"Kings Bounty" is a series that has a long history and has had a profound influence on the tactical RPG genre. After all, it is the inspiration for the gameplay of "Heroes of Might and Magic". Despite this, the series has appeared and disappeared many times in the 30 years since its debut, never getting a fully numbered sequel.

That finally changed at Gamecom last year when 1C Company announced that "King's Bounty 2" was in development.

The first diary entry focuses on how King's Bounty 2 differs from its predecessor. The biggest difference is that it is more of an RPG, with a third-person camera, branching quests, dialogue options, and a morality system that determines how you interact with NPCs and friends. In fact, according to 1C, only about 30% of the game is spent in combat, with the rest of the time spent exploring the world, finding loot, solving puzzles, and talking with NPCs.

Another major change is the way combat is conducted: the top-down tactical play that is at the core of King's Bounty is still present, but units can now move in three dimensions instead of just two. An example given is that archers can take up high ground and close an area to melee units, unless there are flying units that can avoid arrows and attack directly.

The composition of units also differs, placing strict limits on certain types of units to prevent them from rolling through the entire game with only a handful of loyal companions. Every unit is said to become obsolete by a certain point, requiring constant replacement of troops as they progress.

To be honest, the diary sometimes falls a little too far into PR talk by implying that ubiquitous things like quests and exploration are the core of the "King's Bounty" series and not staples of the RPG genre as a whole. Also, the quality of the animation in development is ...... not very good, and the idea of a third-person camera is also overstated.

Still, "King's Bounty" is a series I've always been curious about. I'm always interested in mid-budget, slightly janky European RPGs, and "King's Bounty 2" definitely seems to fit the bill nicely.

King's Bounty 2 has no release date yet, sometime in 2020.