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Game
Game2014
Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition
Developer Tribute Games Inc.
Mercenary Kings is a side-scrolling run and gun video game developed and published by Tribute Games. It was funded by Kickstarter and released for Microsoft Windows on March 25, 2014, and for PlayStation 4 on April 1, 2014. Alongside the Mercenary Kings: Reloaded update, versions for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation Vita were released on February 6, 2018. An early-access version of the game was… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
206 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 13, 2026 · last updated Oct 14, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
61
Fresh
107 positive · 68 negative
95% range 54–68%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 107 | 68 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 8 | 1 | 13 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
1,125 of 1,655 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
61% recommend · 108 yes, 70 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 178 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (1,720 of 2,448 positive).
Players describe it as a hybrid of Metal Slug and Monster Hunter. [1][2][3] The game is praised for its art style and gun crafting system. [4][5][6] Many complain about repetitive missions and a restrictive timer. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
Everything about this game is awesome but the Timer kills it. Unless you like speed runs you will not enjoy this game. I would not mind the timer so much if they gave you enough time but they don't. What makes it worst is there are branching paths you can take and you will not see most of them because you are trying to beat the timer. I beg for an update that removes that timer because this game looks beautiful, but …
- [8]
I’ll try to keep this short since I think a majority of other negative reviews have already aired the same grievances I’ll mention as well. - 115 missions that typically take 5-15 minutes each. - 8 or so different mission objectives (Hostage rescue, collect materials, neutralise target etc) - 4 stages/levels I hope anyone reading the above understands from that how much of a dull, repetitive experience this game …
- [2]
2D Monster Hunter. I know it doesn't look the part, but it really is. Hear me out. The gameplay loop is the following: > Talk to the cook and get a food bonus to increase your maximum health and defense > Pick a mission from the mission board that falls under one of a few categories > Go on Gathering missions to get parts to craft guns and upgrades to use in missions and gather materials for armor and weapons. > Go …
- [4]
Mercenary Kings is a genuinely fun game once you understand what it actually is: not Metal Slug, but more of a Monster Hunter-style mission grind with Mega Man movement in a gorgeous pixel art wrapper. The gun crafting system is the real star — mixing shotgun stocks with sniper receivers and experimenting with bounce shots or laser ammo gives you that satisfying "aha" moment when something clicks. That said, the …
- [1]
This is for the Monster Hunter players not the Metal Slug players.
Summarised from 34 of the 209 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
Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition sits at 61% positive across 175 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Mercenary Kings received mixed reviews upon release, with score of 70 for PlayStation 4 and 76 for PC version respectively by the aggregation website Metacritic.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 206 · most liked firstFollow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews, so you can be updated whenever I post a new review. Overall Rating - Average ★★★☆☆ First Impressions When I saw the trailer for Mercenary Kings (MK), I was reminded of an earlier era of gaming. Many older games consisted of military members dodging bullets and being a one man army. Over time, the emphasis shifted from 2D games like this, to 3D FPS. It's nice seeing this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Everything about this game is awesome but the Timer kills it. Unless you like speed runs you will not enjoy this game. I would not mind the timer so much if they gave you enough time but they don't. What makes it worst is there are branching paths you can take and you will not see most of them because you are trying to beat the timer. I beg for an update that removes that timer because this game looks beautiful, but the timer makes it unplayable.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →15 seconds of our game Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition 👑
neutral · AI labelView post →Mercenary Kings in Four Screenshots: A dog rocking an eyepatch, a robot that’s adorable AND deadly, and LOTS of explosions 💥 Honestly, what more could you want from a video game? 🤨
