King Arthur: Knight's Tale is a tactical RPG where you have to kill the king

King Arthur: Knight's Tale is not actually about King Arthur at all. Sure, he's in it, wounded and with a death mark following him, but Mordred is in the spotlight this time, tasked with gathering the Knights of the Round Table and saving Avalon in turn-based tactical fights.

This reimagining of the Arthurian myth makes Mordred the saviour of Avalon, on a quest to finish off Arthur, given to him by the Lady of the Lake. Being a knight is a risky business, though, and any of the 30 heroes you can recruit may expire on the battlefield, permanently. They can turn against you, too, if they don't like the way you do things.

So as well as nurturing your knights—giving them the best loot, levelling them up, sending them off on glorious quests—you'll have to consider them when making decisions and try to avoid ruffling their feathers. Mordred is traditionally the Bad Guy, but here you get to decide what kind of man he is through moral choices.

Along with smashing monsters, you'll have to build up Camelot, beefing up your fortress and unlocking new upgrades for your knights. The base management and turn-based combat vaguely evokes XCOM, but it sounds like there's a lot more roleplaying, choice-laden story and exploration.

Aside from the grim 'n' gothic setting, King Arthur: Knight's Tale seems quite different from developer NeocoreGames' previous games, which are predominantly action-RPGs, like Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr and The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. This isn't the first time it's dabbled in the Arthurian legend, however, as it's also responsible for King Arthur: The Roleplaying Wargame, which combined roleplaying with a Total War-style strategy game. Quite a bit of what Creative Assembly did with Warhammer, NeocoreGames had already done years before.

NeocoreGames has decided to go down the Kickstarter route this time, and it's looking for £115,000. It's already in a playable state, however, and in full development, so possibly a less risky prospect than a good idea and some concept art.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.