Kingdoms Rise

Kingdoms Rise is a multiplayer fantasy action game set in a medieval world where players engage in skill-based hack-and-slash combat. The game emphasizes a palpable, tactical fighting system with 360-degree directional melee swordplay and a wide array of spells like fireballs and lightning. Players can deeply customize their warrior with various armors, weapons, and abilities to create a unique fighting style, and form parties with friends for competitive team battles where roles like tanks and damage dealers can be defined. Built from the ground up for direct control and controller support, the game focuses on the thrill of direct player skill over grinding for levels.

Kingdoms Rise: A Forgotten Forge of Indie Ambition

In the annals of video game history, there exists a vast and varied landscape of titles that captured the zeitgeist, defined genres, and became household names. Then, there are the others—the ambitious, the flawed, the passionate projects that flickered brightly before receding into the archives. Kingdoms Rise, the 2013 multiplayer fantasy combat game from the two-person Australian team Flyleap Studios, is one such title. It is a game born from a mod, forged in the fires of Steam Greenlight, and ultimately defined by its unfulfilled potential. This is the story of a game that dared to be the “Dark Souls PvP we never had,” a detailed excavation of its development, its mechanics, its community, and its legacy as a fascinating, if flawed, artifact of indie ambition.

Introduction: The Echo of Steel in an Empty Arena

There is a particular thrill in a duel of pure skill. The read of an opponent’s feint, the satisfying clang of a perfectly timed parry, the desperate roll away from a charged strike. Kingdoms Rise was conceived to be a sanctuary for that thrill, a “palpable multiplayer fantasy battle” where player finesse, not grinding or level-ups, was the ultimate currency. Emerging during the early days of the Steam Early Access program, it promised a deep, directional melee system and boundless customization, aiming to carve a niche in a market then captivated by titles like Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. Yet, to review Kingdoms Rise is to review two distinct entities: the game it was in its incomplete state, and the grand vision it so passionately sold. It stands as a testament to the immense challenges faced by micro-teams in an increasingly demanding industry, a game whose very soul was its innovative combat, but whose body was never fully built around it.

Development History & Context: A Two-Man Kingdom

The origins of Kingdoms Rise are humble and deeply rooted in the modding community. As detailed on IndieDB, the game is a direct sequel to a Half-Life 2 mod titled Kingdoms Collide, created by the same duo back in 2009. This lineage is crucial to understanding the project’s scope and limitations. Developers Jackson and his unnamed partner at Flyleap Studios were not industry veterans with massive funding; they were modders striving to elevate their passion project into a standalone commercial product using the Unreal Development Kit (UDK).

The game’s development coincided with a pivotal moment in PC gaming: the rise of Steam Greenlight and Early Access. Launched on Greenlight in July 2013 and successfully greenlit just a month later, Kingdoms Rise rode the wave of a new model that promised developers direct community feedback and funding. As noted by Forbes contributor Erik Kain at the time, it was an “impressive looking game for a two-man team,” a sentiment that underscored the project’s appeal. The gaming landscape in 2013 was ripe for melee-focused combat; Dark Souls had popularized weighty, deliberate combat, and Chivalry: Medieval Warfare had brought chaotic first-person medieval battles to the mainstream. Kingdoms Rise aimed to sit between them, offering the tactical, third-person dueling of the former with the player-driven chaos and customization of the latter.

The technological constraints were self-evident. Being a UDK project from a tiny team meant that certain corners had to be cut. The game launched into Early Access on December 2, 2013, with a disclaimer that it was “still under construction,” warning players of bugs, unbalanced features, and missing content. This state of perpetual “becoming” would become a central part of its identity. Server issues plagued the initial launch, particularly in the US, leading to a frustrated community playing on high-ping Australian servers. The development was a cycle of “heads-down” work, punctuated by community feedback and the constant pressure to refine and expand the game with limited resources.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive: The Lore That Wasn’t

If there is one area where Kingdoms Rise can be said to be truly barren, it is in its narrative and lore. The game was conceived and executed as a purely multiplayer-focused experience, with no single-player campaign or structured storyline. The narrative, as it existed, was a ghost—hinted at in the environment and in the fervent imaginations of its most dedicated players, but never made explicit by the developers.

