It is not often that we take a look at games made by big time developers such as King as we find them to be too formulaic and are for the mass market. In other words, you know what are you going to get and it rarely disappoints.

This is why Legend of Solgard is a bit of a surprise, as while it does have the DNA of the majority of King games, the game has enough depth that it can be classified as something between casual and hardcore. This is pretty much still a match three at its heart, but the RPG elements incorporated here give it more depth.

The rather serviceable plot behind Legend of Solgard has you taking on the role of a heroine who is equipped with a special disc that can summon monsters to do your bidding. You are tasked with saving humanity against monstrosities from beyond. With said creatures at your beck and call, you will be able to dispatch them by matching three or more of them together in a row or column. How you arrange them matters because the abilities and attacks differ, so knowing which formation to use and when will be imperative to victory. Your tactical options expand further as matching your monster in unorthodox patterns such as L shapes and squares also grant different bonuses. It is even possible to combine two different monsters as long they match certain requirements such as having the same hue.

Speaking of the monsters, there is a rather sizeable number of them, categorised accordingly into four colours. Each category of monsters then have their own unique skillset and abilities, so mixing and matching the right combination of units for the battles ahead are important as well. You essentially want a balanced team that serves your needs and purposes.

You never run out of tasks to complete here in Legend of Solgard, with daily challenge, special events, leagues and raids to partake in. While it is perfectly possibly to play this casually, there is enough here for the hardcore audience to sink their teeth into.

As with all all free to play games from big developers, there is one issue here that needs to be addressed. The game can be rather RNG-heavy at times, as it sometimes screw you over by dealing you with a bad hand. While you can just retry the mission, doing so consumes precious stamina. Fail enough times and you will find yourself exhausted before you are supposed to be. At this stage you face the choice of just not playing or spend currency to continue playing. While we have nothing against the monetisation mechanics of free to play games, making players cough up dough just to play is not a practice we can condone. That said, for the rest of the game, it is possible to get by without spending a single cent.