positive · AI labelView post →This game absolutely does not respect your time, while insisting that you respect its time, which is ironic. The game plays a lot like a Mega Man and Monster Hunter had a baby. From the Mega genre, you have side-scrolling smumpy action with limited lines of fire and enemies in precisely obnoxious locations. From the Hunter genre, you dismantle your enemies to make progressively more powerful guns and knives in order to dismantle bigger enemies ad nauseam all while on increasingly more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Massive levels with a time limit and you get NOTHING if you run out of time. Demented design.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I’ll try to keep this short since I think a majority of other negative reviews have already aired the same grievances I’ll mention as well. - 115 missions that typically take 5-15 minutes each. - 8 or so different mission objectives (Hostage rescue, collect materials, neutralise target etc) - 4 stages/levels I hope anyone reading the above understands from that how much of a dull, repetitive experience this game truly becomes. You will repeat the same level over and over again ad nauseam,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's like a Metal Slug type shooter wrapped in a Monster Hunter game loop, but I'm not a fan of the grinding/repetition of Monster Hunter so I couldn't get into this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are a ton of missions, almost all of which play out the exact same way. Load into level (missions often repeat levels you've already played... multiple times) with the exact/almost exact layout from last time. Kill mostly non-challenging enemies while running to objective as quickly as possible. Win. There are a couple different objective types, but all of them are essentially the same thing with the exception that some might require you to kill a boss/mini-boss. There's a bunch of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Also the Mercenary Kings cameo there is fun, that was a game I would play allot of
positive · AI labelView post →The same level over and over again.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is for the Monster Hunter players not the Metal Slug players.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A few that I've played: **20XX** and **30XX** - Megaman-style roguelites. Built with 2-player co-op in mind (either local or online) - when playing local, the screen space is shared but the screen zooms out when players are far apart (similar to Smash), so you still get about the same amount of view distance. **Hypercharge: Unboxed** - FPS Horde Shooter/Tower Defence hybrid. Up to 4 players (local or online) have to defend cores from hordes of enemy toys, with the ability to place defences…
neutral · AI labelView post →In Mercenary Kings, Tribute Games took what was good in Metal Slug, and sabotaged it with an absurd amount of grinding. I hate to be so blunt about it, because I had a great time with all of their other games, but I can't recommend a game which asks you to spend 90% of your time - not a joke - farming for garbage. Money, materials, everything is a real chore to farm. And their only use is to craft weapon parts and overpriced cosmetics. Last time I checked, people who don't mind spending cosmic…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →2D Monster Hunter. I know it doesn't look the part, but it really is. Hear me out. The gameplay loop is the following: > Talk to the cook and get a food bonus to increase your maximum health and defense > Pick a mission from the mission board that falls under one of a few categories > Go on Gathering missions to get parts to craft guns and upgrades to use in missions and gather materials for armor and weapons. > Go on Neutralize missions to find and kill a boss on the stage with the armor and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mercenary Kings is a game I greatly enjoyed, but it unfortunately overstayed its welcome. In regards to negative reviews, it seems to be a result of people expecting something different than what it delivers. I can understand that- It's a very creative game that is trying to do it's own thing by mixing a bunch of genres/games together into a new thing. To simply break it down: - The art style of Scott Pilgrim vs the World - The the animation style of Metal Slug - The controls of Mega Man -…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I backed this on Kickstarter way back when because of course I would play an off brand Metal Slug. But when I played the beta, I was baffled by one choice: you have to manually reload your gun. It just completely ruins the pacing and clashed with the retro Metal Slug/Contra style thing they were going for. There was one gun upgrade that didn't require reloading, but it really subtracted from damage, and at the time, the upgrade system wasn't quite working right yet, so there wasn't a way to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This could have been a fun game but the main gameplay loop is the same every 5-10 minutes. Start a level, find stuff or kill enemies until criteria is met. Rinse and repeat until you have enough money and resources to upgrade weapons etc, then do the same all over again until you get bored. Can't recommend this unless monotony is your game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It just isn't very good. The animations are great; the art is cool, the variety in gameplay and exploration is so sparse that before you can truly unlock anything you find yourself wanting to play another game. Seriously the time limit put on missions in order to extend that lack of gameplay and game world is so what disheartening. Because of the art and aesthetics of the game I want to like this gameplay. But the grind put in front of the actual game is too much for me to suffer.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mercenary Kings is a genuinely fun game once you understand what it actually is: not Metal Slug, but more of a Monster Hunter-style mission grind with Mega Man movement in a gorgeous pixel art wrapper. The gun crafting system is the real star — mixing shotgun stocks with sniper receivers and experimenting with bounce shots or laser ammo gives you that satisfying "aha" moment when something clicks. That said, the repetitive maps and relentless material farming wear you down hard by the late…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't know why the reviews for this game are so harsh, it's great fun, has great depth, great to play with friends, has the all-important SPLITSCREEN element that so many multiplayer games miss these days -- 'sa good game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Congratulations! You found Metal Slug and Monster Hunter's secret love child~