The official materials provided only the barest of frameworks: a conflict between two kingdoms, the Aelkai, led by King Arion, and the Hiraith, who fought for Lord Sharkai. Beyond these names, found in a Steam community discussion, there was no context for their war, no depth to their characters, and no narrative drive for the player. The game’s world was a collection of beautiful but silent stages—snowy forts, ancient ruins, and dense forests—that served as backdrops for combat, their histories left untold.

This narrative vacuum did not go unnoticed by the community. A poignant and detailed Steam discussion from June 2014, started by user t-runtosewer rekt, passionately pleaded for lore. The user argued that even abstract reasons to fight—becoming the “lord of snowflakes,” for instance—or descriptive text on weapons would add a crucial layer of psychological depth. They envisioned a world where a great scythe wasn’t just a statistical tool but was once wielded by “Lord Annorexon,” its power confined within the blade, giving players a reason to care beyond mere efficacy.

The developers’ focus, however, remained squarely on the “palpable” feel of combat. The thematic core of Kingdoms Rise was not kings or kingdoms, but the individual warrior’s skill and expression. Its theme was personal mastery. The story was the one you created through your unique fighting style, your clutch victories, and your evolving strategies. While this empowered gameplay, it left the world feeling hollow and unmoored, a stark contrast to the rich, environmental storytelling of its apparent inspiration, Dark Souls. The lore of Kingdoms Rise is ultimately a story of what could have been, a canvas that remained largely unpainted.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems: The Soul of the Sword

The heart of Kingdoms Rise, and the source of both its highest praise and most brutal criticism, was its gameplay. Flyleap Studios built its entire philosophy around a single, ambitious premise: making melee combat feel direct, skillful, and deeply customizable.

• The 360° Directional Melee System: This was the game’s flagship feature. Unlike many hack-and-slash games, attacks in Kingdoms Rise were not simple button presses. Players aimed their swings using a directional wheel, allowing for attacks from the left, right, overhead, or thrusts from the center. This created a dueling system that was compared to a deadly dance. As one player review on Steam noted, “Timing, Timing, Timing. Everything is timing.” Success required reading an opponent’s stance and swing direction to parry effectively. The parry system itself was a high-skill ceiling mechanic; it was difficult to master, described by one veteran as taking weeks to feel comfortable with, but “insanely effective and reliable” once learned. This emphasis on player skill over character stats was the game’s defining creed.

• Deep Character Customization & The “Classless” System: Rejecting traditional RPG classes, Kingdoms Rise gave players a sandbox of parts to build their ideal warrior. The key features were:

  • Weapons: A wide array of swords, axes, and ranged options like bows.
  • Spells and Abilities: Magic was not a separate discipline but an extension of the warrior’s kit. Spells like fireballs, lightning strikes, teleportation (“blinks”), hook-shots, and invisibility could be combined with melee prowess to create unique synergies.
  • Armor and Appearance: Players could customize their knight’s look, fostering a sense of personal identity on the battlefield.
    This system encouraged endless experimentation. A player could build a teleporting rogue who struck from the shadows, a heavily armored tank who disrupted enemy lines, or a support mage who rained fire from a distance. The game’s official description touted that “every fight is unique and every opponent will have a new trick up their sleeve.”

• Movement and Environment: Movement was more than just running. The game featured a climbing mechanic (holding jump near a ledge) and a dodge roll that was essential for evasion. This added a vertical and tactical layer to combat, allowing for environmental flanking and desperate escapes.

• Flaws and Community Feedback: For all its innovative strengths, the gameplay systems were hampered by the game’s unfinished state. The user interface, particularly out-of-game, was described as “sloppy.” There was a notorious lack of in-game documentation for what spells, skills, and weapons actually did, forcing players to rely on community-made resources like the Kingdoms Rise Wikia. The absence of a functional leveling system, while in keeping with the skill-based focus, left some players feeling a lack of progression. Furthermore, the game’s balance was a constant work-in-progress, with community discussions frequently debating the power of weapons like the bow. The presence of friendly fire, while praised by some for preventing “spray and pray” tactics, could also lead to frustrating team-kills in public matches.

