Meow Palace: Forbidden City
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Meow Palace: Forbidden City
Game
Game2025
Knightica
Developer Mad Mango Games
Recruit powerful units, place them strategically and find the best synergies in this Roguelike Autobattler! Knightica lets you guide a warband through many challenges to free the Kingdoms. Discover optimal combinations, weave powerful enchants, face dangerous monsters and lead your army to victory! From the Steam store page
194 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Oct 18, 2026 · last updated Oct 20, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
78
LovedLoved
138 positive · 39 negative
95% range 71–83%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 138 | 39 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
351 of 461 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
77% recommend · 137 yes, 40 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 177 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (899 of 1,206 positive).
Some players find the hidden stats and lack of information frustrating. [1][2][3]
Representative posts
- [1]
Look, the game does most things well, but the one thing is does poorly is literally enough to ruin the entire thing. The units stats lie to you in a game about optimizing unit stats. The devs decided to use a hidden strength multiplier for unit power levels which acts on the visible power number - so you can have 2 different units each with 10 power, but one will do significantly more or less than the other. Their …
- [4]
I'm an experienced TFT, Autochess etc. player and the tldr here is that it's an enjoyable experience that I played for 2 weeks and then just kinda ran out of content. I also think most people complaining about the balance are correct. However I think it's still worth the price tag if you like these sorts of games. More details Presentation - I think it's a very high quality game with charming visuals and satisfying …
- [5]
Don't normally review games but a "Mixed" rating for this is just absurd. The game isn't perfect- information given to the player is incomplete, units are not properly balanced, the game is very easy to break very quickly due to the limited choices and cheap rerolls, the game's difficulty curve is out of whack, feeling too easy and too hard all at once... the game will really benefit from as much content and love as …
- [3]
So what is Knightica? It's a team building auto battler with a pleasing aesthetic, a chonky variety of units, spells and commanders, and a sadly underwhelming endgame. The mixed reviews are absurd, all the same people are complaining about valid issues. Mostly valid issues. Occasionally valid issues. A crucial portion of stats and factors are hidden. Things like splash damage, hit boxes, attack range and attack …
- [6]
Fun game. Great presentation, great UI, high quality all around - legendary even for this genre. Challenging until you get the gist and some unlocks rolling. Can be beaten with a variety of builds along the way that spices things up. There's nothing rocket science here but still plenty of systems to chew on. I'm usually pretty casual but I was inspired by this game to beat it on every difficulty, with every …
Summarised from 34 of the 194 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
77% of the 177 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Knightica. The complaint that keeps coming up: lack of content and unit variety. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Reactions
60 of 194 · most liked firstLook, the game does most things well, but the one thing is does poorly is literally enough to ruin the entire thing. The units stats lie to you in a game about optimizing unit stats. The devs decided to use a hidden strength multiplier for unit power levels which acts on the visible power number - so you can have 2 different units each with 10 power, but one will do significantly more or less than the other. Their solution? "Oh, we made the codex [in-game encyclopedia] which lists all…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →(COMPLETE) Leftover Keys from Humble Bundle. I have the following games leftover, leave a comment with what you'd like and I'll dm you the gift link! - ~~Botany Manor~~ - ~~Knightica~~ - ~~NanoApostle~~ - ~~Scanner Sombre~~ - ~~Blair Witch (Good Boy Pack added)~~ - ~~Fear the Spotlight~~ - ~~The Last Campfire~~ - ~~Rollerdrome~~ I have played Rollerdrome before and it is excellent, even if it's not in my normal range of genres.
