Last week, the world had its first look at Kingdom: The Blood, an upcoming mobile + PC zombie action title based on the popular Netflix zombie series which took place in Korea during the Joseon dynasty. Since then, the sneak peek has largely been met with positive responses. The Korean media outlets manage to snag interview sessions with the development team at Action Square, so here are some of the summarized details. Read on!
• The team was surprised by how well the gameplay trailer was received, as it was made by in-development assets and not particularly of high resolution. They were worried it might be lacking as well to the global audience. No cinematics were used as well.
• The team admitted that the gameplay trailer was made “in a hurry”, and does not represent the final graphics or gameplay. Optimization is now ongoing.
• Similar to the Netflix show, the zombies will be active only at night or when the temperature is low.
• Although it is a mobile game (with a PC client), Kingdom: The Blood is 100% focused on manual combat. There is no automated movement as well.
• During actual gameplay, there are only three keys: basic attack, special attack, and dodge. In addition to creating linked-attacks by combining basic attacks and special attacks, active/passive QTE will appear when the situation arises. Active QTE triggers an action appropriate to the situation. This active QTE system is used to deliver a final blow. Passive QTE does not perform any action, but provides a buff.
• About 8 actions are used in combination. Several more actions can be unlocked and collected as as players progress. By equipping them in advance according to individual styles, players have the fun of customizing unique action sets.
• The user interface (UI) was designed to be as simple as possible to fit mobile screens. Controller support is also being worked on, with the developers crediting another in-house team who worked on ANVIL for their assistance.
• The development team are fans of Souls-like games, including Dark Souls, Sekiro, and more recently Elden Ring. The team was also thrilled that some gamers mentioned Ghost of Tsushima.
• Development on Kingdom: The Blood started around 18 months ago with many core members veteran developers who worked in Nexon and NCsoft.
• Kingdom: The Blood currently consists of 10 chapters, each with 4 stages in it. The story covers Season 1 to 2 of the Netflix show.
• Rather than following the story, the developers want players to “experience” the battles against the zombies from Lee Chang‘s point of view.
• Much attention was also given to the various zombies’ designs, including the human characters who were sent out to capture Lee Chang (the player).
• There are other playable characters in the game, but each will be equipped with just 1 fixed weapon. For example, Lee Chang can only wield a Hwando. But this is enhanced by a variety of different moves for each weapon/ character.
• Other than Lee Chang, the team declined to reveal characters which will be part of the launch roster.
• Each scenario in Kingdom: The Blood is prepared differently to prevent character conflicts with the original setting, relationship, or story.
• The art team at Action Square did deep research into character costumes of that period, especially the traditional wear, hanbok. Each playable character will sport different Korean traditional clothing.
• Action in the game is not simply about swinging weapons, as the team is making sure players can feel real material such as clothing being cut through. This is realized by using a mixture of animation and physics engine, as purely just using the physics engine and all other variables will make the game consume too much CPU power.
• It was a fresh experience for the team to build a game in the Joseon dynasty, where only conventional weapons can be used to battle against hordes of onrushing zombies and for players to try not to get bitten. There are no guns, flamethrowers, or chainsaws in the game!
• As mentioned in the previous article, motion capture was done with a real-life swordsman with over 15 years of experience in movies and historical dramas.
• The team has yet to confirm if zombie animals will appear in the game, given that there is already much source material for both human enemies and zombie enemies.
• Despite the aim for top-notch graphics, Action Square wants as many gamers as possible to experience Kingdom: The Blood. Hence, the system requirements for Diablo Immortal and Genshin Impact are used as guidelines.
• “Breakthrough” is the mode designed for players who are looking for a higher tier of challenge after completing story chapters. It was mentioned that its takes around 20 minutes to complete each round.
• “Occupation” is the mode where short battles of around 5 minutes each take place.
• In the Netflix show, zombies react sensitively to the smell of blood. This is also brought to live in the game. After killing an enemy, if players stay near it for too long, zombies in the area may react. Zombies in the game are not just standing around on the map. Sometimes they break through doors in a sudden, jump out from the ground, or ambush players from behind.
• For multiplayer, PVP and PVE co-op content is being worked on. There are more of “entertainment” and “fun” modes where all players can join in.
• Action Square is also working with AStory, the production company of the Kingdom Netflix show, to expand on new content, although it was not mentioned if these will be unique to just the game.
• In addition to growth and skill enhancements, there are various collection elements such as defeating bosses and collecting costumes.
• There is no confirmed launch window yet. The team is aiming for a global simultaneous release. However, since ping is important for such an action game, the servers might be divided into different regions.
