Mercenary Kings is a 4-player cooperative side-scrolling run-'n-gun shooter in the vein of classic arcade shoot-em-ups such as Contra and Metal Slug. An early access version has been on Steam since July of 2013, giving players the ability to play through some of the game.
General Gameplay
The player moves the character left and right and can fire their weapon in both directions as well as straight up. The character can also stab with a knife for melee combat as well as perform a defensive roll maneuver. The game also has items that the player can buy and sell such as rations and first-aid, bombs and grenades, and shields.
Starting out at a camp, players can gather supplies, craft new weapons, and then set out on a mission. Missions take place in set areas that the player is transported to, and they must fulfill that mission's objective within a time limit. They are then taken back after completion or failure to do it all over again.
Missions
There are a variety of missions in the game, with each mission belonging to a set that increases in difficulty as you complete them. Each mission has a specific objective that will complete the mission and send the player back to their camp upon finishing it, but there are also sub-objectives and even secret ones sometimes.
Every mission in the game is timed and should this run out, the mission will be failed, sending the player back to the camp, where they can retry. Also, there are infirmaries located around the maps used for each mission, where the player will be sent to should they run out of health. The player only has four lives per mission attempt, with their pay being cut each time; the mission ends in failure if they die if they die four times.
Weapon Crafting
The player also has the ability to upgrade attributes and craft weapons by collecting materials that can be found in containers and crates or dropped by defeated enemies. Each weapon has six different parts that can be upgraded, with the scope and barrel being two examples.