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Looks like Metal Slug but plays opposite. Be prepared to carefully grind for hours.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very, very, very, and yes very grindy. so play Metal Slugs instead.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Grind and tediousness. Don't bother.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My dude, I'm very familiar with the 14% of videogame players new game devs are vying for. And every one of the games you mentioned launched at that price because they were developed by a single dev (two at most) who could profit off of the $10 - $15 dollar space that was below the smaller studios putting out games like Shadow Complex, or Mercenary Kings, or Shank 1+2 for $20. Now all of those spaces are being crushed together. Mostly due to economic factors. Thats where the biggest problem…
neutral · AI labelView post →game would be way more badass if it had diagonal aiming and removed infinite spawning enemies
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's been a while since I've paid attention to any specific artists... I really like Paul Robertson (@probzzz.bsky.social), who did the art for Scott Pilgrim vs the World the Game, Mercenary Kings, Giffany (and more) from Gravity Falls, and a ton of their own animations as well! LOVE the art style!💛
neutral · AI labelView post →IMPORTANT MUST READ. This games starts off a Run and gun like contra but then turns into a platformer like Megaman [the originals not X]. If you just want to run and kill enemies this is not the game for you. Big thumbs down. This counts as deception in my view. Play for 10 hours only for the entire game genre of the game to change. Look at the details on the buy screen. NOWHERE does it say platformer. Look at the video it doesn't show you all the death traps/ spikes / and platforming. You…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sluggish controls, a boring gameplay loop. Bullet sponge enemies unless you have the best gear possible - none of this is fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Today’s Black Video Game Character: Frigg (Mercenary Kings)
neutral · AI labelView post →Some of my favorites for 3 are the same for 4. **Streets of Rogue** and **Vagante** are challenging roguelikes that scale effortlessly for co-op of various numbers of players. There's also **Mercenary Kings**, which I admit I enjoyed more than most, but it's like the cross section of Mega Man action with Monster Hunter structure. Much more recently, **Baldur's Gate 3** probably hits its sweet spot at 3 human players, since you want to have an NPC slot around in your party of 4 for the story…
positive · AI labelView post →Its fun and simple. I really like the game play. And I am a senior old lady.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Grindy and tedious game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this ♥♥♥♥ a hiden gem
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition is a 2D Action Platformer with Metroidvania elements where you are a part of resistance soldier going against a group called CLAW that wants to misuse the Mandrake Formula. The game consists of Military Rankings where you start as a soldier and then complete missions to rank up your hero and get stronger, each military rank consists of multiple missions with main and side objects that will give you ranking points. During the missions you will gather materials…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You a fan of Metal Slug or Contra? Then Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition should fill that retro itch.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is kind of like a supposedly really delectable dish. You'd think all the right ingredients are there, sadly the final result just doesn't taste all that good and then whatever flavor was there, has been needlessly watered down to increase the volume. There's guns, even more guns, shooting, platforming, RPG elements, beautiful stylish graphics... yet somehow the mix of all of those features doesn't generate the fun factor it should have. The game has tiny issues sprinkled allover the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its a 2D Monster Hunter that plays like Contra or other old school side scrolling shooters. The entire gameplay loop is like run-n-gun MonHun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a funny game but I wouldn´t recommend it to anyone. There's no tutorial, you'll find yourself frustrated googling constantly. If a player needs to google basic mechanics, the game is bad.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The controls are awful for the keyboard. No mouse support. Why no autopickup? You have to press down to pickup items. Its annoying af. Same with deploying bombs without timers, have to detonate them manually... I just dont like many things after playing for 10 minutes. I cant continue. No thanks
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just too tedious and grindy for not that much fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →She’s actually a character from the game Mercenary Kings which was also made my Tribute Games. Her name is Lawless, she sells weapons in MK but in Scott Pilgrim she seems to sell accessories
neutral · AI labelView post →Think YOU have what it takes? Mercenary Kings is available on PC and Consoles 👑 mercenarykings.com
neutral · AI labelView post →www.twitch.tv/dr_dubz God... You ever just wanna play a game from 10+ years ago... like Mercenary Kings? You ever just wanna play Mercenary Kings? I do. so I'm gonna.
