A World of Keflings comes out in two days, so I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’m reviewing A Kingdom for Keflings, a game that has been out on XBLA for a little over two years. Well, the answer is rather simple. We don’t have a review for A Kingdom for Keflings on the site (shocking, I know), and it seriously deserves some love.
I’ve made it no secret that I love A Kingdom for Keflings and that I am wanting to explode with excitement over the upcoming A World of Keflings. Honesty is the best policy, so why try to hide it? I don’t know how many of you haven’t played the original Keflings game, but if you are one of the few, then shame on you.
In A Kingdom for Keflings by NinjaBee Games you play as your Xbox Live Avatar, or the other giant characters you can choose from, and are tasked with helping the cute little Keflings. In the world there are resources like rocks, trees, and crystals. You then break down the resources and use them to craft the materials necessary for constructing the various buildings. Each building comes with its own little blueprint you can look at so you know which pieces you need and in which order they go in. A nice feature is that after you lay the first piece down, an outline will pop up showing you where to lay the next ones.
Most of the Keflings are drones and you can pick them up and place them to do whatever, like cut down wood, chisel away at boulders, or have them be transporters and carry materials for you. There are times where I would create a little assembly line with one breaking things down, the other carrying them to a building, and then carrying the converted materials to the workshops. I found that having a system like that really came in handy, and prevented me from having to micromanage every little detail. It also allowed me to focus on what I needed to, and construct the buildings faster.
There are some buildings, like the Academy, where you can change your Keflings and educate them because some of the structures you create require Keflings of a certain level to inhabit them so they can be completed. Sometimes, a Kefling will ask for your help, or give you a task to complete, and a reward is given. Most of the time the reward is a heart, called Love in the game. When you build a residence, like a house, you need to add Love to it so that more Keflings can be made. Only by doing this will you be given more Keflings for your kingdom.
There are no real experience points or things to purchase to level up your Avatar throughout the game, but there are objects and accessories you can find throughout the kingdom and those will boost your stats. When you’re fully maxed out you’ll be able to move faster, carry more materials, and mine through the resources faster. Unfortunately, your Kefling drones don’t have the ability to level up, but the exclusion doesn’t negatively affect the game.
In terms of game play and story, that really is the gist of A Kingdom for Keflings. You are a giant in their world, and you help them complete the kingdom with the endgame being that the castle is finished. I know it doesn’t sound that exciting, but the game is incredibly addictive and very relaxing. One problem I’ve always had while playing A Kingdom for Keflings is that I start to get drowsy and almost fall asleep. Now, some might think it’s because I’m bored, but I’m not bored at all. Far from it actually, especially when I’m kicking the Keflings and the sheep all over the place. I just get so comfortable and typically when a person is comfortable they fall asleep.
Aside from all of that fun stuff, the music helps make the game awesome. Upon starting the game the intro track is catchy and gets stuck in your head, but when playing there are tracks that change along with the seasons. When the ground turns white and it’s winter you have a song for that, when the ground starts to turn brown with leaves blowing in the air there is that little ditty, and so on. It should be noted that while there are only the four tracks that play, none of it gets repetitive. It never gets annoying, I never found myself turning down the volume on the TV, and I never thought “good gravy, I’m seriously getting sick of this.”
While there is no local co-op, you can go online and have the option to join someones game, or have your kingdom open to others. There is no real way to have your town ruined, but know that if people start to kick or knock your buildings, they will be broken down. It’s easy to fix the buildings, and nobody can transport Keflings or materials from your kingdom. It is nice to have other Avatars join your game because it never hurts to have a few extra hands. There is also an achievement you can get if 20 players construct a tower with their Avatar image, but there is a bit of a bug with that one so don’t fret if it doesn’t work for you at first.
All in all, A Kingdom for Keflings is one of the best Xbox Live Arcade games you can get, and that’s not a lie. It’s fun, it’s relaxing, it’s addictive, and it does everything a game should do.
The full version of A Kingdom for Keflings is available now for only 800 Microsoft Points, and if that isn’t enough game for you there are two Kingdom Packs with new kingdom layouts for 160 Microsoft Points each.
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