Kingdom Eighties: Summer of Greed from Raw Fury is a radtastic standalone entry in the micro-strategy series. Learn more in our Kingdom Eighties: Summer of Greed review!
Kingdom Eighties: Summer of Greed from Raw Fury is a radtastic standalone entry in the micro-strategy series. It brings the series formula to PlayStation while applying a neon coat of paint, which is not a bad thing! While there are many recent TV shows and movies set in the 1980s – as well as, you know, tons of TV shows and movies that were actually released in the 1980s – nowadays, whenever you see a TV show, movie, comic book, or video game set in the 1980s, your mind immediately jumps toward Netflix’s beloved Stranger Things. And yes, this game certainly has some Stanger Things vibes.
You can play Kingdom Eighties: Summer of Greed in one of five different difficulty settings: Peaceful, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Cursed. If you’re new to the series, the game recommends that you play on Normal. If that ends up feeling a bit too challenging, then you can bump it down to Easy or Peaceful. If, on the other hand, you’ve played previous games in the series, you might be compelled to change the difficulty to Hard or Cursed.
The game is a strategy lite experience, which means you’ll be using the coins you collect to hire units and build structures to protect each location. You set up your base by paying a fee, then use coins to hire kids, build an outpost for hunters to collect coins, have archers to defend your spot from a safer distance and hire knights that will do whatever it takes to stop the evil forces that aim to destroy your 1980s kingdom. There are certain things that go bump in the night, and it’s up to you to outwit them. Maybe you should also build some walls for some extra protection?
The game is split into a day cycle and a night cycle. During the day, you’ll plan for what will happen at night, so you hire new units, set up your defenses, and try to upgrade your base as much as possible with the available resources. Once the night hits, then you better be ready for the evil Greed! The Greed want to destroy your kingdom, steal your coins, and, eventually, take your crown. Losing coins is very bad, but losing your crown means you’re done. You have a small chance of earning back your crown, so you better be ready!
The main character you start with is the Leader, and they will be the one in charge of hiring new kids to turn them into archers, builders, or knights to aid as needed. During the first episode of the game, you’ll get to recruit two of the special characters that will aid you during the rest of your journey: the Tinkerer and the Champ. The Tinkerer can allow you to build better defenses, repair broken structures, and attack the Greed when needed. The Champ is the only character strong enough to push the huge garbage container that will serve as a siege barrier to protect your units when attacking portals. The Wiz is a smart individual who will give you access to some techy defenses that can deal considerable damage to the Greed. You can even add a dog to your group!
Along with the main story campaign that will have you progressing through different locations, there’s also the option of taking on the Survival Mixtapes challenges. You can access them from the pause menu. They change things by having you take on endless waves of enemies so that you can see how long you can survive. They will become available after you beat the campaign so that you know what you’re doing and don’t end up feeling overwhelmed.
And then we have the trophies. This game has a full list with a Platinum trophy waiting for you, with 15 Bronze trophies, 11 Silver trophies, and 5 Gold trophies to unlock. A big chunk of them are tied to progressing through each of the game’s episodes, but there are a handful of them that are missable since you won’t be able to return to previous areas. You will also need to complete the game in the highest difficulty setting, which will require you to better understand the gameplay mechanics. For some extra help, check out this Kingdom Eighties Trophy Guide.
Kingdom Eighties: Summer of Greed is a radtastic standalone entry in the micro-strategy series that makes for an excellent jumping point for those of you new to this franchise. It’s not as challenging as previous games, and it presents some interesting elements, such as the companions that will aid you on this journey, as well as a proper story with cutscenes. It’s an adventure that should take you 5-6 hours to complete. Add an endless mode thanks to the Survival Mixtapes challenges, and you have a game that is easy to recommend. Kingdom Eighties: Summer of Greed is out on PlayStation 5 with an $11.99 asking price.
Disclaimer
This Kingdom Eighties: Summer of Greed review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Raw Fury.
