Rank 01Games like The King is Watching
- 31 games
- Updated Nov 9, 2026
Players who liked The King is Watching also play
The closest matches to The King is Watching: 9 Kings, Monsters are Coming!, The Ember Guardian, Tower Dominion, and Here Comes The Swarm. Ranked by imho.run from Steam co-play data, shared tags and reviews.
- Rank 01
Rank 02Why this
Also City Builder and Base Building, like The King is Watching.
- $8.99 (Price checked Nov 9)
- Deck Verified
- 2025
Rank 03Why this
Shares tower defense and permadeath with The King is Watching.
- $19.99 (Price checked Nov 7)
- Deck Verified
- 2026
Rank 04 
Tower Dominion
Why this: Shares tower defense and skill tree progression with The King is Watching.
Rank 05 
Rank 06 
The Gate Must Stand
Why this: Also Real Time Tactics and Base Building, like The King is Watching.
Rank 07 
Nordhold
Why this: Shares tower defense and roguelite progression with The King is Watching.
Rank 08 
Border Pioneer
Why this: Shares tower defense and wave based survival with The King is Watching.
The full ranked list: top 24 games like The King is Watching
Best match first, as plain text. The same list for AI assistants:
- 1
- 2Monsters are Coming!
Also City Builder and Base Building, like The King is Watching.
- 82% of 1,055 reviews
- 3
- 4Tower Dominion
Shares tower defense and skill tree progression with The King is Watching.
- 87% of 2,467 reviews
- 5
- 6The Gate Must Stand
Also Real Time Tactics and Base Building, like The King is Watching.
- 81% of 181 reviews
- 7Nordhold
Shares tower defense and roguelite progression with The King is Watching.
- 86% of 1,392 reviews
- 8Border Pioneer
Shares tower defense and wave based survival with The King is Watching.
- 85% of 211 reviews
- 9Diplomacy is Not an Option
Shares tower defense and resource management with The King is Watching.
- 84% of 4,634 reviews
- 10Thronefall
Shares tower defense and procedural generation with The King is Watching.
- 96% of 10,683 reviews
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17Against the Storm
Shares roguelite progression and procedural generation with The King is Watching.
- 95% of 18,297 reviews
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24He is Coming
Shares roguelite progression and boss fights with The King is Watching.
- 88% of 2,285 reviews
- Released: 2025
- Developer: Hypnohead
- Price: $14.99checked Nov 9
- Steam Deck: Deck Playable
- 90% of 3,028 reviews
- Genres: Strategy, Indie
- Platforms: Windows
Players highlight
- Challenging threat levels that reward skilled resource planning
- Gaze mechanic forces strategic spatial planning
- High replayability from randomized builds
- Atmospheric
- Challenging
- Contemplative
More games like The King is Watching, sliced differently
Reviewers mention these as similar to The King is Watching
Surfaced from review text: when other players write 'if you liked X, try Y', we catch the name and resolve it back to a Steam game.
They Are Billions
Why this: Shares procedural generation with The King is Watching.
203 new reviews this week- Trending
Frostpunk
Why this: Shares resource management with The King is Watching.
Module TD. Sci-Fi Tower Defense
Why this: Same stressful mood as The King is Watching.
Age of Empires: Definitive Edition
Why this: Also City Builder and RTS, like The King is Watching.
The Last Spell
Why this: Shares meta progression with The King is Watching.
Loop Hero
Why this: Also Dark Fantasy and Tactical, like The King is Watching.
The Settlers: New Allies
Why this: Also City Builder and Tactical, like The King is Watching.
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below The King is Watching at current Steam store prices.
Deep Among the Swarm
Why this: Shares tower defense and difficulty scaling with The King is Watching.
Hexguardian
Why this: Shares tower defense and wave based survival with The King is Watching.
clickyland
Why this: Shares tower defense and permadeath with The King is Watching.
From Glory To Goo
Why this: Also City Builder and RTS, like The King is Watching.
There Are No Orcs
Why this: Shares tower defense with The King is Watching.
Welcome Back, Commander
Why this: Also Real Time Tactics and RTS, like The King is Watching.
Drop Duchy
Why this: Shares roguelite progression and meta progression with The King is Watching.
