Evony: The King's Return

Review by eFreeware

If you like the idea of running a city, raising an army and arguing strategy with other players late into the night, Evony: The King's Return is built for exactly that. It is a free real-time strategy MMO from TG Inc. where you pick a civilization, grow an empire and compete for control of seven kingdoms. The install numbers are hard to ignore: more than 100 million downloads and a 4.0 average across 832,003 ratings.

What that scale tells me is that this is a game designed to be lived in rather than finished. You are asked to be several things at once, from a city administrator watching resources and research to a commander sending troops across a map that updates as battles unfold. The developer leans on that breadth in its pitch, and it is the main reason the game has held attention since its release in August 2016.

The cost of entry is low. The game is free, there are no ads, and in-app purchases exist for game items. The store rating is Everyone 10+. If you are looking for a strategy game with a social layer rather than a solo campaign, this is the sort of thing that rewards a long commitment.

Seven civilizations, one architectural palette

One of the first choices you make is your civilization, and it is largely a matter of taste. There are seven to pick from: American, Chinese, European, Russian, Korean, Arabia and Japanese. The developer frames this as a way to customize the look of your city, so your empire's architecture reflects the culture you chose.

I like this as an opening decision because it gives a new player something personal before the numbers start piling up. It also sets a visual tone for everything you build afterward, which matters in a game where you will spend a lot of time looking at your own city.

For players who care about how a strategy game looks and feels as much as how it plays, that menu of styles is a genuine draw. It is a small thing, but it is the kind of small thing that keeps a city builder from feeling interchangeable.

Managing a city, a treasury and a research queue

The governor's role is the quiet backbone of the game. You administer cities within your empire, manage resources and direct research improvements. The developer describes this as using leadership skills to gain strategic advantages, which is a fair way of saying that the player who plans ahead tends to come out on top.

This is the part of Evony that will appeal to people who enjoy spreadsheets as much as swords. Resources have to be gathered and allocated, and research takes time, so there is a rhythm of checking in, adjusting and waiting. If you prefer instant action, the administrative layer may feel like a chore, but it is what gives the battles their stakes.

I would expect the city side to be where new players either click with the game or drift away. The developer has built the whole experience around the idea that a strong economy funds a strong army, and that logic runs through everything you do.

Troops, siege engines and battles you can watch

When it comes time to fight, the game offers more than four types of troops, ranging from infantry to massive siege engines. You select and train them, then send them against your enemies. The developer promises that battles play out in real time on an animated world map, so you can watch the fighting unfold around you rather than reading a summary afterward.

That real-time presentation is a meaningful part of the appeal. Seeing an army move across a map, and knowing that other players are doing the same thing at the same moment, creates a sense of a living world.

The troop variety suggests room for different approaches, whether you favor a grinding ground force or heavy siege equipment. I would expect players who enjoy tuning compositions and countering what their opponents bring to get the most out of this side of the game.

Generals pulled from the history books

Evony recruits famous historical figures as generals, and the roster is deliberately wide. Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, King Arthur, Charles the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Oda Nobunaga and Yi Sun-sin are among the names available, with more to find. They assist with battles and with the development of your cities.

The twist is that generals can be captured from enemies and turned against their own leaders. That adds a competitive edge to collecting them: a strong roster is not just something you build, it is something you can take from someone else. These figures battle across the world in real time, which ties the collection system directly to the map.

For players who enjoy assembling a cast of characters and giving them roles, this is likely to be one of the more engaging layers. It also gives the game a historical flavor that distinguishes it from a generic fantasy setting.

Alliances, voice chat and auto-translation

The social side of Evony is built around alliances, and the developer treats diplomacy as a first-class role. Joining a strong alliance lets you make friends and communicate in real time through voice and text, with auto-translations available so that players speaking different languages can coordinate. The stated goal is to improve strategies and win large battles together.

Auto-translation is the detail that stands out to me. A game with this many players across the world would otherwise fragment into language silos, and the developer's approach is to lower that barrier so alliances can function across borders.

If you enjoy the political side of strategy games, the alliance layer may end up being the reason you stay. Coordinating with other people, dividing roles and planning attacks is a different pleasure from managing your own city, and the game treats both as legitimate ways to play.

Survivor levels and finger controls

Not everything in Evony is empire management. The game also includes survivor levels where you move, dodge and shoot, acquiring weapons and evolving them as you go. Flexible finger controls and a puzzle-solving element feature within these sections.

This is a noticeably different mode of play from the strategic map. It is more immediate and reflex-driven, and it gives the game a change of pace for players who want something to do between longer-term decisions. It is one of the game's distinctive features, and it does set Evony apart from strategy games that stay entirely in the planning layer.

I would treat these levels as a complement rather than the main event. They add variety, but the empire, the alliances and the generals remain the core of what the game is.

Who will settle in for the long haul

This is a game for people who like persistent worlds. If you enjoy logging in to check research, adjust production and coordinate with an alliance, the structure will feel familiar and rewarding. The 4.0 rating across a very large number of reviews suggests that plenty of players have found something worth staying for.

It is also a game that asks for patience. The social layer depends on other people being active. Someone who wants a complete experience in a few sittings will find the pace frustrating, while someone who enjoys the slow accumulation of advantage will find plenty to do.

The historical generals and the civilization choices give it personality, and the survivor levels give it variety. Between those elements and the alliance system, there is enough here to justify the install if the genre appeals to you at all.

A long-term commitment with a low entry price

Evony: The King's Return is free to download and has no ads, with in-app purchases available for game items. In-app purchases can be disabled in your device settings if you prefer not to use them. The game has been updated recently with bug fixes and improvements, so it is still being worked on.

For a strategy MMO that has been running since 2016, the combination of a free entry point and a large, established player base is the main argument in its favor. You can try it without spending anything and decide later whether the game's pace and social demands suit you.

My recommendation is straightforward: install it if you want a city-building strategy game with real opponents, alliance politics and a historical cast. If you prefer self-contained strategy games you can finish on your own schedule, the persistent, real-time nature of this one is the thing to weigh before you start.

What's new in version 5.36.0

- Bug fixes and improvements