King of Thieves

King of Thieves is a game obsessed with locks. Not because its protagonist is a criminal or its main aim is pilfering, but because they make up the game's energy system.

It's an odd one, and it makes what should be an enjoyably free hardcore platformer into something a little more staccato.

There's still fun to be had here, and the multiplayer component, which sees you nabbing loot from other player's dungeons, is still engaging. Just be prepared to wait or pay more often than you might like.

Cheese it, it's the feds

The game is essentially a series of bite-sized auto-runner levels. They're full of spikes, spinning saws, cannons, and other obstacles that you need to bypass to get to the treasure at the end.

You sprint automatically, and you jump by tapping anywhere on the screen. Bouncing off a wall changes the direction you're heading, and there's the obligatory wall-leaping and sliding as well.

There are green blobs to pocket, which act as XP, and a star-rating system based on how many retries it takes you to finish a level.

You also need to build your own dungeon to protect an idol that generates gems. The player who generates the most points from combining gems in a set time wins a big reward, so protecting your stash is important.

At the same time you can raid other player's dungeons instead of focusing on the single player game. You'll still need those keys to get in though.

Half inch

There's a really great idea in King of Thieves. Nicking stuff from other players makes for some interesting asynchronous bouts of play, and trying to stake your place at the top of the leaderboard is a lot of fun.

But just when you're getting into things, you run out of keys and have to wait for them to regenerate, or watch a video to grab a couple more.

King of Thieves is fun, and it'll keep you entertained for a while, but you can't help but think how good it could have been if it had taken a different approach to monetisation.