I first fell in love with the visuals of The King’s Bird back at The MIX during E3. The game’s minimalist art style contrasted nicely with its bold color palette, and it was so gorgeous I just had to try the game for myself.
Where I think The King’s Bird (initially) succeeded, however, is what separates video games from other media forms—its mechanics. Ironically, I believe this is also where The King’s Bird ends up flying a little too close to the sun.
The King’s Bird
Developer: Serenity Forge
Price: $19.99
Platform: PC
MonsterVine was provided with a PC code for review.
I’m no platformer professional. The King’s Bird is actually the first platformer I’ve tried to complete. This was probably my first mistake, as The King’s Bird relies heavily on player precision and mastering complex patterns with little direction and all momentum. Especially when it came to collecting all the doves in each level. It was charming at first having to learn to play each level through discovery and experimentation.
In fact, there’s zero text in the game. The story—one of rediscovering the power of flight taken by an evil tyrant—is given to you in snippets via illustrations or short cutscenes. I love the concept of storytelling without words, and I think The King’s Bird achieves a beautiful voice. Background music changes with your movements, as well as shifts in tone within the five unique worlds. The protagonist communicates through song. From stunning visuals to gorgeous audio, The King’s Bird immerses you in a completely stylized work of art.
But beyond the game’s style, the constant trial-and-error was frustrating to deal with in later levels. The King’s Bird is unique in that it’s a momentum-based platformer—meaning, every wrong move can cost you a big chunk of progress. Now, the game makes you do some really cool things, like free falling and flying off-screen while avoiding deathly spikes and picking up doves. It truly lives up to its “momentum-based” description, and it felt really good to complete something you never thought you’d be able to do.
However, with multiple kingdoms containing multiple stages within multiple levels, the pressure really got to me. While there are checkpoints throughout each level, I found that it took me a while to remaster previous sections, and I’d have to put the game down to recollect myself. As a perfectionist, it was important for me to collect every single white dove before moving forward to the next level. It ended up taking me more than ten hours just to get through the first three kingdoms. I’d highly recommend playing The King’s Bird in bursts to avoid extra stress.
I was also disappointed in a lacking narrative. I feel like I became too focused on completing the game just for completion’s sake, and disregarded/struggled finding a story I could connect with. Instead, the game became a mindless grind to collect everything and speedrun every level. Maybe that’s just my issue, coming from a non-platformer background. But I like when a game blends mechanics and narrative together, and I was left wanting more in terms of emotional impact. Ultimately, I wish I had a chance to connect with the (strong! young! female!) protagonist.
The Final Word
The King’s Bird is a beautiful, daring platformer that lacks a strong narrative. While the highly stylized graphics and momentum-based gameplay make for a unique experience, the emphasis on speedrunning and collection detract from any emotional investment created early on.
– MonsterVine Review Score: 3.5 out of 5 – Fair
