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Description
Kingdoms Forlorn is a soloperative dungeon delver for 1-5 players with a focus on loot. Kingdoms Forlorn focus on personal stories and short delves into the titular kingdoms.
Into the Unknown will build upon their coop system given advantages to the next player in to turn order bringing a greater sense of working together.
You will explore forgotten kingdoms, fight battles with giant monsters or bands of minions, loot, craft, duel and, possibly, earn renown and fulfill your Heart’s Desire!
Kingdoms Forlorn will explore forgotten medieval kingdoms rediscovered, knights, noble and vile, and errant, venture forth to seek power, treasures or redemption, and to carve their own legends.
The game pulls inspiration from dark fantasy titles like Dark Souls, Diablo and Game of Thrones. Their last project Aeon Trespass Odyssey has a very Kingdom Death feel with a lot of their own mix and an adventure board.
Year Published
2024
Featured Videos
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video p_H7I2DEkEk
Meet Me at the Table playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 12331 · mention_pk 122281
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging map-building and exploration phase through evolving exploration cards
- Clear separation of delve and clash phases with meaningful interdependence
- Inverted combat paradigm provides a fresh tension and momentum in battles
- Two-knight, two-squire setup adds variety and strategic layering
- Rich narrative setup with prologues, quests, and investigations that drive replayability
- Dynamic event resolution and loot/gear progression via merchant, scavenge, and relics
Cons
- Rule complexity can be intimidating for new players, especially with multiple decks and tokens
- Ambiguities around ordering of threat/hear/curse interactions during some encounters (as noted by the speaker) could cause confusion
- Some components (like certain mercenaries or district effects) require reference to the delve book, which may slow setup
Thematic elements
- Quest-driven, coalition-building, exploration with a focus on story and character arcs.
- A fog-bound, perilous fantasy principality where knights escort refugees and explore a developing map.
- Prologue-driven, chaptered, scene-based storytelling with in-book lore and quests.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Combat: Damage Based — As you fight, your vigor and capabilities increase rather than decline; more combat dice and tokens accumulate as encounters progress.
- Decks and tokens management — Starting hands, merchant decks, loot cards, mortise/minor mortise, and various tokens (opening, break, scavenge, etc.) drive actions in delve and clash, with cards moving between hand, delay, discard, and cooldown zones.
- Dual-phase structure (delve phase vs clash phase) — The delve phase handles exploration, quests, investigations, and deck management; the clash phase handles direct combat between knights and monsters, with card cycling, token placement, and variable bonuses.
- Exploration cards and map-building — Exploration cards drive movement through districts, clue collection, and event resolution; cards phase in and rotate to shape the map as you progress.
- Heat and vigor tracks — Tracks for heat (risk/re-roll) and vigor (starting value and growth) are central to dice outcomes and combat vitality, capped at defined maximums.
- Inverted combat paradigm — As you fight, your vigor and capabilities increase rather than decline; more combat dice and tokens accumulate as encounters progress.
- Two-knight, two-squire party structure — Players control multiple personal figures (knights and squires) with unique equipment, boons, and abilities, sharing the risk/reward of encounters.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I love having two different choices to use these cards and be able to use them in multiple instances.
- This system is called the inverted combat paradigm. Basically meaning that as you fight and the monsters fight, you're going to increase in strength instead of decreasing in strength, which is really cool.
- I am super pumped for this game.
- Full disclosure, this copy of Kingdoms: For Lauren, Dragons, Devils, and Kings was provided by Into the Unknown Studios.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video g_Qv0lZrgSo
OneStop Co-op Shop game_review at 0:03 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1792 · mention_pk 94805
Click to watch at 0:03 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Compelling knight characters with meaningful leveling and distinct identities.
- Innovative campaign structure with episodic, intersecting arcs and party interplay.
- Smooth, integrated squire/companion system that scales and speeds play.
- Tense, dynamic combat with escalating power and diverse enemy types.
- Strong writing and world-building that supports branching narratives.
Cons
- Rule complexity and keyword overload can be intimidating or confusing for new players.
- Encounters and some rules areas can feel tacked-on or less impactful compared to core gameplay.
- Narrative flow can feel non-linear or interrupted for players seeking a single through-line.
- Initial onboarding for new monster types may require extra effort to grasp rules.
Thematic elements
- Character-driven campaign storytelling with intertwined knight lineages, quests, investigations, and exploration.
- A sprawling fantasy campaign across multiple kingdoms (Principality of Stone and Sunken Kingdom) with knightly protagonists and branching arcs.
