Kingdoms of the Dump

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A critically flawed masterpiece. This game has a ton going for it. The story is fun, the art, dialogue, and characters are incredible, the combat feels good. This is one of those games that could be an enduring classic, except: Two things. One mid-sized and the other enormous: 1. The endgame is a jumbled, confusing mess of directionless scouring, flawed directions, and quest-breaking bugs. 2. The big one: Who would possibly think that tricky platforming is a good idea in a game where positioning and control are so precise? Worse: There are TIMED sections where you have to bash your head against the wall trying to nail precise jumps under time pressure. The very worst: [spoiler] A timed platforming section right after what is presumably the final boss in the game. In fact, while the timer is running, the very first room on your way back has what appears to be an impossible jump. I tried with Walker for five straight minutes, then bailed. I'm 27 hours in and the game does not appear to be completable. Absolutely unacceptable.[/spoiler] The devs supposedly have a patch coming, but it should not have been released in this state. The truly maddening thing is that there…

If you told me in this year of our lord 2026 that one of my favorite games was going to be a game about a Trash Can Knight I would have said: No way. But then it happened. I can see this going down in history as a cult classic of the likes of Chrono Trigger. Graphics: Retro SNES style graphics. You could see this game coming out in 1995 or so. Gameplay: A twist on turn based combat. You have a grid style enviornment. They balanced difficulty with ease very well. The strategy aspects are not overstated. There are some "timing" things where you can do more damage or reduce damage as well., Nifty. Story: You play as a Knight in the land of Garbagia. Very typical earnest hero sort. The supporting cast are very well devloped and lovable. You'll find yourself growing attached to Ratavia very quickly. Walker is a badass. Cerulean is a dork. Musk is complex. Bugs and glitches: There is some level of jank with the platforming and there is a save issue with Linxu that is easily fixed by switching to Proton experimental. I haven't had any game breaking issues. Just small annoying stuff. Music: It reminds you of the greats of the SNES era with its own flavor. I'd listen to it outside of …

It's imperfect, but it's the most fun I've had playing an RPG in a LONG time.

Love this game and highly recommend it. The humor and story beats land well and show a great amount of restraint, never leaning too hard into the absurd or ironic. KotD is refreshingly honest without taking itself very seriously.

Holy Scrap, all the puns! It's like Super Mario RPG and a trash can had a baby, a beautiful Indy baby. This was a fun little RPG.