neutral · AI labelView post →Great Concept // Cute Art // Incomplete Game Knightica (much like many other games being released these days) suffers from launching before the game is done. It's using customers as an open beta instead of having the game ready at launch. It's a fun enough autobattler with a spacial puzzle thrown in for good measure. There is a lot to like here. The art is cute and well done, the game pacing is solid, and there are great ideas that just aren't implemented well enough to make a good game.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's been 3 months since this game has come out now and im guessing it won't be fixed further than this. This game is close to being great and fun but its missing some crucial QoL features that have been requested over and over and have not been added into the game. The codex for exemple is a great addition but it's not enough and still very confusing while also being annoying to use. If you play this game, you will enjoy it for a bit than you'll get frustrated by everything that is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It was such a fun demo, I was so excited for the full game. turns out, the demo pretty much was the full game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+ gameplay loop is fun + art/sound/presentation - runs are too long - balance is all over the place - not enough monster variety - characters are locked behind unreasonably difficult challenges It needs more work.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The criticisms about grind and lack of content are valid, but the game still serves up a pretty strong package. I got this on the cheap in a bundle, so I don't feel as sour about its shortcomings. That said, I understood what this game was going for, and your reward for reading this is my recommending two indie autobattlers that do it better: Underboard and Million Monster Militia.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The developers deserve praise for their attempt to create an autochess experience for single-player gaming, as well as for its appealing visual style. However, the game has significant drawbacks. While you are figuring out the units and studying the synergies, the length of the runs seems acceptable. The problem arises later, once you have seen all the content: every subsequent run becomes a tiresome repetition of the same actions. Another issue is the low number of synergies available. The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm an experienced TFT, Autochess etc. player and the tldr here is that it's an enjoyable experience that I played for 2 weeks and then just kinda ran out of content. I also think most people complaining about the balance are correct. However I think it's still worth the price tag if you like these sorts of games. More details Presentation - I think it's a very high quality game with charming visuals and satisfying looking fights. As played more runs I tended to speed up the battles and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good fun for the price, nothing too crazy. Most reviews complain about lack of info on the units and what exactly the stats do, for me it is game of discovery and trial and error. It is like those old days with the auto chess mod on dota 2 man. You learn about a unit when you use it and watch it fight. You would take the ghost pirate guy back then because his ult did like a map wide stun for 4 seconds, not because he synergies with all your units and gives whatever buff. It was simple and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →New game alert! 🚨 We’re thrilled to welcome Knightica by Mad Mango Games to our catalog! 🎉 In this turn-based roguelike auto-battler, lead an army of powerful units, face dangerous monsters, and free the Kingdoms. ⚔️ 💥 Play the demo & wishlist now: store.steampowered.com/app/3498810?...
neutral · AI labelView post →At first this is a banger, but as you play the stats on the units stop making sense. You can have a unit with half the stats dealing the most damage and you can have an enemy unit with super low strength but for some reason it one shot everything (looking at you big mace beast). Overall a good game but stick with the demo, it's the best of the game without the endgame non-sense.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The bad - Not enough content and variety in unity builds for 15,- euro - Progression system too slow for that little content, makes it busy work. - Bad difficulty curve - Lying stats see other reviews Good: - Visuals are fine - Nice to get into, don't need to have deeo knowledge on interconnecting systems. But bad pricing
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a good game but keep in mind the amount of content is VERY small especially since it forces you to grind a lot. It's well designed and runs well and is fun... for a while but it is badly in need of more content/units especially. At the bare minimum better ways to get units you want/remove the chance of getting units you don't but mostly it just needs more actual units and frankly a even though there are few units theres STILL some that are absolutely worthless/a gold trap.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →⚔️ Knightica is coming out on August 21st on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch! 🙌 👉 Try the new prologue on Steam or the demo on consoles, and don’t forget to hit that wishlist button: linktr.ee/Knightica
neutral · AI labelView post →I can't recommend it. The gameplay is fine, but it's just too little. There's not enough variety if units or enemies. I expected a bit more. I feel like there's not much more to experience after 2.5 hours played.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't normally review games but a "Mixed" rating for this is just absurd. The game isn't perfect- information given to the player is incomplete, units are not properly balanced, the game is very easy to break very quickly due to the limited choices and cheap rerolls, the game's difficulty curve is out of whack, feeling too easy and too hard all at once... the game will really benefit from as much content and love as the devs can give it. That being said, it's still a unique game- a well made…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good artwork, fun gameplay but... it really REALLY lacks in content. An auto battler requires way more units since you'll be replaying the same thing over and over again. Almost 3 hours in and it feels like I've seen everything. There's some unlocks but besides requiring a lot of grinding, it doesn't seem to add much besides some different mechanics...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Knightica will be part of the @indiearenabooth.de at #Gamescom this year! 🎉 Come play the game at Hall 10.2 from August 20 to 24! #indiegame #IAB25
