A Kingdom for Keflings

Posted 4 years ago By

Xbox Live Arcade games are known for their addictive nature and A Kingdom for Keflings is no different. In fact, when the New Xbox Live Experience came online, this was one of the featured games because it worked with your new Xbox Live Avatar. Oh, what’s a Kefling you ask? Good question, we’ll answer that and more in our review of NinjaBee’s newest city building strategy game A Kingdom for Keflings. 

Gameplay

A Kingdom for Keflings puts a charming spin on the strategy genre and begins with several pre-made characters that players can choose from. Players can choose to use their new Xbox Live Avatar’s, which are giant’s that are trying to create a Kingdom for their tiny Keflings to work, play and live. This is done by starting a simple workshops and from there, you build by unlocking blueprints.

Resources are required to construct everything and you can put your little Keflings to work mining ore and cutting down trees for wood. Find the right tools placed throughout the map and you can also shear sheep and collect crystals. Setting up your labor force to get said resources to the right workshop is as easy as picking up your Kefling in your giant sized hands (don’t be put off when they scream in surprise), and drop them at the resource you wish to be collected. Pick them up again and drop them at the workshop you want them to bring the materials too and they’ll do the rest on their own. Keflings can also transport more refined materials to the workshops needing them as well by the same process.

Each blueprint has its own list of required items. Certain workshops will pop out each item you request, which you can then pick up and arrange on the ground. Once the first piece is placed, the game aides you in proper placement, and I found that the blueprints displayed the building in accordance to where it should be placed on the ground. As soon as the pieces are together the building is instantly constructed.


Some buildings do require additional resources that have to be earned. Once the town-hall is built, you can earn love, books, tools and abilities by speaking with the Kefling Mayor and taking on mini-quests. Love, which is shaped like a heart, must be placed in homes to activate them giving you two more Keflings to command. Schools use books to activate allowing your Keflings to learn. My only complaint, some of the resources requred are difficult to discern from the blueprints. There’s no glossary or index showing what icons within the blueprints mean. The first time you see a new icon on a blueprint, it takes a little guess work on your part to figure things out.

There’s a great sense of satisfaction that comes with watching your Kefling force working efficiently and quickly to create your kingdom. There’s no real limit to what you can’t do here, as a giant you can kick Keflings out of your way or help them chop trees and mine ore. You can also help deliver materials to the workshops if you wish to speed things along. Players will also find that exploration is rewarded with tools and abilities for your Keflings.

Multiplayer is available as co-op play, which allows up to four players to play simultaneously creating one kingdom together. With friends, the game speeds up in growth and the rate that rewards are earned. Players can join and part as they please without interrupting the game. Kefling’s even reassigns the host duty should your host have to exit early. I would have liked a local multiplayer as well, this would be the perfect game for parents to play with their kids, or couples looking for a nice, relaxing game without competition. 


Graphics & Sound

The graphics are a real treat in ‘A Kingdom for Keflings’, the art is whimsical and the Keflings ooze with of personality. By using the new Xbox Live Avatars, NinjaBee place’s you directly into the game and lets face it, who doesn’t want to be in a video game?


The sound, while carefree and fitting, is a bit of a double edged sword. While enjoyable at first, it can get on your nerves quickly. The option is available to turn it off, but I don’t suggest it unless there is no other alternative. Part of the fun of Keflings is it’s whimsical nature and the sound helps to deliver.

Value

It may not have a huge replay value, but it’s not that expensive either. The multiplayer isn’t as strong as I would have liked, but if played with friends, it’s a lot of fun to see what you can create together. Whether playing multiplayer or single-player, you’ll quickly find yourself working hard to unlock everything possible to make your kingdom flourish.

Conclusion

It’s easy to get caught up in collecting just enough resources to create the 14th piece of a building’s blueprint just to see what new blueprint you will unlock. At times, collecting resources can feel like a bit of a grind at times, especially with larger buildings. The overall goal of the game is the build a utopian kingdom for your Keflings complete with castle. Remaining on task will have your Kefling’s adoring you and unlike other strategy games, there’s no enemies waiting to knock down your structures or time limits that will cause you to fail if you choose to go at your own pace. This is more of an open, sandbox game with no consequences for doing things your way. Regardless of the length of time you play each session, you’ll find yourself pulled back to the game as soon as you switch to something else.


Verdict: This is one little XBLA game that is definitely worth 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

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