Honor of Kings (Wángzhě Róngyào) is a well-established franchise in China. First released as a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) title, it has been expanding its world. First, Honor of Kings made it to the West with an international adaptation, Arena of Valor, developed by Level Infinite. Then, the title was released in its original form globally and quickly became the highest-grossing mobile game in 2024 upon release. Then, it made a splash as a part of Prime Video’s animated anthology Secret Level, and now, it’s time for Honor of Kings World.
At GDC, TiMi Studio Group released a new trailer for the global title, but importantly, they held closed-door sessions for select press. Developed and published by TiMi Studio Group, a subsidiary of Tencent Games, Honor of Kings World is developed for global audiences that prioritizes combat diversity and Eastern Fantasy equally. More importantly though, it’s a cross-platform multiplayer, launching for PC and mobile, a franchise first.
While it’s simple to say that not many outside of Mainland China are aware of Honor of Kings’ impact, the mobile MOBA has exploded in esports, particularly when it comes to regions where mobile play isn’t stigmatized but often the primary course of competition thanks to cellphone connectivity versus established ISPs, chief among them, Latin America. With HoK hitting the top spot for downloaded games in Brasil and esports tournaments in the region, HoK has a global base. That said, United States audiences are beginning to understand the franchise’s depth now.
In it, you will encounter heroes from the original MOBA and explore the universe of Primaera, learning the stories of the heroes they meet. Working together, you unite to break “the chain of fate” and save the world, all as a student at Jixia Academy. This school connects with “the Wonders” and teaches its students the ways of “the Flux,” unique abilities that stem from mystical energy when paired with human emotions.
Players learn about the Wonders and “the Flow,” the same energy source that gives the Flux. It also sparked the creation of advanced technology and civilizations and, ultimately, their downfall via human greed and hatred. For you, that Flow is the base of your combat, and understanding it is where it all starts.
Seamless stance switching makes for dynamic and interesting combat during our GDC session.
In this action role-playing game (ARPG), players are able to wield two classes called Flows. Here, you embody two different characters’ combat styles, switching seamlessly with no animation lock from one to the other, with two independent health bars offering a reprieve in even the most difficult of boss battles.
While the explanation seemed too good to be true, in execution, the combat is the most fluid I have ever played, pushing its player to switch between classes. Each Flow stance has three unique abilities, and a special move that is executable when its gauge fills. The stances also fall into traditional constructions of high DPS and Support balanced against damage and sustainability. With ranged and melee available for DPS, the support classes include a traditional shield character, some with healing, and even a tank with a stellar block.
For my hands-on experience, I played through the initial scenario and then an optional combat scenario, which I repeated twice. Across the three combat sessions, I played with Flows that gave me high combo melee damage paired with healing, melee damage, and ranged damage (magical bow-and-arrow for the win). To wrap it up, I played with a character that resembled a tank with lower damage output, and the same ranged DPS Flow as previously.
Each composition of my combat felt wildly different. Giving players agency to define how they play, the dual Flow combat system allows you to play solo, even though Honor of Kings World is developed for multiplayer play. The combat itself is simple enough to get a handle on. Use your basic attacks to combo with your abilities and keep an eye on your health, positioning up when you can and strategically swapping your Flow when the situation calls for it. Additionally, because the developers have removed any lag time between switching Flows, your character build becomes even more important.
Whether you’re relying on each Flow independently of the other or building out unique combos between the two, both sides of your build matter. This gives depth to combat in Honor of Kings World that may seem intimidating but, in practice, is extremely natural. Swapping from one to another, it’s perfectly seamless. This leaves it up to the player to master the combinations and experiment with what works best.
A core element of the boss battle loop is breaking a boss’s stance, which stuns the boss and allows you a window to deal uninterrupted damage. But with that in play, it also causes the player to decide if they are going to use their special as soon as it accumulates or wait for the stun. That said, the most difficult element of the combat isn’t dealing damage; it’s avoiding boss attacks.
While beams are easy enough to dodge out of, lateral attacks that push our spinning fire blades or avoid burn effects on the ground, all require you to jump. Whether you’re jumping over the attack itself, the ability to perform combos in the air to elongate your airtime, or using the tether that moves you positionally, mastering this is crucial to survival and success.
None of my builds felt the same across my three boss encounters. Each one had a different pace, focus, and interaction with the previous Flow I was using before I switched them. Building variety is key when offering players many combat types to assign. While solo, it all feels perfect; only time will tell how the diverse and dynamic builds play with others to develop a meta and the end game, given that every Flow is only accessible once you’ve progressed and met the character it belongs to in the story.
Combat is thrilling, but culture is the cornerstone of Honor of Kings World.
Everything about Honor of Kings World’s combat is thrilling. It’s fast-paced and doesn’t allow the player to disconnect from the fight. But the other pillar that was highlighted in our behind-closed-doors preview at GDC was Chinese mythology and how it’s been used to build out the genre of Eastern Fantasy.
As the developers explained their goals, getting more players engrossed and interested in Chinese mythology was a high point. “Culture is at the heart of this game, so many aspects are designed with our culture in mind,” one of the TiMi Studio Group developers mentioned in our interview with him and during the presentation.
With studios like Light Chaser Animation and GKids bringing Chinese animated features based on mythology to the big screen in the US with the New Gods series and Chengdu Coco Cartoon’s recent Ne Zha 2 smashing global box offices, it’s clear that the interest is there, and Honor of Kings World stands to capitalize on that. As explained by the developer we spoke with, not only are the characters you meet inspired by mythological figures, but the bosses are, too.
The boss we tackled in the first part of the demo time was inspired by a traditional Chinese art form called bian lian (face-off or face-changing), which is popular in Chinese opera performances. In those operas, singers switch faces to portray different characters, and in Honor of Kings World, this boss did just that. At points throughout the fight, the boss would change his face, voice, and combat style, making the boss fight challenging and intriguing.
Additionally, Honor of King Worlds is simply gorgeous. Whether it’s in its cinematics or in its combat, everything is breathtaking. It’s hard not to fall in love with the saturated colors, combat animation, and boss designs. I mean, it’s hard not just to take a look at the beautifully crafted world and not want to fall into it for hours and hours.
Ultimately, Honor of Kings World is an exciting expansion on a successful IP and will surely capture players, just like its other titles in the franchise had. While the combat takes some learning, the time to master it is small, and the reward for exploring what combat build and style resonate with you is an exciting satisfaction. This is one title to add to your most anticipated list, and in a franchise first, it will be available on mobile and PC at launch.
Honor of Kings World doesn’t currently have a release date.