If there’s one thing I won’t shut up about, it’s K-dramas. As someone who spent far too much time watching Running Man at university with her best friend (hi Janice!) K-dramas and, of course, K-pop, have come to define so much of my adulthood. So, imagine my face when I heard that the Kingdom spinoff game, Kingdom: The Blood, has an open beta playtest this week. Sorry, The Day Before, this is the zombie game I’ve been desperate to sink my teeth into.
Set amid the war-torn Joseon Dynasty in 16th-century Korea, Kingdom The Blood is a spinoff of the iconic Netflix mini-series of the same name. As feuding warlords tear the country apart and political machinations see the rise and fall of entire populations, a sudden, rabid incursion of zombies sees the entire region plunged into absolute chaos. This, my friends, is the premise for one of the best Netflix shows ever made.
And it’s the perfect background for a new zombie game. As the hordes descend, you are thrust into the shoes of various survivors, battling through progressively harder bosses in an attempt to flee the infected provinces. Part action-adventure game part soulslike, you’ll have to hack, slash, and craft your way through legions of undead – but, if it’s anything like the show, they only come out at night.
If the single-player campaign isn’t for you, though, the game also features a four-player ‘Raid’ mode, where you work together to tear the hordes asunder, and a 1v1 PvP mode called Clash, where you’ll battle it out to prove that you deserve to survive the apocalypse. These are unlocked at levels nine and 21 respectively – great news if the multiplayer component is more up your bloodstained street.
If you’re looking to just play as a duo, though, the ‘Training’ mode has several different elements to enjoy with a pal. You can defend settlements in Stronghold, hack your way to victory in Horde, or take on new and improved foes in Boss and Elite.
If all of that sounds right up your street or, like me, you’re a sucker for Korean zombie shows, then the Kingdom: The Blood open playtest is available on Steam from Tuesday, December 5, to Monday, December 11.
You’ll have to request access via the official Steam page, but I applied as I wrote this very sentence and have received access immediately. It’ll be the last chance you’ll get to play the game before its proposed release in 2024, so if you fancy hacking your way through Korea and handing Second Queen Cho the end she deserves, I’d suggest doing so now.
So, while The Day Before release date is oh so close, I can see myself burying my Hwando into Kingdom’s zombies’ heads instead – at least for the next week. If you’re looking for some other creepy experiences to while away the winter months, though, we have a list of all the best horror games – who needs festive cheer when you can have festive fear? I should copyright that.
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