The King is Watching – Crowns of History DLC

If you enjoy independent indie game coverage, consider supporting Indie-Games.eu on Patreon. It helps keep the site independent.

• DEVELOPER: Hypnohead
• PUBLISHER: tinyBuild
• PLATFORMS: PC
• GENRE: Rougelite
• RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2026
• STARTING PRICE: 4,99€
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

The King is Watching is getting a new DLC called Crowns of History. It brings in three brand-new rulers, each one with a distinct set of abilities and a rich historical flavor that completely shifts the power balance in the game. Beyond just these rulers, it introduces new mechanics that add layers of strategy. I have to say, after putting so many hours into the base game, this DLC feels like a natural expansion: it makes the whole world feel bigger, more alive, and more diverse.

That said, I do have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the game’s approach to unlocking maps. I get why they’ve structured it this way, you really do need to learn the mechanics and build a strong foundation. But I am so against the fact that you have to grind up threat levels just to see new maps. It’s a really tedious process, sometimes you can lose right at the end, and then you’re forced to repeat everything, which just drains the fun a bit. I really wish they’d reconsider that design choice.

Aside from that, this DLC doesn’t force you to grind too much, besides the map if you haven’t beaten multiple levels yet, to unlock characters and abilities, which all come pretty fast. So, bottom line, if you love the game, this DLC is a fantastic expansion, just be prepared for a bit of a grind if you’re aiming to reach the new map.

The new map is a total departure from everything we’ve seen before

Besides these three rulers, everyone will also get a free update, and this free update introduces, as mentioned, a brand new map called the Dark Realm. And let me tell you, it’s a complete departure from anything we’ve seen so far in the game. It introduces Lovecraftian, cosmic horror vibe as everything is shrouded in darkness, filled with tentacles, and you’re up against a completely different class of enemies.

The big change here is the final boss, a Kraken-style monstrosity that has huge health. On top of that, you’ve also got new advisors, artifacts and events. What’s really fascinating about the Dark Realm is that it shifts the focus of the game, you’re no longer just fending off enemies rushing at you. Instead, you have this special building right in the center of your castle, and you have to carefully keep it within range of your gaze to actually attack.

Without that, the enemies just paint the map and it becomes a real struggle when a boss arrives. These enemies are diverse: they can target your units, even teleport behind then, they can shoot directly at your castle and so on. Personally, I went with long-range units, which I think is the best way to tackle this map. Since the enemies don’t rush you, having these ranged units really lets you control the battlefield. Of course, you still want a few tanky units in there, just to hold back the boss and protect your castle.

But overall, I have to admit, I’m not the biggest fan of this map. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s got a gorgeous art style, this deep, dark theme that perfectly intensifies the mood, but it does lean on the easier side compared to the other maps. While it’s definitely a creative addition, I probably won’t be returning to it as often as others, just because it doesn’t quite match my preferred challenge level.

Cleopatra, Taizong and Xerxes bring more depth to the game

Let’s dig into Queen Cleopatra, she’s one of the most fascinating rulers in this DLC because she essentially commands her armies through life, death, and rebirth. Her unique mechanic is something called the Canopy, this is a resource that you collect from fallen friendly units or even enemy corpses. Once you gather these Canopies, you can summon a massive array of 11 different themed units, which really opens up your strategic options. Overall, her three abilities allow her to summon a random Egyptian Unit, gather Canopy from fallen corpses and bestow rebirth to some of your units. She feels really enjoyable to play and is quite balanced.

Moving on to the second leader Taizong, he introduces a new layer of strategy with offensive structures. These include familiar buildings like the Cannon and the Tesla Tower, but also a few brand-new additions designed to decimate enemies from the safety of your castle walls. What makes him so powerful is his morale ability, every point of morale increases the effectiveness of all offensive structures by 2%. So, the more morale you build, the more devastating your towers become. And it doesn’t stop there, Taizong can also recruit crossbowmen who man the walls, and these units don’t count toward your normal unit limit.

Taizong really pushes you to be patient, you don’t rush into building these structures early on. Instead, you focus on building a solid army first and gathering the blueprints. Then, later in the game, you deploy them and truly dominate the battlefield. His second ability is this temporary boost to attack speed, so all your offensive towers just fire faster, laying waste to enemies even quicker. And his third ability, Divine Punishment, strikes lightning down across the enemies. Taizong is all about precision, he forces you to be deliberate, to collect your resources early, and then unleash a calculated storm of destruction once you’re ready.

When it comes to Xerxes, he really does feel broken in the right circumstances. When I played him, I also got this artifact that basically made my units have super low health but double damage. And it was just insane because Xerxes himself focuses on making your units invulnerable for short time. I went full cavalry (geese units, horses) and once they were powered up, I just rolled through everything. His first ability is basically this invincibility window, so for a few seconds, my cavalry just steamrolled enemies. And then, his second ability, he summons three invulnerable units as well.

But his third ability, Sands of Time, is what really pushes him over the top. It resets all his cooldowns, meaning you can just keep cycling these invincibility and summon abilities again and again. Plus, a special king statute helps you lower the cooldowns as well. And on top of that, once you get around 300 wine, all your units get 25% evasion chance, which just makes them absurdly hard to take down. So, while they’re meant to be fragile, you can absolutely cheese the system, and when I played him, I felt unstoppable. I do think he’s in dire need of some balancing, because if you hit that sweet spot, it’s just a total steamroll.

The Final Verdict

In the end, at only 5€, this DLC is an excellent value. While the expansion introduces three unique historical leaders and new mechanics, the accompanying free update adds new maps, advisors, and artifacts. If you’re already a fan of the base game, this is a must-buy; the new rulers add significant depth and variety that keep the gameplay feeling even more unique.

Review copy provided by the publisher