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  24. Update/Fixes 1.0.9.9298
    Nov 14, 2018
  25. Hotfix
    Oct 30, 2018
  26. Hotfix 1.1.0.9118
    Oct 27, 2018
  27. Update 1.1.0.9114 - New mode Gold Rush!
    Oct 26, 2018
  28. TEASER: New (un)cooperative mode GOLD RUSH
    Oct 24, 2018
  29. Update 1.0.8.8751
    Sep 1, 2018
  30. Update 1.0.8.8528
    Aug 2, 2018
  31. Hotfix 1.0.6.8347
    Jun 23, 2018
  32. Hotfix 1.0.6.8336
    Jun 22, 2018
  33. Hotfix 1.0.4.8320
    Jun 21, 2018
  34. Update 1.0.3.8310
    Jun 20, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  35. ROADMAP: Next Release
    Jun 15, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  36. ROADMAP: Teasers and upcoming features
    May 30, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  37. Update 1.0.1.7902
    May 11, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  38. Micro Update 1.0.7818 - Orbs fixed!
    May 2, 2018
  39. Update 1.0.7814
    May 2, 2018
  40. Update 1.0.7771
    Apr 25, 2018

…and 1 earlier patch announcements.