Pretty good (spiritual) predecessor to the Soulsborne games, but not without its issues. Despite the wonky controls and primitive 3D graphics, King's Field plays well; exploration is rewarding, combat is functional (if simple), and the player has to feel their way through a complicated series of floors without explicit directions on where to go. Unlike Dark Souls and kin, the progression here is much more linear; there's less gear, so when you find a new piece of armor or weapon, it's usually a strict upgrade. Unfortunately, the game trips over itself with this linear progression when the final boss rolls around -- there's effectively only one way to win the battle, relying on a specific weapon, stats, and a technique that the game never teaches you, meaning that completing the game without a guide would be frustrating if not outright impossible. The lack of modern quality of life features is also grating; using multiple healing items takes a ridiculous amount of button presses, and selling multiple copies of an item requires you to re-enter the sell menu for each individual item. These flaws aside, it's a captivating retro dungeon-crawler, and it's neat seeing some of the foundations for the game design in From Software's later outings.

Reviewed on Apr 07, 2024


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