The King is Watching: Crowns of History

In July 2025, independent studio Hypnohead released an original strategy game with tower defense and roguelite elements titled The King is Watching, in which our subjects perform their duties only when we watch them. Its success led to the creation of the first add-on titled Crowns of History.

New features in the add-on

The King is Watching: Crowns of History introduces three new rulers drawn from the pages of history.

Cleopatra

The list opens with Cleopatra, who, as the King of Death, uses Canopic urns (extracted from the bodies of fallen allies or enemies) to summon random units inspired by ancient Egypt. The death of some of them triggers powerful effects, such as a scarab explosion or a cobra-mage casting a powerful spell. In addition, the "ruler of the Nile" has the so-called Pharaoh's blessing, which allows her to resurrect some of her subordinates.

Tang Taizong

Second place in this list goes to Tang Taizong, whose offensive builds gain a 2 percent bonus to damage for each point of morale. In addition, he can man gates and walls with crossbowmen (not affecting the unit limit), has a brickyard plan at his disposal (so he can repair fortifications right from the start), and the Emperor's Wrath and Divine Punishment skills allow him to increase the attack speed of buildings and raze enemies with lightning.

Xerxes

The last position went to Xerxes, whose troops are as powerful as they are vulnerable. Admittedly, his forces receive a 90 percent penalty to health, but on the other hand they deal correspondingly more damage. At the same time, the so-called ephemeral presence provides his troops with temporary invulnerability, he can summon immortals to a designated location, and the sands of time ability allows him to reset the cooldown of all skills. Complementing all of this are enhancements to evasions, increased attack ranges and synergies, which are unlocked by completing his missions.