positive · AI labelView post →Pros: -Nice sprites -Melees and rolls add some depth to combat -I like the robot character Cons: -Game design is too old-school for me -Can't shoot down unless in air, can't shoot diagonally [lots of flying enemies you can't hit because they are at odd angles but will still hit you] (mouse/joystick aiming is a thing now fyi) -Enemies respawn the second you leave a screen -Take damage upon collision with mobs (the guy doesn't have spikes and isn't on fire, so why am I taking damage?…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its great, played thru the whole game, a bunch of things could be better that are explained in other reviews. not that long ago there was alot less on steam in the pixel art platformer department and this was a stand out for its time of release
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's Skullgirls by a mile, at over 1600 hours. There's always some way to push your game to the next level, and there's always a strategy and combination of characters you can put together that's effective and no one has tried before. Next is Guilty Gear Strive, at over 700 hours, and the Roman Cancel system is so deep that there's always room to be clever with it. Looking at some other games I've played a ton, besides fighting games, I could probably sink hundreds more hours into Baldur's…
neutral · AI labelView post →Not exactly a rougelite, but there is an rpg game like Metal Slug - [Mercenary Kings](https://store.steampowered.com/app/218820/Mercenary_Kings_Reloaded_Edition/)
neutral · AI labelView post →I am a bit conflicted about this game. At first, the game was enjoyable, but the more I played the less I wanted to continue, especially in the later ranks. There are certain things that the game does that do not make it as fun as it should be. I will be breaking it down. Just so it is known, I played the whole game in Single Player, even if you wanted to play online, there aren't people playing at all. First off, this game is a Resource Gathering game with a Run and Gun coat of paint put on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Perfect ... I mean ... just P-E-R-F-E-C-T !!! I couldn't imagine more. Outstanding graphics. Hammering Sound FX. Varied Levels. Unmatched character moddability. Wonderfull Score. Couch Coop Crazy. Secrets everywhere. Easy to learn - hard to master. Just one more try. Precise controls. Hard as nails. You will love it (at times). You will hate it (at times). This is the AAA standard for Run'n'Gun games. Period. If you have any preference for the genre YOU ARE MISSING OUT, if you don't GET THIS…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Initial review was more mitigated but I was hoping to play it multiplayer online with me + 2 friends on another shared network Apparently it's just not functional that way. Very big disappointment. As a solo game it's ok but I don't think I'll keep playing after all. Original review : =================== Far from perfect but I like it for what it is and plan to complete it still (halfway in so far)3/5: MetalSlug/Contra meets Monster Hunter with really pretty art and satisfying loot and craft…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Too repetitive and unpolished.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its a fun no nonsense Shooting game, reminds me alot of metal slug and i loved that its multiplayer and has customization options for your guns. Just a blast to play and waste some time on.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game feels clunky unresponsive. Gameplay is extremly boring, uninspiring. Its like bread and butter all over repetitive....
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A slow grind of fetch quests and tedious combat with little challenge.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →RPG Metal Slug. Or at least it wants to be. It works pretty well, has fun co-op, but I found it to be a bit long to complete in one go (not just one session). Having too much content is definitely a good problem to have,
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome co-op game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →God I haven't thought about Mercenary Kings in years. I don't think many people were prepared for a fully Paul Robertson pixel art Metal Slug game to also be a Monster Hunter, oddly
neutral · AI labelView post →I could see myself having fun in this co-op but I can't really see anyone getting together four people to play a niche monster hunter progression metal slug run-and-gun game, solo it just doesn't have much bite and for how much damage you take I'd probably like more visible collision on bosses especially when you have to roll under their legs from rather close
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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