King Arthur Legion IX review - A tactical pilgrimage of the undead

Despite a lack of mainstream popularity, Neocon's King Arthur series of games has always had a cult following, and King Arthur Legion IX is the latest entry. While it shares much of the core design and engine fundamentals established by its 2022 predecessor, King Arthur Knight's Tale, this is not a sequel - but rather a standalone entry in the same universe.

As an undead legionnaire, players will explore an unknown, dangerous world unlike what the hero and his allies have seen. Is this expedition successful, or is it best left in the dust? Here's our full review of King Arthur Legion IX

Rebuild a forgotten empire in King Arthur Legion IX

The party in King Arthur Legion IX (Image via NeocoreGames)

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The game puts players in the worn shoes of Gaius Julius Mento, an undead Roman tribunal who was once part of the Roman Ninth Legion. Tasked by Emperor Sulla to lead the army out of the underworld, he and his allies find themselves rising from the depths of Tartarus and into the fantasy realm of Avalon, a world where the dead and living mingle.

The party of undead legionnaires must navigate this hostile world, learn about what brought them there, and find a way out. In the process, they will meet various allies and opponents as well as strive to establish a new settlement to aid their cause. This is overlaid by the decision to claim the throne for the Emperor or fight for humanity's freedom.

At the same time, players must also decide which faction to support on a Morality chart - the fair goddess Vesta or the lord of the underworld Orcus. This is encapsulated by challenging turn-based strategic RPG combat across various levels and set-pieces. To top it off, there are allegiances to keep and moral choices to make. While all of this is promising on paper, how does it turn out in execution?

Marching forward toward victory

Combat is well executed (Image via NeocoreGames)

King Arthur Legion IX features a total of 6 playable characters. They don't just boast distinct playstyles but also unique personalities and ideals. Examples include the praetorian Octavius, who is a tank-esque hero, capable of shielding allies, or the flamen (i.e. priest) Plutonius, who specializes in dealing magic damage from a distance.

Each hero also has different Loyalties and Moralities; Octavious is loyal to Gaius Julius Mento, while Plutonious is not (indicated by negative loyalty on his character screen). The choices players make throughout the game's linear levels will decide what each ally thinks of the protagonist and their alignment also affects how they act toward other party members.

As for gameplay, players will initially explore a level map in real-time via an isometric camera. This is key since there is Gold (the main currency of King Arthur Legion IX), other rewards like gear and items as well as temporary buffs via shrines. Camps are handy as they help heal ally health - it should be noted that fallen party members always rise back up after falling in battle as they are undead.

On that note, combat can be challenging and there are various difficulty modes to pick from at the start of the game. I played on Normal and while there were some close calls, veterans of the genre may want to bump up the challenge. However, players familiar with the likes of XCOM will know what to do.

Certain levels have distinct objectives (Image via NeocoreGames)

Characters consume AP to perform actions from movement to using skills. Strategically positioning weaker/more vulnerable party members, taking cover as needed, and thinking two steps ahead are important for victory - especially since the game will throw multiple enemies at the party in an encounter. The various consumables and gear encountered will also help make allies stronger.

With various opponent archetypes to contend against, players must utilize their abilities wisely. Party members also gain access to powerful Ultimate moves (using Soul points from fallen foes) that can turn the tide of battle in a pinch. Heroes level up after missions and players can invest Skill Points to learn new skills in each skill tree or upgrade existing ones.

All in all, the combat is certainly the best part of King Arthur Legion IX, as developer NeocoreGames already has experience in the genre as seen with offerings like Warhammer 40K Inquisitor: Martyr as well as the other King Arthur entries. However, there are more progression elements to factor in.

Rise of an empire

Nova Roma is the safe hub of King Arthur Legion IX (Image via NeocoreGames)

At the beginning of King Arthur Legion IX, the undead party will come across the fallen city of Roma Nova, which is the hub area and it is up to players to help rebuild it. This is done using Gold and Building Materials found during and as rewards for beating missions. Each building serves a different purpose, like the Merchant allowing purchasing new gear.

The Lararium, meanwhile, grants varied perks (both good and bad) depending on the activated statues. Players can assign party members to various buildings, which also grants them stat bonuses or increased loyalty towards Gaius. The map featuring Nova Roma also is the mission selection map and players can step back and view the progress made thus far via the Journal and Morality Chart tabs.

The former keeps track of the story elements and characters encountered, while the latter gives an overview of decisions made by Gaius. This is important as the side players pick does not just grant new perks and buildings but also affects encountered enemies. However, this is where much of the praise of King Arthur Legion IX ends.

A stumble into hell

The writing also adds modern humor into the mix, much to its detriment (Image via NeocoreGames)

For its strengths, the weaknesses of King Arthur Legion IX are almost cartoonish in comparison at times. Decisions made are very binary and are their worst when choices boil down to being nice and getting good items, or being disagreeable and forgoing rewards. The missions can be pretty repetitive, and the linearity of the game compounds this.

The same applies to the drab and uninteresting level design and environments. The settlement system of Roma Nova is great on paper but there is not much to do there either as it is a glorified menu selection screen, compared to the exploration segments during missions, which does hamper the immersion. To top it off, the establishments and perks offered are not very interesting either.

Graphics, performance, and sound

The game's visuals are fairly generic (Image via NeocoreGames)

For an isometric game that does not push technical envelopes, the performance is oddly subpar, especially on the following specs:

CPU: Intel Core i7-12650H
RAM: 16 GB
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
SSD: 1 TB

At one point, I got as low as 10 FPS in the main menu. There are some UI bugs and long boot times, but nothing particularly bothersome in the long run. At least the music is interesting with ambient vocals and melodic beats across maps and menus, but overall it is a mixed package.

In conclusion

King Arthur Legion IX is a serviceable title that will appeal to genre fans as well as veterans of the King Arthur franchise. The game has a solid foundation, especially owing to the studio's past experiences with strategy offerings; the combat is the highlight, owing to a distinct six-hero party as well as several unique skills to invest in, gear to uncover, and Ultimate moves to perform.

However, amidst countless excellent peers such as XCOM, it leaves much to be desired due to shallow management elements, game choices, and more. At the end of the day, King Arthur Legion IX is more than happy with playing it safe - often not to the benefit of the project. This makes it nothing particularly worth writing home about, even when it is at its best.