You know that feeling when you think you’ve mastered a game, and then the developers just... shift the ground under your feet? That's exactly what happened with the Kingdom Two Crowns Call of Olympus expansion. Honestly, after Shogun and Dead Lands, I thought I knew the loop. Build walls. Recruit peasants. Cry when the Greed steals your crown. But the Mediterranean setting isn't just a skin; it's a mechanical overhaul that makes the base game feel almost like a tutorial.
Most players jump in expecting the same slow burn. They're wrong.
The Mount Olympus Problem
The first thing you’ll notice is the scale. We aren't just hopping between random islands anymore. In Kingdom Two Crowns Call of Olympus, the map is a literal journey toward the peak of Mount Olympus. It feels more linear in its objective but way more complex in its execution. You have these massive "God Quests" that replace the standard "survive until you find the boat" rhythm.
Winning over Artemis or Dionysus isn't just flavor text. It’s survival.
I spent three hours yesterday trying to figure out why my economy was stalling out near the second temple. It turns out the greed spawns are tuned differently here. They are aggressive. Like, "first-week-blood-moon" aggressive. If you aren't using the new oracle system to predict where the pressure is coming from, you’re basically just donating your gold to the monsters.
The New Greed Variants are Terrifying
Let's talk about the enemies. We’ve all dealt with the standard Greedlings. They're annoying, sure. But Call of Olympus introduces these multi-lane threats that require a level of micro-management the series hasn't seen before.
It’s stressful.
The scale of the "Greed Storms" is objectively larger. You can’t just sit behind a wall and hope your archers have good aim. You have to actively use the new mounts—like the Cerberus or the Pegasus—to intervene. The Pegasus, specifically, has this gust ability that can reset a collapsing line. Without it? You’re toast. The game forces you to be a commander, not just a king who drops coins.
Why the Economy Feels Different This Time
In previous biomes, you could sort of "solve" the economy. Once you had enough farms and a few pikemen fishing, you were basically a billionaire. Kingdom Two Crowns Call of Olympus breaks that. The terrain is more vertical. It’s rocky.
Space is a luxury.
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You’ll find yourself agonizing over whether to clear a patch of forest for a farm or keep the hermit hut nearby. Because the islands are designed around the "Call" to the mountain, the resources are tucked away in niches that require more exploration. You have to take risks. You have to leave your walls at night more often than you’d like.
I've seen some people on Reddit complaining that the gold drop rate feels lower. It’s not. It’s just that the costs of the Divine Artifacts are massive. You're spending on "God Powers" now, not just stone walls.
The Artifact System
This is the real meat of the DLC. You find these artifacts. They give you powers. One lets you call down lightning. Another buffs your knights to a degree that makes them actually useful for once.
But there’s a catch.
Using these powers isn't free. It’s a resource management game within a resource management game. If you spam the lightning to clear a small wave, you won't have it when the Breeders show up. It adds a layer of tactical decision-making that honestly makes the original game feel a bit thin by comparison.
Don't Ignore the Oracle
If you take one piece of advice away from this: listen to the Oracle. In the base game, exploration was mostly about finding the dog or the gems. Here, the Oracle provides specific tasks that unlock the path to the final confrontation.
It's a narrative.
You are basically rebuilding a fallen mythic empire. Every time you complete a task for a god, the environment changes. The lighting shifts. The music—which is incredible, by the way—swells into these orchestral themes that make you feel like you're actually doing something important. It’s less about "surviving the night" and more about "reclaiming the light."
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Common Mistakes to Avoid in Call of Olympus
- Rushing the boat. In Norse Lands, rushing was a viable strategy. In Olympus, if you leave an island without securing the favor of the local deity, you are going to get crushed on the next one.
- Ignoring the Phalanx. The new soldier types are specialized. The Phalanx can hold a line against heavy units better than standard knights, but they’re slow. Position them early.
- Forgetting the "Bread" mechanic. If you aren't using the baker hermit to lure vagrants from the far edges of the map, your population will never grow fast enough to man the catapults you'll need for the late-game sieges.
The difficulty spike on the fourth island is legendary. I’ve seen veteran players lose their crowns in under ten minutes because they didn't account for the flying Greed variants that ignore walls entirely. You need fire. You need towers. You need to be ready to lose everything and rebuild.
The Visual Overhaul
Can we just appreciate the pixel art for a second? The way the marble reflects in the water is genuinely beautiful. Raw Fury and Styx have pushed the "Kingdom" engine to its absolute limit here. The sunsets look like a painting. It’s almost distracting. You’ll be staring at the background and forget that a wave of Greed is about to smash your outer wall.
The Verdict on the Ending
Without spoiling it, the finale at the top of the mountain is the most intense sequence in the entire franchise. It’s not just a big wave of enemies. It’s a multi-stage battle that tests everything you’ve learned about troop positioning and power timing.
It’s satisfying.
Most "Kingdom" games end with a bit of a whimper—you just sort of finish the last cave and that’s it. Kingdom Two Crowns Call of Olympus gives you a proper climax. It feels earned.
Actionable Next Steps for Your Run
If you’re starting a new campaign today, do these three things immediately. First, prioritize finding the Pegasus mount; its ability to knock back enemies is the single most important defensive tool in the early game. Second, don't spend your gems on every statue you see; save them specifically for the Artemis and Zeus upgrades, as the archery and defense buffs are non-negotiable for the mountain climb. Finally, build your recruitment camps as close to your walls as possible using the bread hermit, because the travel time for new citizens in the Olympus biome is much longer due to the rugged terrain.
Get your walls up. Keep your crown. The mountain is waiting.