Tabletop-inspired RPG sequel For the King 2 getting a closed beta next week

eurogamer.net:

For the King 2 — the sequel to IronOak Games' wonderful tabletop-RPG-meets-digital-board-game adventure — is getting a closed beta next week, and registration is now open.

IronOak's follow-up — which pits players against the kingdom of Fahrul's tyrannical queen 20 years after the end of the first game — is, from what's been shown so far, less a bold new direction for the series and more a deepening of the original's already hugely entertaining core.

That means another light-hearted, optionally co-operative rogue-like adventure blending familiar RPG staples — dungeon crawling, questing, turn-based exploration and combat, loot acquisition, and so on — with some neat story generation through randomised narrative events.

Only this time we get new biomes, a new art-style, expanded local and online co-op for up to four players, recruitable mercenaries and pets, deeper customisation options across classes, armour, and weapons, plus a new, more strategic lane-based combat system. Oh, and map-traversing landboats, because why not?

For the King 2 is currently expected to release for PC sometime later this year, but ahead of its full launch, IronOak and publisher Curve Digital are giving players a taste of its overhauled action as part of a closed beta next week. Participants will be able to play the first of the full game's five adventures either solo or in co-op multiplayer, taking their pick from a small selection of character classes: Blacksmith, Scholar, Hunter, Stableboy, Herbalist, and Alchemist (the latter two unlockable though gameplay).

«This closed beta will help us understand how the game performs live with all of the variables that come with the real world player experience,» IronOak explained in a statement