Good times in mythological Britain.
Unfortunately there aren't that many reviews for this game, so I will give you a short overview what to expect, especially since this game is getting cheaper every week.
Gameplay:
Well, basically it is a Total War game with text-based quests in the strategic map and a character system for your heros. But aside from the role playing part it still plays very different from the Total War series, the strategic map has a lot of stuff going on, not only do you have to conquer provinces, but you have to level your knights and distribute skill points, you have to manage your provinces and assign them to your knights, find suitable ladies through text-quests and assign them to your knights, do research, taxes, and interrogate prisoners. Sounds complex? It is. The learning curve is extremely steep and unfortunately the tutorial chapter in the beginning is quite difficult. The text quests on the other hand are a great addition to the game, they are interesting, well written and generally add a lot to the already great atmosphere.
The battles are fought out on a tactical map, much like the Total War series, but King Arthur not only wants you to destroy the enemy armies, you should capture control points and hold them. You can win battles both by destroying the enemy army or by holding the control points. The tactical possibilities are varied and the control point system makes it possible to win battles, even with underpowered troops. But again, the difficulty is quite high and you wil struggle especially during the first battles. A little advice: don't be afraid to play at "Beginner", in this game it means "least frustrating difficulty".
Audio-Visual Appeal & Presentation:
Graphics-wise it looks beautiful, considering that this game is made by a small Hungarian developer team, they are amazing. The units during the tactical battles are detailed and look great, the battle animations are actually not that great, but again, this is a small team with no big motion capturing budget. The strategic map looks beautiful and atmospheric and transport the mythological mood.
The sound is brilliant. The narrators voice is just amazing and fits perfectly in the King Arthur world, the music is British and also supports the dense atmosphere of this game.
The Interface is also beautiful done, but quite cluttered and complicated at times.
Issues & Final verdict:
The most annoying issue with this game are the controls. They are basically OK and feel like Total War, unfortunately the input is laggy and slow, considering that this game is quite difficult the small control issues develop into a huge nuisance while playing.
Also the performance is not that great really and CTDs are common.
Well, is it worth your time? Yes. If you enjoyed the Total War series you will enjoy King Arthur, you need a couple of hours to adapt to the different gameplay mechanics, but the great atmosphere and the awesome text-quests are well worth it. And it is the first game that creates a fantasy world that actually is interesting and engaging. And the main campaign will keep you busy for at least 30 -40 hours.
Just wait for a steam sale and grab it with all the DLCs, push through the initial difficulty issues and you will be entangled in a great world.