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The King is Watching News

Tightly designed new city builder The King is Watching just keeps getting bigger

Overseeing an ever-growing sprawl can be a highlight of city-building games, but the truly memorable moments in everything from Cities Skylines to Frostpunk come from having to build within tight restrictions. It's this concept that new city builder The King is Watching is founded upon, dramatically limiting the space you have to work with at any moment and forcing you to make tough decisions about what to prioritize. Ironically, this formula has proved so popular that the new indie game just won't stop growing on Steam, and developer Hypnohead says there's more to come.


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Update 1.0.1 is Available Now

[p]Hear ye, hear ye![/p][p]Royal masons have patched up a few cracks in the castle walls, and the foul goblins causing pesky bugs have been chased far beyond the gates![/p][p]A huge thank you to all of you, noble kings, for your incredible support!
Since the game's release earlier this week, you've been setting new records every day for the number of simultaneous rulers in the kingdom, and we’ve been hard at work implementing your feedback and improving the realm.
[/p][h2]📜Here’s what’s included in Update 1.0.1
[/h2][p]Bug Fixes and Technical Improvements[/p]
  • [p]Fixed a crash occurring when using the Chinese input method (IME).[/p]
  • [p]Implemented a system to retroactively grant players achievements for previously completed challenges that had not triggered correctly.[/p]
  • [p]Resolved an issue where the "Lords of Graveyard" challenge would not complete properly.[/p]
  • [p]King Leonid's initial quest now correctly grants militia, as indicated in the quest description, rather than peasants.[/p]
  • [p]Fixed an issue preventing hunters from applying the slow effect to bosses.[/p]
  • [p]Updated localization and resolved issues with text cropping.[/p]
  • [p]Potentially fixed the Win32 function crash issue; please report if you continue to encounter it.[/p]
[p]Quality-of-Life Improvements[/p]
  • [p]Players can now increase game speed during combat.[/p]
  • [p]When The Graveyard is now unlocked, it unlocks with up to Threat Level 3 available.[/p]
  • [p]Reduced crystal costs for upgrades:[/p]
    • [p]Troops' Damage Levels 1, 2, and 3[/p]
    • [p]Troops' HP Levels 1, 2, and 3[/p]
  • [p]Ascension crystals are now automatically collected when advancing to the next Threat Level.[/p]
  • [p]The Kings' gaze areas are now displayed on the pre-run screen when hovering over a king.[/p]
  • [p]Troops' HP and damage popups can now be viewed even when reward notifications are hidden.[/p]
[p]We are also working on fixing excessive memory usage by the game and introducing in-run save. We hope to release them next week, but everything will depend on the first tests we will run this weekend. [/p][p]
Follow The King is Watching on Social Media:[/p][p][/p][p]~Hypnohead[/p][p]
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The King is Watching: Your Royal Adventure Has Just Begun!

