IronOak Games launched the closed beta for For The King in late September. I’ve had the chance to dip in and play it a bit, and I have to say I like what I see: the game has a truly lovely aesthetic, and despite its beta state it plays rather well (apart from a couple graphical glitches that I still need to get around to reporting). It feels very much like a board game in some respects…which makes sense, given its origins in an attempt to turn Ultima 7 into a board game.

But I digress. The closed beta has been going very well, according to IronOak, and they are already looking ahead to what is beyond it:

The response to the beta so far has been amazingly helpful. The overall pacing and consistency has improved greatly thanks to the thoughtful dissections and discussions on the Forums. Another special thanks to all those who took the time to play and participate in the Forums. You are all a necessary part of making FTK great and we really appreciate your help.

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We’re in a great position now to go ahead and build out the later acts. From the Beta we have a much better sense of how different people play and what strategies they employ. The good news is the core game is really fun and engaging so the main goal is to maintain this going forward while simultaneously providing new challenges and experiences.

This will be a game well worth picking up when it goes into wide release, I think.