Last month, IronOak Games finally released their tabletop game meets RPG/rogue-lite, For the King. Yesterday, we decided to equip our finest lutes and bows, and dive into this grand co-op adventure.
This was my first time seeing this game in action, and I'll just say upfront that, much like our stream of SYNTHETIK a couple weeks back, I liked what I saw and immediately purchased it for myself. I grew up playing tabletop board games with my family and friends, and so many of the mechanics of For the King remind me of my favorites, like HeroQuest and Talisman. On top of that, it ticks that box in my head for "turn-based combat" and "looooooooooooooooooottttttttt!"
On top of all that, you're able to play this game cooperatively with friends near and far as it supports up to three player local and online combo co-op (i.e., three player all on the couch, three players online, or a mix of the two). Each player controls his/her own character and inventory, and while the non-active players can't always see everything the player whose turn it is can see, you're free to discuss and figure out the best course of action for your party. Turns don't take a great deal of time to complete so it's easy to fit in a few whenever everyone has the time instead of trying to block off a whole afternoon/evening on everyone's calendar. Finally, if you and your crew ever tire of the normal game mode, there are two additional ones (a straight dungeon crawl and an adventure on a different map with different objectives/enemies).
I am not exaggerating when I say that, for me, this is about the most perfect game I've seen/played in a while. Not only does it provide the kind of tabletop experience I most often gravitate towards, but it allows me to do so with all the people I grew up playing those games with regardless of where we are in the world.
For the King is available on PC via Steam. Three player co-op is supported in all game modes.