Kingmakers: A Beautifully Absurd Romp With a Machine Gun in Medieval Times

Modern weaponry against medieval knights looks wonderfully chaotic

Kingmakers combines time travel, modern weapons, and large-scale medieval warfare inside an action-strategy sandbox that can be played solo or in co-op.

Action-strategy games come and go by the dozen on Steam, and it has to be said that standing out in such a crowded market these days is no mean feat. While a lot seems to rely on blind luck, having a wholly unique concept that, as absurd as it might sound in your head, might just be the winning formula for eager players to lap up.

Take Kingmakers from developer Redemption Road, which takes us back 500 years in time to a war-torn medieval England with a vast arsenal of modern weapons in a bid to change the course of history and save the future.

It is the science fiction of time travel mashed together with the absurdity of bringing an assault rifle to a sword fight, all wrapped up inside an epic action-strategy sandbox that can be played solo or in co-op.

Kingmakers Trailer

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Thousands of soldiers fighting in real time

To say things can get a bit chaotic in this clash of weapons technology would be an understatement, since each battle you engage in runs as a fully real-time simulation with thousands of soldiers fighting at the same time.

Every soldier on the battlefield is controlled by a next-gen, multi-threaded AI that controls their decision-making, pathfinding, and loyalty. This, combined with a unique procedural animation system, allows Kingmakers to offer an unprecedented level of character and combat fidelity.

The “what if?” conundrums

It is this gameplay dynamic that throws up the “what if?” conundrums, such as how many swordsmen do you think you could take out with an AK-47? Or how many charging cavalry knights could you disable with a grenade launcher?

If things like this keep you up at night, this could be the solution to your insomnia and your chance to find out.

There is a decent variety of weaponry and equipment on offer, including assault rifles, shotguns, grenade launchers, armored SUVs, bikes, attack helos, air strikes, and more.

If you are going to change the course of history, you may as well do it in style and with a big enough bang.

Ever wondered how plate armor holds up against 5.56mm rounds? Put your sharpshooting skills to the test, wreak absolute havoc on the battlefield, and see for yourself.

Switching between combat and issuing orders

One of the key features of Kingmakers is the ability to seamlessly switch between combat and issuing orders at any time.

Many games have emulated a similar gameplay mechanic. Take Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War from 2006, for example.

While the system is easy to learn and simple to use, the strategic possibilities are endless. It is this sandbox formula that gives way to experimentation and the “what if?” curiosity you have always wanted to try.

The notion itself is beautifully absurd: modern weaponry against medieval knights. Take it from me, this absolutely falls into the same category as “what happens if I fire an RPG in outer space?” territory, and for the most part, it looks wonderfully chaotic.

Managing the medieval battlefield

The battlefield-management aspect allows the strategic gameplay to shine too.

Kingmakers offers the ability to directly issue orders to the warriors on the field of battle or leave it up to your petty officers. You can allocate legions of archers, swordsmen, spearmen, and cavalry, build fortifications, and plan your next move before diving back into the fray.

Kingmakers remains without a release date

The game was scheduled to enter Early Access in 2025 but was delayed and still has not been released.

While this might be a frustrating situation for players eager to get into the game, I can only surmise that a concept of this scale, with such an ambitious sandbox design, needs to be done right. If it needs more time in the cooker, then this can only be a good thing.

A Kingmakers film is in development

Beyond the game, Netflix has acquired a feature pitch based on Kingmakers, with Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps Entertainment and Story Kitchen developing the adaptation.

Christopher MacBride is writing the screenplay, while representatives from tinyBuild are attached as executive producers.

For now, though, we will have to revel in the notion of warfare through time and hope that Redemption Road can deliver on the concept when the game finally arrives.

Editor’s Note

According to Google, firing an RPG in space would result in the following: Firing an RPG in space would be completely silent and would push you backward due to recoil. The rocket motor would ignite and quickly burn out, after which the grenade would drift forever in a straight line, as there is no air resistance or friction to slow it down.

Kingmakers

Release: Coming soon

Genre: Action, Simulation, Strategy

Developer / Publisher: Redemption Road / tinyBuild

Platforms: PC — Steam

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