Spiritual Sequel? Tribute? Off-Brand Store Version? I am not sure exactly what Monarchy’s relationship is to the Kingdom series, and I am not sure its developers are either.
Singleplayer.
Co-op Multiplayer.
There is nothing wrong with making a game inspired by other games. Two Point Hospital was a great “revival” of Theme Hospital. However, it had a purpose for existing; the original series was long dormant, and the original developer ceased to exist in 2001.
What made Two Point Hospital so good was that it modernised what was great about the Theme Hospital and expanded on it in meaningful ways, taking a great game and making it even better.
That is not the case with Monarchy, which is essentially a carbon copy of Kingdom: New Lands, with modernised visuals and a few tweaks here and there that ultimately do not make any real difference to the player or shake up gameplay in any meaningful way.
That said, one new feature does make Monarchy slightly more enjoyable than its inspiration, and that is the ability to take your soldiers with you as you explore.
A simple change that not only allows players to deal with threats they encounter but also makes more sense than a monarch riding around all by their lonesome, considering the dangers in the world and their subjects’ seeming inability to do even the simplest survival task without being bribed with a coin to do so.
Monarchy does very little to improve upon the areas in which Kingdom games have traditionally lacked, such as poor pacing and, at times, overly simplistic mechanics that feel more in line with what we would expect from a mobile game of the early 2010s than a management game aimed at more traditional gamers.
This was one area where Brain Seal had an opportunity to make Monarchy more palatable to the masses.
Unfortunately, they failed spectacularly, with Monarchy suffering from the same pacing issues and simplistic mechanics that have prevented Kingdom titles from becoming more than a niche product frequently bundled in ever cheaper bundles until a sequel comes along, and the cycle begins again.
Fun Fact: As of December 2024, Kingdom: Two Crowns has been included in 18 bundles, while its predecessor, Kingdom New Lands, has been included in 9.
Another curious aspect of Monarchy’s existence is that while the Kingdom games have a following, it is relatively small compared to many other games in similar genres.
Even in the unlikely outcome of Monarchy having captured the entire market away from Kingdom: New Lands or Kingdom: Two Crowns, it would still have been a very small game that failed to garner much attention outside the genre in which it resides.
This makes its existence even more curious, considering the developers have talent, which they could have better used for more creative and original endeavours.
Discounts aside (which often sees Kingdom games retailing for around $3), Monarchy is overpriced at $14.99, considering that is the retail price for Kingdom: New Lands, and the latest entry, Kingdom: Two Crowns, costs just a few dollars more.
While $14.99 is not a bad price for a game of this scope, it is too high for a game that does very little to innovate and is, for the most part, a near-direct copy of another game.
Monarchy is a great-looking game; however, it is not better looking than Kingdom: Two Crowns, which, while opting for a different aesthetic than Monarchy’s eye-catching colourful aesthetic, is still visually stunning in its own way.
Monarchy peaked at 27 concurrent players on Steam and likely did little better elsewhere, meaning future updates and DLC may no longer be planned.
To truly understand the gravity of this situation, you must look at Kingdom Two Crown’s all-time high of 26,623 concurrent players on Steam, meaning that Monarchy has narrowly escaped being beaten 1000-1 (985 – 1) by its nearest rival, and this is only taking PC numbers into account, with all indications being that Kingdom: Two Crowns performed very well on console, while Monarchy performed poorly on all platforms.
Monarchy is a management video game developed and published by Brain Seal, it was released on 6 November 2024 and retails for $14.99.
Monarchy is available on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, Playstation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
The following peripherals are officially supported:
Monarchy is rated PEGI 7+ and contains:
I do not hate Monarchy; it’s a decent copy of a very decent game (Kingdoms: New Lands).
However, If I had to choose to purchase either Kingdom: Two Crowns or Monarchy, the decision would be easy.
Kingdom: Two Crowns is doing very well and continues to receive DLC and updates six years after release, while Monarchy died at launch and is likely to be abandoned entirely due to its horrifically poor sales and lack of direction beyond “reinventing the wheel” that is Kingdom: New Lands.
If you can pick up Monarchy for $2 or less as part of a Fanatical bundle or similar deal, there is some fun to be had, but certainly not worth $14.99 of fun, all things considered.
