Recent reviews by The-Fifth-Column

I am not usually a roguelike fan, but The King is Watching is an interesting blend of games that come together to create the most fun Indie I played in 2025. A very smooth progression system once you get the hang of the base loop that isn't too punishing for failed runs. I also enjoy the art style.

A great game, simple foundation with a decent amount of combos, unlocks, and variation from run-to-run so there is plenty of replay value. 100% worth the cost, even at full price. I am usually not a roguelike fan, but this game is innovative enough to be worth a look.

After the first hotfix patch, the game went from borderline unplayable, to acceptable but not ideal. A pretty steady 50 FPS makes combat playable now and most of the texture popping issues have also been fixed. So I am now recommending this game, especially for fans of the series or of Battletech.

I still have some gripes though:

• Even after the first patch, optimization is a bit lacking imo. The game looks good, but not good enough that it shouldn't be running at 60 FPS or better at 1440p on medium settings. I don't have the newest PC, but a 3070ti with the latest drivers should be better considering it is a solid game engine and I don't have any ray tracing or other known performance draining option on.
  
  
• Some of the voice acting is decent, but a large chunk of the best lines are delivered awkwardly or without emotion. I am still very happy to have these cutscenes rather than walls of text and images, but it certainly lets you know that this is not a AAA game.
  
  
• The UI/menus feel hidden or unintuitive at times. I appreciate them making changes from the previous MW5 game, but I'm not sure how natural it feels to new or returning players. In particular the mech loadout and pod system hard points versus slots are visualy vague or even misleading. I can't imagine learning to use it without having previously played MW games. The menu path for upgrading facilities/staff also feels buried for no reason. perhaps these are things modders will address.
  
  
• A few parts of the writing don't feel very militant extremist clan, which is who Smoke Jags are to me, especially early on in the invasion. Many of the main characters lack a sense of aggression or a more overt attitude of superiority. In contrast, several scenes seem to try and paint them in a sympathetic light? So much more empathy for others (even while calling them freebirth scum not 10 minutes later) than mutual respect and unabated ambition for glory and "honor" both for themselves and their clan.
  
  
• It would also be nice if the little pop-ups that happen when command is broadcasting orders in the field better represented where they are, often times they will be talking about piloting their mechs or leading their lance and yet the visual shows them on the bride of a ship.
  
  
• Some of the face modeling is pretty painful, like their jaws have too many teeth and are half wired shut. But that is somewhat to be expected considering the cost of the game. Honestly I think some cheesy live action video cutscenes (like a few of the old MW or Red Alert games had) would have been fun and maybe more affordable? IDK, maybe the younger gamers wouldn't like it.
  
  
• I hope they allow you to calibrate the throttle degradation eventually since I like the feature but it seems to die out much faster compared to previous titles. Feels like a ton of engine braking instead of idling down.
  
  
• I need more time with the tactical view, but so far, having it run in real time is not ideal. Maybe if you could issue orders before mission segments start? Other than hiding the other members of my star before a stealthy section, I haven't had much real use for it. I wish there was an easy way to have all of them fan out at once...

All that being said, still very grateful to have a new narrative and campaign mission focused MW title!

I love the look of this game, the setting and world building are intriguing, and on paper the game's mechanics should be right up my alley. Sadly there is basically no tutorial and as the game progresses you just feel more and more like you don't understand what you should be doing. The ship builder is also super confusing and not intuitive IMO and it seems like you really need it as combat difficulty progresses. The UI, while beautiful, is also overwhelming at times with no little to no explanation on how to use it.

I sadly cannot recommend this game for the average player. Maybe if you want to really sink some time into a trial and error process or reading someone else's guide it might be worth the time. This seems like a game with a great story, but not enough thought behind the actual game play experience to be worth full price.

Not necessarily great value here, but a good way to support the Devs who continue to provide meaningful new content and game improvements for free, even 4 years after the initial release. I much prefer these skins to the emote packs.

Hopefully they add custom uniform patches someday.

3 skins you can sometimes use is not necessarily great value. But I would still recommend buying this content simply to support the devs and encourage them to make more skins. The base game is such great value and continues to get significant updates at no charge.

Still a solid mech FPS that continues to get updates and new mechs even with a niche community.

Hard to comprehensively review this game when it has changed so much since launch. If you liked the first two games then this one is a must play if only for Immortal empires and maybe multiplayer.

They have done a lot to improve the campaigns since launch but they still feel very rushed to me as well as other factions not acting logically.

Not bad for a free game. Co-op gets a bit hectic and visually messy. But still fun overall.

A solid RTS which we don't get much of these days. Clearly a spiritual successor to AOE2 which admittedly I have an immense amount of nostalgia for.

A more "documentary" feel to the campaigns than the previous narrative focus, which is okay but I was hoping for more animated drama than wire frames over IRL footage.

A good mix of factions off the bat, hoping for more though. The factions don't have as many unique units as I was hoping for but the play styles are certainly different.

The AI on easy or medium seems a bit weak this time around.

Overall, the only decent new RTS I have played in awhile, but a bit lacking in true innovation.

I would pick this up on sale for sure. AT full price, maybe not unless you really like RTS.