neutral · AI labelView post →Not enough variety in the viable strategies. Lots of unlockables that seem like that would take ages to unlock and still I don't see how they would add much to the game. Seems like padding to me. Most of the commanders it unlocks lack synergies with the units to make them viable. At the end of the day, a cool concept that seems unfinished.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really don't understand the mixed reviews on this one. It's an excellent little autobattler. Nice presentation, easy to put together synergies, nice difficulty curve. The only major problem I have with it is that there aren't many units so runs tend to turn out pretty similar after a while and difficulty taps out a little too quickly. Be aware if you want to 100% the game, it's a lot of grinding. I'm at 75% with 24 hours and it'd be about 2-3x that much time to grind out the rest of the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish I could give this game a thumbs sideways. Let's start with being nice This is a nice game. It has a very cute art style with simple troop combat. The exp system is more fun than the standard merge three then merge three of the merge. The thing that makes auto-battler style games truly fun to ME is when the game provides you with pieces to a combo but never the full thing so you make due with interesting cross-type synergy. "I got this succubus who steals defense but I don't have any of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Knightica on Steam and other stores. Recruit powerful units, place them strategically and find the best synergies in this Roguelike Autobattler! Knightica lets you guide a warband through many challenges to free the Kingdoms. Discover optimal combinations, weave powerful enchants, face dangerous monsters and lead your army to victory! [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/knightica) [Nintendo](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/knightica-switch/)…
neutral · AI labelView post →Enough content for two playthroughs, but thankfully a new paid DLC is on the way that will add nothing meaningful to the game's replayability.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am not sure why there are so many negative reviews of this game. I am really enjoying it. Yes you need to experiment to work out what combinations work best and the highest difficulty mode is punishingly difficult, but I do not think this detracts at all from the experience. Keep going developer!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolutely great game! I am a massive auto battler fan and found this one to be a great single player experience. I've read the negative reviews and found the topic of difficulty and lack of clear information to be the most talked about issues. Personally I found no issue with the initial difficulty before the week 1 patches, reaching the final boss on insane in my first day and beating arena multiple times. Though I do believe the changes to the lower difficulties is healthy for introducing…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun game. Great presentation, great UI, high quality all around - legendary even for this genre. Challenging until you get the gist and some unlocks rolling. Can be beaten with a variety of builds along the way that spices things up. There's nothing rocket science here but still plenty of systems to chew on. I'm usually pretty casual but I was inspired by this game to beat it on every difficulty, with every character, and unlocked every trinket thus unlocking everything. The game beat me…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent gameplay. I love the art style. It definitely has challenges aplenty with the trinket system. My only gripe is that there isn't enough troop types. I feel like there needs to be more, especially unique to class troops. Playing between commanders gives unique pro's/con's but often only include 1 new troop type, which makes it feel like you basically play thru the same strategies too frequently. I LOVE this game, but am hoping additional content comes out, especially more troops!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →cool concept but ultimately boring
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've seen more content and variety in the "About Me" section of a blank LinkedIn profile
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This update adds a lot of depth to the game, there has never been a better time to try Knightica!
neutral · AI labelView post →I love auto battlers and stategy games but this one falls short in many ways. It is terribly repetitive, relies too much on RNG, ramps up in difficulty far too fast and has limited options for builds or unit choices. It is a game that seems on the verge of greatness but just needs more content and variety. If the dev reads this: People like to feel powerful, don't be afraid to give a boost from time to time that is meaningful! People saying "the game is too easy" is not worse than people saying…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Decent just not enough content. If you watched anyone play this on YouTube there's no reason to buy it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the core gamaplay idea is good, there is a lot of fun in it, but the balance is completly off. The difficulty is actually insane, because of this bad balance and the luck involved in the rewards you gain per raound. This plus the fact that significant unlocks are hidden behind completing the game on very high difficulty settings leads to a frustrating experience. I think the developers simply do not understand that people might not want to spend thousands of hours min maxing every decision…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is fun. However, there's no point in thinking about what units you're buying and placing on the field, the numbers mean nothing and the unit level progression doesn't justify the cost. Most of the buffs for beating bosses don't persist so you only benefit for 1 fight after a boss. In fact, most of the buffs don't persist so you're stuck trying rebuff each fight. I did have fun playing this game for a few hours but I also thought this was still in early access. Purchase with caution.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There's nowhere in the game to see what units/troops do what, so it's very hard to plan a build. (also, no wiki or online help available) Normal and Hard mode are very doable, but Insane is impossible unless you get lucky at the start. Arena mode is BS as it's just hardcoded opponents created by the devs, so that's lame. There's only a couple viable strategies for getting to the end, every other unit/troop is just a trap. Overall I don't recommend the game unless the devs put out some real…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's my folks' weekend, so it's mine, too, in solidarity, lol 🤭 Here's my plans for tonight: •Play Dead By Daylight •Play game demos (Discounty and Knightica) •Play Titan Quest •Play Theatrhythm: FBL •Play PowerWash Sim •Watch stuffs on my TV #RewLovesGames #NintendoSwitchLite #MidweekWeekend #Yay