World-Building, Art & Sound: A Beautiful, Silent Stage

For a two-person project, Kingdoms Rise possessed a striking visual identity. Built in the Unreal Development Kit, the game featured lush, fantasy-themed environments that belied its indie origins. Pre-alpha and early access footage showcased snowy mountain forts with towering keeps, dense and mysterious forests, and ancient, crumbling ruins. The art direction leaned into a high-fantasy aesthetic, with glowing magical effects on spells and intricately designed, if sometimes clunky, armor sets and massive swords.

The atmosphere was one of epic conflict, but it was an atmosphere conveyed purely through aesthetics, not narrative. The world felt like a stage set for a play whose script had been lost. The environments were static; they did not tell a story through decay or detail in the way that the worlds of Dark Souls or The Elder Scrolls do. They were arenas first and foremost, beautiful to look at but ultimately hollow upon closer inspection.

Sound design played a critical role in selling the “palpable” feel of combat. The developers emphasized the “feeling of steel against steel,” and the sound of clashing swords was a central auditory cue. The spell effects, such as the “woosh” of a teleport or the crackle of lightning, were designed to feel impactful and satisfying. While there is little documentation of a full soundtrack, the sound design was focused on reinforcing the tactile, immediate feedback of the battle.

Reception & Legacy: The Mixed Verdict of History

Kingdoms Rise was met with a reception that can only be described as mixed and muted. It never achieved mainstream breakout success. On Steam, the game has accrued a “Mixed” rating from over 1,000 user reviews, with a Player Score of 42/100 on aggregator sites. This score reflects the divided opinion between players who saw the diamond in the rough and those who were frustrated by its unfinished state.

Positive reviews, like the one from Steam user Steb, were effusive in their praise for the core combat, calling it “the Dark Souls PvP game we never had” and “one of the most interesting, and innovative games of the year.” These players celebrated the high skill ceiling, the deep customization, and the sheer satisfaction of a well-executed duel. They saw the potential for a legendary competitive title.

The negative reviews, however, told a different story. They cited the persistent bugs, the lack of players leading to empty servers, the confusing UI, and the overall feeling of an abandoned project. The game’s journey through Early Access was not one of a steady march to completion, but rather a slow fade. Updates, while promised—including female knights, new game modes, and maps—appear to have been released slowly, and the player base dwindled over time.

The legacy of Kingdoms Rise is not one of direct influence on blockbuster titles, but rather a cautionary and inspirational tale within the indie sphere. It serves as an example of the immense ambition possible for a tiny team, and the equally immense challenges of sustaining a live, multiplayer-focused game. It was a precursor to other indie melee combat games that would follow, sharing DNA with the directional fighting of Kingdom Come: Deliverance and the player-driven metas of games like For Honor, though it never attained their level of polish or popularity. Its legacy is preserved in wiki pages, forgotten forum threads, and the memories of a small, dedicated community that, for a time, battled in its beautiful, silent arenas.

Conclusion: A Noble, Unfinished Duel

Kingdoms Rise is a paradox. It is a game built around a brilliant, visceral, and innovative combat system that was let down by the unfinished and unsupported framework surrounding it. Its directional melee fighting was ahead of its time, offering a depth and satisfaction that few games, even today, can match. The classless customization system was a sandbox of creativity, empowering players to truly craft a warrior of their own design.

Yet, the absence of narrative, the persistent technical issues, and the eventual stagnation in development left it as a fascinating “what if.” It is the video game equivalent of a beautifully crafted sword that was never given a proper hilt or scabbard—the core component is masterful, but it’s difficult and uncomfortable to wield for long periods.

As a piece of video game history, Kingdoms Rise is essential as a case study. It encapsulates the promise and peril of the Early Access model, the Herculean efforts of indie developers, and the fine line between a cult classic and a forgotten relic. It is not a game that can be wholeheartedly recommended to the average player in its final state, but for historians, genre enthusiasts, and those fascinated by the raw, unvarnished process of game creation, it remains a compelling and poignant chapter. Kingdoms Rise did not fall to a rival kingdom; it slowly faded, its steel still sharp, its potential forever echoing in the silent ruins of its own creation.