The King is Watching

tinyBuild recently enjoyed huge success with The King is Watching, a roguelite kingdom builder developed by Hypnohead. No other game in their publishing history has attracted more concurrent players than this one, with a total of 17,988. So what makes The King is Watching so special?

In The King Is Watching, a roguelite kingdom-builder and strategy game featuring auto-battler and tower defense elements, the central gameplay mechanic is the royal gaze. This means that servants and citizens will only work when the royal gaze - the king's attention - is focused on them. Resource production, troop training and defence are only possible in buildings located within this limited field of vision, which players can control and change. Although the field of vision can be expanded over time, players must still decide where to focus their attention in order to gather resources, train troops, and use magical powers to defend the kingdom against enemies such as goblins, orcs, and dragons. Resource and kingdom management using the gaze takes place on the left of the screen, while combat is more focused on the right. As combat is automated, the main challenge lies in the strategic management of resources, focusing attention and preparing for or countering attacks using different troops, defence buildings and magic.

Between waves of attacks, players must efficiently manage their kingdom by optimising the placement of buildings and using their 'royal gaze' effectively. Players must also establish production chains and acquire materials to construct the strongest buildings and recruit the most powerful warriors. Added to this are the royal council's tongue-in-cheek comments and decision-making events. However, these do not set the stage for a larger story. Aside from gathering resources and fending off waves of goblins and beasts, players will face bosses such as dragons, necromancers, and goblin warlords. Greater challenges include adapting to tougher threat levels and random blueprints, artefacts and spells encountered during each run, as well as choosing from multiple kings, advisors and unlockable upgrades.

The game features a roguelite progression system. With each failed run, players unlock new abilities, kings (three in total) and strategic options. This adds variety and replayability, although more options would be welcome. Especially since it's not that easy to get started.

Since runs can take quite a long time, the lack of an in-run save option is one downside. However, the developers have responded to this issue and intend to implement a suitable feature.

"Thanks to this amazing launch, one thing is certain: we’re not done. We're already planning new content, updates, and improvements, with a free content update definitely in the works. We heard you: the ability to save mid-run is your top request, and it's something we're actively working on. Just like during the demo, our small team is reading every comment, review, and message. Your feedback shapes the game more than you know and your feedback reviews pushes us to keep building and improving. So whether it's a feature suggestion, a favorite unit you want buffed (we've seen the love for the Bumblebees hahaha), or just thoughts on your latest run, we want to hear it!" - Hypnohead

The King is Watching comes from Hypnohead Studio, a small indie development studio based in Serbia that is behind the Save the Reactor game. It is their second title. The publisher is tinyBuild, founded in 2011 as an indie game developer before morphing into a "developer publisher" focusing on PC and console titles. The company has released dozens of games, including Hello Neighbor, Graveyard Keeper and SpeedRunners. Although headquartered in the Seattle area of the USA, the company has a global presence, with studios in the US, the Netherlands, Latvia and Eastern Europe.

The King is Watching was released on 21 July 2025 for PC. It costs €14.99.

Conclusion

The King is Watching demonstrates how an innovative concept can deliver dynamic and engaging gameplay. This roguelite kingdom builder is definitely one to keep an eye on!

Features

• Dynamic kingdom builder with a unique gaze mechanic
• Diverse and varied runs
• Motivating roguelite progression