Impressions: Little King’s Story (Wii)

You are a child. You find a crown. You are suddenly the king of a small medieval village. All the citizens are “carefree adults.” An advisor teaches you how to enslave them in the name of the state. Your top general manipulates you, presenting only one path for your rule: world domination. He has been planning this for 35 years. A preacher appears, who also tells you, “conquer the world, or you will face God’s wrath.” You send your citizens into the church, they come out angry. You order some of your citizens to become soldiers. After gathering an army, you go out and slaughter bipedal creatures with primitive dwellings. They are sentient, and they aren’t aggressive until you attack. When you kill them, you find candy. The only penalty for the deaths of your soldiers is monetary. Their lives mean nothing. You talk to one soldier, and he tells you he is “trying to find a life partner, to share in his sorrows and joys.” Near your castle, there is a stone that encourages you to “remember what it was like when you were carefree.” This is “Little King’s Story.” It’s fucked up.

Its mechanics seem irrelevant next to its content. It plays like “Pikmin,” with a dash of “A Kingdom for Keflings” and a through sprinkling of disturbing geopolitical and societal commentary. You gather your citizens, and lead them in battle. You toss them toward enemies. They beat on them with their heads until one of the two are dead. There is no IR pointer support, but the controls are sufficient for the most part.

It is not an understatement to say Little King’s Story has left me uncomfortable like no other game in recent memory. I’ll have a full review up as soon as I can finish the game. Clearly, this is a game that demands I finish it.