Developed by Noio and Licorice and published by Raw Fury, Kingdom: New Lands, rated Everyone 10 +, gives players an addicting and increasingly difficult challenge. The game builds upon a flash game simply titled Kingdom that Noio released in 2013. A truly enchanting game, Kingdom: New Lands provides a delightful experience for strategy fans.

The player takes on the role of a monarch, initially guided by a ghost of a fallen ruler. The sprite for the main character alternates between male and female and varying skin tones, adding a subtle layer of diversity to the game. One must use gold coins to build one’s kingdom, recruit subjects to take on positions as archers, builders, farmers, and knights. A player may also choose to build catapults to defend his or her kingdom as well. One must ultimately build a ship to escape the island on which the player finds himself or herself.

At night, shadowy trolls appear from portals on the outskirts of the map; their only goal lies in the capture of the crown. A player must fortify the walls of his or her kingdom and hire an army of archers to defend the monarchy. The trolls attack one’s subjects, stealing the tools of their trade, and gather any loose coins a player may drop. This can be used as a tactic to fend off the waves of trolls each night, if one has money to spare. Every five or six days, the player will encounter a blood moon, a full moon that appears a bright, copper red, in which larger hoards of the enemy spawn from the portals. One may also trigger a blood moon after destroying a portal. As time goes on, different types of enemies attack, including floating enemies that steal from the player in a similar manner as the trolls. Eventually, winter settles in, and one loses the sources of revenue, farming and hunting, forcing one to move on to the next area.

A player may find upgrades on new lands as they progress in the game, such as different mounts that can sprint for a longer period of time, or a dog that may predict from which side the enemy will attack the player.

The pixelated graphics of this side-scrolling title provide a heavily stylized look, hailing to games of the past, including the early Pokémon games and Pacman. Shading and smooth animations give a more realistic look, in spite of the fanciful style. Portals glow and shift as one approaches their looming presence or as the trolls prepare an attack. Though the trolls appear small and simple, a siege by a large number of them leads to a stressful experience.

One may find the increasing difficulty of Kingdom: New Lands vexing, but it encourages the player to think of new strategies upon which he or she builds the kingdom.

Kingdom: New Lands allows the player to grow as a strategist through its increasing difficulty as one plays. A calming yet simultaneously tense game, this title presents a lovely take on strategy and resource management with a simple and satisfying plot through its use of unique tactical resources and upgrades, as well as the manner in which one must guard his or her resources from the enemy. The title’s complex simplicity draws one in, enticing a player to spend hours creating and defending his or her kingdom. Since its predecessor, Kingdom, does not have as many features, one may not feel as compelled to play it after experiencing Kingdom: New Lands.