- episodic, modular knight-centric arcs that intersect and progress in a non-linear fashion with fail-forward outcomes.
Comparison games
- Aon Trespass Odyssey
- Harakiri
- Seven Citadel
- Kingdom Death Monster
- Osworn
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- boss battler — Twice-per-expedition battles with a mix of monsters and mob encounters; bosses scale in power.
- Campaign — Knights level up through quests, investigations, gear, and abilities across a multi-tier campaign.
- Campaign progression with persistent characters — Knights level up through quests, investigations, gear, and abilities across a multi-tier campaign.
- Clashes and boss variety — Twice-per-expedition battles with a mix of monsters and mob encounters; bosses scale in power.
- Delve and investigation phases — Two core phases alternating on an adventure map: delve (exploration) and investigation (clue gathering).
- Encounters (delve encounters) — One-round encounters that add texture to delve phases but can be seen as a distraction by some players.
- Heat resource — A limited resource used to reroll dice and influence outcomes; accrues through play.
- Knight books and arcs — Each knight has a prologue and five chapters guiding their personal story arc.
- Rapport and campfire bonuses — Inter-knight interactions build rapport, unlocking bonuses and facilitating campfire storytelling.
- Squires and companion system — Optional squires who level up and provide additional options, easing play with fewer players.
- Talent and ability cards — Special cards that modify dice rolls and actions; some flip to enhanced versions for clashes.
- Tiered progression — Five tiers unlock new gear, abilities, tokens, and leads; upgrading characters and equipment across sessions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Kingdoms for Lorn is one of those gigantic games with so much going on
- This is now one of my favorite games of the year easily.
- The game is fail forward. Even if you fail a quest, you're still going to level up.
- I've never seen one like this and I think it's doing awesome stuff.
- Rapport events with other knights... unlock cool bonuses
- Encounters don't work that well for me
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 1xakMK25RK8
Meet Me at the Table playthrough at 0:04 sentiment: positive
video_pk 945 · mention_pk 80807
Click to watch at 0:04 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Rich, tactile combat with thematic enemy design and dynamic terrain integration.
- Deep token economy and wound/loot progression add strategic layers.
- Solid support for solo play with well-organized board and deck layouts.
Cons
- Rule complexity is high and prone to misinterpretation without reference to rules or community clarifications.
- Some interactions (parasite, swarm, and escalation) demand careful tracking and can be overwhelming.
- Initial setup and ongoing upkeep can be lengthy, especially for a single player.
Thematic elements
- Heroic adventuring, perilous clashes, and narrative-driven progression with evolving enemies
- Fantasy medieval realm with knights questing, exploring ruins, and contending with monstrous adversaries (rat wolves) in a principality setting
- Narrative-driven clashes featuring body-part cards, traits, parasite effects, and loot progression within a solo/duo playthrough
Comparison games
- Kingdoms for Lauren: Dragons, Devils, and Kings (same title as discussed; occasional reference to kingdom-scale upgrades and quest progression)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- AI deck / monster turns — Monsters activate via an AI deck with tokens that advance and escalate, driving enemy behavior and difficulty.
- Body-part / wound escalation — Wounding a body part reveals new card effects and escalates the AI deck, potentially increasing encounter difficulty.
- Break tokens — Tokens added to pools to break armor thresholds and enable more powerful attacks; linked to weapon traits and hero actions.
- Clash phase combat — A structured head-to-head encounter phase where knights face off against a grouped enemy with AI-driven actions and wound tracks.
- Combat: Deck/Hand — Monsters activate via an AI deck with tokens that advance and escalate, driving enemy behavior and difficulty.
- Dice rolling — Heat tokens influence rerolls and dice pools; managing heat is crucial to achieving successful hits and abilities.
- Drag / swarm — Monsters drag knights and coordinate swarms; movement and targeting follow line-of-sight and specific AI rules.
- Heat / dice re-roll system — Heat tokens influence rerolls and dice pools; managing heat is crucial to achieving successful hits and abilities.
- Opening tokens — Tokens that open or enable new attack options within ability windows; often gained via rush/move interactions.
- Parasite / afflict — Status effects that afflict knights, adding penalties and potentially triggering parasite-driven consequences.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I am having an absolute blast playing this game.
- There's so many awesome things going on.
- I love the fact this enemy just drags people around and tries to eat them.
- Into the Unknown Studios for providing a review copy for this game.
- I would like to thank Derry Kari for at least helping us out with a few of those errors.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
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