Rise of Kingdoms Review: Is It Worth Playing in 2025?

Rise of Kingdoms is a real-time strategy game by Lilith Games, available on iOS, Android, and now PC. As a new player, you’ll start by building your own city from the ground up. You’ll collect resources, train troops, and make strategic choices to grow your civilization. It’s easy to get into, but there’s a lot of depth as you progress, making it a great choice if you enjoy games that mix base-building with strategy.

One of the greatest things about Rise of Kingdoms is that it features real historical commanders, each with their own unique skills and talents. As you play, you’ll unlock and level up these commanders to lead your troops in battle, whether you’re fighting barbarians or going up against other players.

I’ve been playing Rise of Kingdoms for more than 6 years, and in this article, I’ll share my personal feelings and experiences within the game. If you’re thinking about starting with Rise of Kingdoms, this may help you decide if it is the game for you.

Gameplay Overview

Right from the beginning, your city will be placed randomly on the map. The maps in Rise of Kingdoms are vast, taking several hours to march from one end to the other. While you can teleport, you’ll need teleport tokens, and they might be scarce at the beginning, so use them wisely.

Surrounding your city, you’ll find other players’ cities, resource nodes, and barbarians. Resource nodes range from levels 1-8, and barbarians vary from levels 1-40. Higher levels mean more resources or rewards.

The map operates on a free-for-all basis, allowing you to attack any player and seize resource nodes. This all-out war aspect adds excitement to the game, with plenty of areas to explore. Strength in Rise of Kingdoms is measured by power, which you can increase by leveling commanders, upgrading buildings, and training troops.

Alliance System

Rise of Kingdoms encourages players to join alliances for teaming up and securing territory.

In my opinion, alliances are one of the best parts of Rise of Kingdoms. They help you progress quicker and add a social side to the game that keeps things fun. You can chat with other members, make new friends, get help with tricky parts of the game, and work together during battles, which adds to the experience.

It’s important to stay active in your alliance, especially early on. Taking part in events and growing your power helps you stay competitive. Most strong alliances have power requirements, so logging in daily and showing progress is key if you want to keep your spot and grow with the alliance.

Commanders In Rise of Kingdoms

One thing I really appreciate about Rise of Kingdoms is that you get to play as actual historical leaders instead of fictional ones. There are well-known commanders like Guan Yu and Sun Tzu, along with others such as Alexander the Great, Liu Che, and William Wallace. Each of them is based on a real figure from history, representing the civilizations they once led. If you’re a history enthusiast like me, this aspect of the game makes it even more enjoyable.

Commanders in the game have different rarities, ranging from common green to legendary orange. Each one possesses a unique set of skills, troop specializations, and talents. You have the flexibility to customize commanders based on your individual playstyle.

If you’re unsure about how to build your commanders, we have a dedicated section for Rise of Kingdoms builds that you can explore.

Kingdom vs Kingdom Seasons

All the resource gathering, troop training, and commander leveling in Rise of Kingdoms lead to more than just battling AI barbarians. This is where KVK seasons come into play.

KVK seasons kick off when an alliance captures the Lost Temple after completing the initial monument quests. During KVK seasons, kingdoms gain access to another map, playing alongside other kingdoms for the season’s duration. The main objective is for the kingdom to collaborate in controlling the Great Ziggurat, earning fantastic rewards while defending against alliances from other kingdoms (or coalitions in the Season of Conquest).

This part of Rise of Kingdoms is the essence of the game and, in my opinion, the most enjoyable. KVK involves extended intense battles that truly put your commanders to the test.

Is Rise of Kingdoms Pay-to-Win?

In short, yes, Rise of Kingdoms is considered a pay-to-win game. In-game bundles are available for purchase, offering essential items like gems, speedups, resources, legendary heads, and more to help boost your power and advance your commanders and city quickly. You can obtain the premium currency, “gems,” without spending any money. You have the option to gather gems from nodes or take part in events that occasionally offer gems as rewards.

In player vs. player battles, individuals who have spent a significant amount of money on their commanders and equipment (referred to as “whales”) often have an advantage. However, this doesn’t necessarily make the game unenjoyable.

Strategy plays a big role in Rise of Kingdoms. If you’re part of a well-organised alliance and work together as a team, you can take down even the strongest spenders. It’s not just about individual power, victories are earned through teamwork and coordination. That said, in one-on-one fights, players who’ve spent more will usually have the upper hand.

Being F2P Isn’t A Bad Thing

Free-to-play players (F2P) can still fully enjoy Rise of Kingdoms, even with the presence of many pay-to-win players. An important factor to consider is that, if you’re part of an alliance with spenders, you’ll receive an alliance chest when they make purchases.

These chests contain valuable items like VIP points and speed-ups, which can significantly aid your progress as a free-to-play player. In essence, the presence of pay-to-win players can enhance your gaming experience rather than detract from it.

Regardless, if you invest time and effort into building your account organically, using gems wisely, actively participating in events, and levelling up the right commanders, you can still develop strong open field marches and powerful commanders for battles. I’ve personally played as a low spender (under $100) throughout my 6 years of playing, and while progression may be slower, consistency pays off. By the time you reach the Season of Conquest KVK, you can have a large troop count and several meta marches. 

Summary: Is Rise of Kingdoms Worth Playing in 2025?

I genuinely think Rise of Kingdoms is still a great game to play in 2025. Lilith Games continues to roll out new events, commanders, and features that keep things fresh. Personally, I’ve been playing for a while now and still find it fun and engaging. I can’t say there are many other mobile games I have been playing for this length of time. 

When it comes to mobile strategy and civilisation games, Rise of Kingdoms easily makes my top five. The gameplay is very addictive, making it one of those games that’s hard to put down.

For those choosing to play as free-to-play, it’s important to note that there will be a fair amount of grinding to collect sufficient resources and legendary commander sculptures to stay competitive. It’s possible to feel overpowered by players who spend money in the early stages if you don’t invest enough time. However, by staying active, playing strategically, and levelling up efficiently, there’s no reason why you can’t fully enjoy everything Rise of Kingdoms has to offer.

We’ve put together a lot of Rise of Kingdoms guides on the site, so if you want to dive deeper into the game, feel free to check out our full collection here.