Sineus Arena Survivors
Why this: Also Base Building and Tower Defense, like The King is Watching.
Free alternatives
Free games the recommender matches to The King is Watching, limited to titles with at least 500 Steam reviews and 80% positive.
Outpost
Why this: Shares tower defense and wave based survival with The King is Watching.
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
Why this: Also City Builder and RTS, like The King is Watching.
Dota 2
Why this: Also RTS and Tower Defense, like The King is Watching.
Bendy: Lone Wolf
Why this: Shares permadeath and roguelite progression with The King is Watching.
Plays great on Steam Deck
Valve-Verified or Playable picks from the similar pool — ready to go on Deck out of the box.
9 Kings
Why this: Shares tower defense and difficulty scaling with The King is Watching.
Monsters are Coming!
Why this: Also City Builder and Base Building, like The King is Watching.
The Ember Guardian
Why this: Shares tower defense and permadeath with The King is Watching.
About The King is Watching
The closest matches to The King is Watching: 9 Kings, Monsters are Coming!, The Ember Guardian, Tower Dominion, and Here Comes The Swarm. Ranked by imho.run from Steam co-play data, shared tags and reviews.
If The King is Watching is your kind of game, the closest matches are 9 Kings, Monsters are Coming! and The Ember Guardian — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers describe it as atmospheric, challenging and contemplative, and single out its artifact drop randomization and boss encounter variation. Each pick is ranked by what players of this game also play, shared genres and tags, and review-mined similarity — not a generic popularity list.
The King is Watching is a dark fantasy strategy roguelite developed by Hypnohead and published by tinyBuild, releasing in 2025 at $14.99. Players command a kingdom through a strategic gaze mechanic, balancing resource production against military development while adapting to unique events across procedurally generated runs. The game features randomized artifacts and diverse boss encounters that reward skilled resource management, with character progression and defense-building specialization providing layered strategic depth. Reviewers highlight the atmospheric and immersive quality of runs, while players note the challenging and sometimes punishing difficulty that scales with progression. The title supports solo play only and runs at playable status on Steam Deck, spanning a massive session length according to available data. Currently holding a 90% positive rating from over 3000 Steam reviews.
About The King is Watching: The King is Watching is a roguelite kingdom builder. Rule by the power of your royal gaze! Decide between producing resources, training armies, or balancing both, while adapting to unique events every run
Is The King is Watching worth buying?
Players recommend it
A summary of what players say, not a promise you'll like it. Every signal is listed below.
- 90% of 3,028 Steam reviews are positive.
- Last 30 days: 92% positive across 105 new reviews, in line with its all-time score.
- Price: $14.99 (checked Nov 10).
- People who recommend it had played a median of 23 h when they wrote their review.
- Critics had played a median of 30 h before turning negative, so complaints are about the long run, not the first hours.
- Steam Deck Playable: works, with some rough edges.
What fans praise · Themes mined from positive reviews
- Challenging threat levels that reward skilled resource planning
- Gaze mechanic forces strategic spatial planning
- High replayability from randomized builds
- High replayability with procedural boss and artifact variety
Top critical reviews
The most up-voted negative English reviews in our sample, quoted as written.
“Worst progression system I've seen in a game. The game is much less interesting before you've unlocked things, so you have to play 40+ hours of tedium before getting the actual fun part. No thanks.”
“I want to recommend this game, but the grind is absurd and imbalance of resources is so frustrating. Most games use unlocks as a way to steadily introduce game mechanics while the player is learning the game. This game feels more like a…”
People who play it also play: 9 Kings, Monsters are Coming!, The Ember Guardian
Frequently asked about The King is Watching
Can I run it?
Does The King is Watching run on Steam Deck?
The King is Watching is rated Playable on Steam Deck — it runs, but expect some manual adjustments (control remapping, text size, or graphics settings) for the best experience.
How much does The King is Watching cost?
The King is Watching is listed on Steam at 14.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
What games are most similar to The King is Watching?
Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside The King is Watching are 9 Kings, Monsters are Coming!, The Ember Guardian.
Who developed The King is Watching?
The King is Watching was developed by Hypnohead and published by tinyBuild.