Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit
GameOn Magazine|Issue 153 - July 2022
From a young age, I adored point-and-click games; I'd wander aimlessly trying to figure out how to grab an iron key using a semi-deflated innertube, or hypnotising a monkey so that it may be used as a literal monkey wrench.
Mike Crewe
Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit

Publisher: Headup

Developer: Tag of Joy

Genre: Adventure

Release Date: Out Now

Platform: PC

But the feeling of sheer joy that came when figuring out a puzzle was, and still is, was a real rush. Unfortunately, point-and-click titles are few and far between in modern gaming, so I was overjoyed when I learnt of Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit. Inspired by iconic, genre-defining franchises such as Monkey Island and Broken Sword, this throwback game developed by Tag of Joy will have you falling in love with its endearing characters, intriguing storyline, and some truly head-scratching puzzles!

Crowns and Pawns starts off with our main character, Milda, creating herself as a simple avatar in an online game, whilst speaking to her best buddy Dana. This actually serves as a way to create your own version of Milda, choosing how she looks by editing her online persona, as well as deciding on her personality and career as she answers questions from Dana. It's a unique feature that instantly made me care for the character, and I decided that she would be a programmer, rather than one of the other job options, which changes the dialogue going forward. Regardless of the choices you make for Milda, she is overall a very likeable and believable character, with well-written dialogue (although I could say that about the entire cast) and a certain charm to her that everyone is sure to love.

This story is from the Issue 153 - July 2022 edition of GameOn Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the Issue 153 - July 2022 edition of GameOn Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM GAMEON MAGAZINEView All
MythForce
GameOn Magazine

MythForce

MythForce seems like the videogame version of all those cartoons you loved as a kid, like He-Man or She-Ra. The game even has its own animated intro and theme song! I was so excited to start playing once I saw this. It was apparent that a lot of time and love went into this intro, so they must have put this much work in, but can it live up?

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 169 - November 2023
Gunbrella
GameOn Magazine

Gunbrella

Sometimes, a game title tells you everything you need to know about that game in just a word; Gunbrella is an amazing example of this. If you’ve ever had thoughts of becoming a lethal Mary Poppins, this is the game for you. The developers at Doinksoft have you playing as a quiet woodsman, decked out in a brown bowler hat and a long white scarf whose life has taken a tragic turn. At the beginning of the game, we see him out gathering mushrooms. In the distance, we see a wooden cabin covered in flames, this is our woodsman’s home. He runs there as fast as he can, and runs into the burning building. Alas, it’s too late to save his wife. She has been killed.

time-read
4 mins  |
Issue 169 - November 2023
Astrea: Six Sided Oracles
GameOn Magazine

Astrea: Six Sided Oracles

Astrea: Six Sided Oracles is a deck-building roguelike with noticeable inspiration from Slay The Spire. Despite this inspiration, however, it manages to hold its own incredibly well, even going so far as potentially being one of my favourite deck-builders of all time.

time-read
4 mins  |
Issue 169 - November 2023
Baldur's Gate 3
GameOn Magazine

Baldur's Gate 3

Through a litany of modern games mired by microtransactions and shifty live-service releases emerges a shining beacon of light: Baldur's Gate 3. Your buddies at work are talking about it; your favourite Discord servers are awash with videos about it; heck, even Grandma and her bridge club are wittering away about it (probably). The game has quickly become a cultural phenomenon and with my playtime knocking the three-digit mark, I finally feel ready to evaluate my adventure through Faerûn — so let’s dive in.

time-read
9 mins  |
Issue 169 - November 2023
The Crew Motorfest
GameOn Magazine

The Crew Motorfest

The Crew is a series I’m very familiar with; since its inception back in 2014 I’ve spent countless hours driving across the scaled down versions of mainland America. For the third entry into Ubisoft’s open-world racer series, The Crew Motorfest takes players to Hawaii, focusing instead on a much denser, detailed environment rather than the scaled down ‘Murica. Whilst not as drastic a tonal shift as The Crew 2 was from its predecessor, can Motorfest provide an enjoyable cruise through one of the world's most beautiful locations?

time-read
4 mins  |
Issue 169 - November 2023
Fae Farm
GameOn Magazine

Fae Farm

Fae Farm is a new cosy farming simulator title by Phoenix Labs set in the enchanted lands of Azoria — a world full of magical issues that begs for your help!

time-read
8 mins  |
Issue 169 - November 2023
Tevi
GameOn Magazine

Tevi

TEVI is a bullet-hell metroidvania, developed by Crespirit and was an utter joy to play. Full of fascinating systems, fluid combat, and some fantastic world-building, TEVI is a very interesting title.

time-read
2 mins  |
Issue 169 - November 2023
Farmer's Father: Save The Innocence
GameOn Magazine

Farmer's Father: Save The Innocence

I had the opportunity to preview the survival videogame Farmer's Father: Save the Innocence. Prequel to the farming simulator Farmer's Life, you play as the former protagonist’s father as he, his wife, and baby child try to survive 1945 East Europe. The game begins with the Axis forces marching on your front door, forcing the three of you to flee your burning home to the safety of a nearby bunker. Once safely inside, you sleep the night off, now alone during the middle of winter. In the bunker you’ll find: a rifle with 10 rounds of ammunition, a bunk bed, a single lamp resting on a table, a working fireplace/oven, and a chest where you put all of the provisions and items.

time-read
3 mins  |
Issue 169 - November 2023
Moonlight Peaks
GameOn Magazine

Moonlight Peaks

It's no secret that I am absolutely obsessed with spooky themes (what with my name being Spooky_0ne everywhere I sign up!), so when I found out there was a life sim game coming out with vampires, witches, potions, nightshades, etc.... Well, I kind of lost my mind from excitement! Thankfully, the team over at Little Chicken gave me the fantastic opportunity to interview them.

time-read
7 mins  |
Issue 169 - November 2023
So I Tried... Persona 5 Royal
GameOn Magazine

So I Tried... Persona 5 Royal

Each edition of So I Tried… I will try a game that I have never tried before. Will I find something new to love? Will I make my “did not finish” list one entry longer? I’ll take a full half hour, no matter how bad it gets or how badly I do, to see if this is the game for me. This time I went for a spooky visual novel that is said to be one of the best narrative games you can play: Persona 5 Royal.

time-read
2 mins  |
Issue 169 - November 2023