Is the Honor of Kings world review a nostalgia-driven open-world game or a monetization tool? (Part 3)

First came the visual effects, then the combat controls and feel – everything was beyond expectations, and players kept giving it rave reviews. As an RPG game, the story is a key element; you can't just endlessly grind monsters to level up, right? So how will "Honor of Kings World" expand its content?

Regarding this section, netizens' reactions are polarized. From the first day of its release, the story begins with the protagonist losing his memory and falling into the Jixia Academy. As time progresses, he gradually recovers his memory fragments through clues, facing numerous hardships and dangers, constantly being rescued by heroes, and then being sent to the academy to start over, learning combat and skills, coexisting with the new world, and protecting himself on his journey. This kind of formula is so common that it's quite boring. Almost every RPG game loves to set the protagonist as a traveler who has traveled through time and space to another world, completely ignorant and with zero knowledge. "King of Glory World" is no exception. The pace is fast and doesn't drag on. In Season 0, if you log in frequently and play for a long time, you can complete all the tasks quite quickly, leaving you with free exploration.

Points to criticize: Dialogue, map navigation

Having read this far, it's fair to say that the "narrative space" emphasized by the developers isn't one of the game's selling points. It's just that the voice acting and CG animation provide a lot of emotional value. The opening and final battles are so engaging that players are completely absorbed, the combat is incredibly exciting, and it gives you goosebumps. Some people have even dug up various Easter eggs, such as certain characters having photos together that hint at romantic relationships, and Frostcloud Town holding Yao's childhood memories. As you can see, all these elements point to nostalgia, clearly targeting veteran players.

Some netizens felt the dialogue resembled a primary school student's composition, with outdated lines and very few exciting moments. Perhaps veteran players are already familiar with the characters in King of Glory, and the so-called storyline offers no surprises. However, for newbies who know nothing about the game's lore, this kind of popular narrative is still understandable.

The complaints were listed one by one. The game's world-building and production were discussed, but the real issue was the user experience, which is precisely what caused player dissatisfaction: crashes on low-spec computers, illogical design, slow map movement, excessively repetitive puzzles, and the lack of teleportation during open-world battles, forcing players to slowly walk home. As for the social experience, it allows for four-player boss battles, and newcomers can quickly form teams. In summary, this new game has its own agenda; it hasn't tarnished the King of Glory brand, and its transformation is successful, with only a few minor flaws.

Image source: Internet