Lionheart: Kings' Crusade Demo

The holy crusades were not a pretty sight, given the fact that thousands of people lost their lives on both sides. However, like in all wars, a few leaders set themselves apart in history for being able to obtain incredible victories, as well as conquering a lot of territories while marching toward their target, which in this case happened to be Jerusalem.

Lionheart: Kings' Crusade is a strategy game with quite the unique approach to the genre, given the fact that it doesn’t really play like you would expect it to in the beginning. Hence, although it looks like Total War and it even feels like it from time to time, the gameplay is more squad-based and the purpose is to help each unit survive, in order to gain more experience and thus get stronger.

As far as the campaigns are concerned, you get the chance to play as either Richard the Lionheart or Saladin, depending on how you want the holy war to end. Naturally, they each have different units at their disposal, as well as a different set of special abilities to make use of in battle. The missions differ as well, although the end goal is the same for both sides anyway.

Since you only have to deal with a rather small amount of units at a time, the experience is a bit more personal than it is in titles like Total War, but that doesn’t mean it is any easier. Beside that, you also have to deal with the world map and conquer territories left and right, as well as avoid being beaten by your opponent in the meantime. The tactical aspects go pretty deep, but the bottom is still visible, so it shouldn’t be impossible even for newcomers to figure everything out.

Finally, the visuals are more than pleasing, with detailed units and nice environments, not to mention the helpful post-processing effects. On the other hand, there are some technical problems to take into consideration, some of which might even make it impossible for some players to experience it at all. Hence, in case you are wondering whether it runs or now, the demo is a good way to find out, although not even that tells too much about the full game you are liable to purchase.

In the end, despite all of its problems and issues, Lionheart: Kings' Crusade is at least somewhat original and different, given the fact that it does not feature the second World War, nor orcs and elves. Thus, you can enjoy a different experience for a change, as well as put your tactical mind to the test once more.