neutral · AI labelView post →was fun, unique and had potential, but it seems the devs have just dropped the game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →fun to play and try out the units
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My first review of this game was very negative, but giving it more time, I found myself spending many hours trying out different stuff that could (maybe) beat Insane difficulty campaigns and having fun up until one of the three bosses would end my run. The aesthetics of each indiviual character is appealing in a cartoony way and projectile animations are nice. The music is also good. Battle sounds are a bit off. For now, I only feel like there could be a bit more variety to runs, maybe a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Knightica" beaten. Really good auto battler popcorn game. One of the better ones I've played, decent amount of depth and customizability. Good job 👍
positive · AI labelView post →taking this game as is, it's pretty good. the art is great, and it's a fun autobattler roguelike. the balance is okay and the higher difficulties are challenging. it would be a *great* game with an async pvp mode, but even without it this game was worth the 15 bucks for me
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Can not recommend the game. There is no strategy when picking units as certain units are leagues above others in terms of power so you just pick those. you don't need to adapt to what enemy you are facing or the position of their army since every encounter just turns into a stat check. 9 different commanders and they all pretty much play the exact same way, once I figured out the strong units managed to clear insane on all commanders very easily without paying any attention to their strength or…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think its a good Autobattler Roguelike thats not too complicated but still has a good amount of depth and ways to tinker with a build. And while the animations are not great - the effects during battles are! I hope to see more content in the future - more troops, maybe a dlc.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Splendid roguelike auto battler, easy to pick up and play but with a decent amount of depth. I love the colorful art direction and the soundtrack is also great. Very enjoyable little game, I dig it. Would love to see more enemies / environment variety in the future tho. Anyways, good game, recommended 👍
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun auto-battler with deceptively simple mechanics. After 40+ hours in-game I'm still experimenting with new builds and learning how to best utilize specific units. Pros: Cute, unique art style, Satisfying difficulty curve, varied mechanics across a wide range of classes. Cons: No meta-progression outside of individual runs. Would love to have something to take away from a run that falls just short of victory.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had my fun. took 40 hours to 100%
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So what is Knightica? It's a team building auto battler with a pleasing aesthetic, a chonky variety of units, spells and commanders, and a sadly underwhelming endgame. The mixed reviews are absurd, all the same people are complaining about valid issues. Mostly valid issues. Occasionally valid issues. A crucial portion of stats and factors are hidden. Things like splash damage, hit boxes, attack range and attack pattern are all kind of opaque. You can only figure them out through repeated…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really great game, very active and responsive devs who have fixed most issues people have had since launch.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Today for the Morning Sip we break down "KNIGHTICA IS REVIEW BOMBED" + "The Algorithms just hate me" We will talk about a systemic problem in the video game industry and shed light how to help it with simple solutions Should be a fun one #indiedev #gamedevs Link 👇
neutral · AI labelView post →Very little content.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the most harsh set of reviews I've ever seen. This is a good game! Super fun for genuine fans of autobattlers.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I keep finding myself booting it back up even with an ocean of other games to play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun autobattler but memeory leak problems with a numbers effectiveness differing depending on what unit they are on. I want the ability to simply see all stats directly. Something like 9 kings
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pleasure to play, hard to master This little gem snuck in while I was searching for an easier game for my son, as he is a tower defense or auto battler guru as well. Cartoony, light-hearted, easy to understand, but hard to master... my 10-year-old thinks it's because I am his dad, and it's not hard to master. Ok, see for yourself and you decide; Dumb Dad 91% in a recent poll. Nice. Thanks a heap. Bad Child 9%. (Only because I voted 9 times out of 100. HAHAHA!) Well, there you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Games good with a pitiful amount of content. Hope this one continues to grow.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After a couple of hours it just loses its charm.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have unlocked all characters and beaten the game on insane, and wowza this game is NOT EASY. holy bonkers man, what a ride this game has given me. firstly i love auto battlers. and this game scratches that exact itch. I love this game. For $15 your not gonna regret getting this unless you get frustrated easily. My strongest runs when i felt unbeatable, i was beaten. and some of the weirdest runs took me to victory . Ppl are right when they say they dont know what the stats mean bcuz…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Once you figure out how the systems works in Knightica, the challenge quickly boils down to finding the most efficient path to reach infinity. After that point, the sense of progression feels more like a solved puzzle than an ongoing adventure. It’s satisfying at first, but once you’ve cracked the formula, the game doesn’t have much more to offer making the journey feel shorter than it should.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Delightful roguelike auto battler. Game hooked me hard, is pretty challenging initially while you are figuring things out, and that difficulty continues to scale for awhile. Lots of cool builds and classes to try. Once you figure out the less than intuitive secrets to getting infinity much of the challenge begins to fade, but is still a blast to play through the content and see just how fast you can go infinite! Devs are friendly, active, and regularly pushing out great patches to.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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