[p]Loyal rulers, your patience has been legendary… and now, your reign truly begins![/p][p][/p][p]After conquering the hearts of over 8,000 brave monarchs during our demo and earning a splendid 97% positive rating, the gates to The King is Watching stand wide open. As of July 21st, the kingdom awaits your royal decree![/p][p][/p][p]But for those who’ve already set foot in the kingdom, whether in the demo or on day one of release, the adventure has only just begun. The realm grows richer, deeper, and more unpredictable the longer you rule. Allow us to show you what lies ahead when you keep your royal eyes upon the kingdom![/p][p][/p][h2]Meet Your Majesties![/h2][p]In The King is Watching, no two rulers are alike. Each King shapes your royal strategy in unique ways. Let us introduce three noble sovereigns among the 7 the game is offering[/p][p][/p][h3]King Spellus[/h3][p]
[/p][p][/p][p] A wizard-king through and through, Spellus boasts a pointy nose, a snowy beard, and spectacles perched like royal jewels. His magic flows endlessly: he passively generates 1 crystal every 3 seconds, fueling your arcane power. For 25 water, he conjures a random simple spell, and for 10 petrol he’ll grant you a random powerful spell.[/p][p][/p][h3]King Leo the Wise[/h3][p]
[/p][p][/p][p] Don’t be fooled by his enormous eyes: though they’d look perfect on a royal tapestry, they’re built for seeking secrets. Leo is your master of blueprints. Complete his royal quests and he’ll reward you with three precious building blueprints of Basic, Established, and Advanced quality for the corresponding defeated bosses.[/p][p][/p][h3]King Alucard[/h3][p]
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[/p][p]Pale and mysterious, Alucard’s comfort with coffins might concern the court, but his undead armies speak for themselves. His reign revolves around death and rebirth: his living troops slain in battle have a 50% chance to rise again as undead. He can resurrect up to two fallen soldiers (plus more with upgrades), or elevate two undead warriors to the next fearsome level.[/p][p][/p][p]As for the others… Well, we’ll leave those surprises for you to discover in your royal journeys! Each King wields unique royal powers, unlocked by conquering the in-game challenges![/p][p][/p][h2]Face Monstrous Foes
[/h2][p]Beyond your castle walls, danger grows sharper with every reign, bringing you face-to-face with three mighty bosses, randomly drawn from a roster of many monstrous adversaries.[/p][p][/p][p]In the Village Kingdom, you might battle Gorzog, the towering goblin warlord who believes subtlety is for the weak; Margra, his sharper and even more terrifying counterpart; the Hungering Maw, a horrific creature spewing goblins onto the battlefield like a nightmarish fountain; or Venoxia, the terrifying three-headed menace where one head lies, one tells the truth, and the third eats anyone who dares ask the wrong question.[/p][p][/p][p]But that’s not all, because now you will be able to rule over a new kingdom (and face his powerful enemies)! In the Graveyard Kingdom, where undead and spooky creatures room the land, face sinister enemies like the Coven of Eternal Envy, vampiric Lord Draven, the scholarly-yet-lethal Sir Mortifax, or Araknor, the monstrous spider sorcerer.
[/p][p]Each boss fights with unique tactics and devastating powers, ensuring no single “meta” shall rule the realm. Adapt, improvise, and survive![/p][p][/p][h2]Build, Expand, and Experiment[/h2][p]Your kingdom’s arsenal has grown mightily since the demo. New royal tools await:[/p]
  • [p]Fuel Pump: Turns wood and water into petrol to fuel powerful new units.[/p]
  • [p]Archmage University: Unlocks mightier spells than your humble wizard towers ever dreamed of.[/p]
  • [p]Sacrificial Stone: Convert black sheep (literally!) into spell rewards.[/p]
  • [p]Ninja Temple: Train silent assassins to slice your foes.[/p]
  • [p]Lion Circus: Raise magnificent griffins—fierce and feathered.[/p]
  • [p]Goose Hydra Nest: Transform goose knights into terrifying hydra monstrosities.[/p]
[p][/p][p]Your production buildings and troops’ barracks have three tiers of quality, growing in power and rarity as your reign advances!
[/p][h2]Events, Progression, and What Lies Ahead[/h2][p]Prepare for new and improved encounters, where your choices have clearer (and sometimes long-lasting) effects on your realm.[/p][p][/p][p]Your kingdom grows across countless runs thanks to expanded meta-progression. Unlock new Kings, advisors, upgrades, and secrets to make each future attempt more formidable.[/p][p][/p][h2]Your Throne Awaits![/h2][p]So, noble ruler: if you’ve already sampled the kingdom’s delights in the demo or your first hours of release, know that even grander trials and treasures await. The enemies grow fiercer, your royal toolbox grows broader, and new secrets wait to be uncovered.

And fear not: The King is Watching’s story is only beginning. We’re planning 2–3 post-launch updates, shaped by your royal feedback![/p][p]
Will you press onward and forge your kingdom’s name into legend? Play The King is Watching today![/p][p][/p][p]Join our community on Discord to share strategies, conspiracies, and tales of royal triumphs.[/p][p][/p][p]The crown is yours to take. HUZZAH![/p][p]
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The King is Watching: First 24 Hours and What’s Next!

[p]Fellow Kings, fellow players,[/p][p][/p][p]You absolutely blew us away: In just a day since launch, The King is Watching’s player base is growing and growing, every hour more! That’s honestly beyond anything our small team expected, and we’re incredibly grateful for your support, your feedback, and your passion for the game.[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks to this amazing launch, one thing is certain: we’re not done. We're already planning new content, updates, and improvements, with a free content update definitely in the works.[/p][p][/p][p]We heard you: the ability to save mid-run is your top request, and it’s something we’re actively working on. Just like during the demo, our small team is reading every comment, review, and message. Your feedback shapes the game more than you know and your feedback reviews pushes us to keep building and improving. So whether it’s a feature suggestion, a favorite unit you want buffed (we’ve seen the love for the Bumblebees hahaha), or just thoughts on your latest run, we want to hear it![/p][p][/p][p]Drop a comment below, leave a feedback in the Discussion section or join us over on Discord to share your thoughts.[/p][p][/p][p]Next week, we’ll get in more details on what’s coming next for The King is Watching. We took a few moments off to write you this, but now we got to go back to work! Again, a heartfelt thank you from all of us![/p][p][/p][p]// Devs from Hypnohead Studio[/p][p]
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New roguelike The King is Watching puts a brutal twist on the city builder genre

One of the most satisfying aspects of any city builder is the total control you have over your people, their tasks, and how they go about them.

Intriguingly, The King is Watching does away with this core tenet because the folks you lord over are shockingly lazy and require constant supervision. Don't believe me? Well, you can see it for yourself because the game is out now on Steam.


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Roguelike city builder The King is Watching has a new demo, and I'm hooked