King's Heir: Rise to the Throne, sometimes known as Kingmaker: Rise to the Throne, is a Hidden Object Adventure Game developed by Cordelia Games and published by Artifex Mundi.
Brothers Edmund and Randall Ulmer, royal squires, return from a hunting trip with their King only to discover he has been assassinated, with the brothers pinned as the culprits. With no heirs in sight, the Kingdom of Griffinvale falls into chaos as conspirators try to take over while others try to rebel. Forced to separate and go on the run, their quest to clear their names uncovers secrets of the kingdom. Only the rightful heir can save the kingdom, but first, he must be found.
The game was originally released on Steam (and later Big Fish Games) for Windows and iOS on May 29th, 2018 and was later released for the Playstation 4 and Xbox One on December 13th and on Nintendo Switch on December 20th of the same year. A DLC expansion, Act of Deceit was later released, taking place shortly after the events of the main game.
This game contains examples of:
- Achievement System: There are several achievements in the game, from collecting all the collectibles, to solving puzzles in certain amounts of time.
- Ancient Artifact: The crown of the first King, which legend says is enchanted.
- Black Cloak: William is pictured wearing one when he takes baby Randall away and gives him to the Ulmer family.
- Canon Name: Technically you can name the protagonist whatever you want, as his name is never mentioned in-game, however, the preset name is Edmund, and he is referred to by that name in all the game summaries and walkthroughs.
- Death by Childbirth: Rose, Randall's birth mother, dies giving birth.
- Frame-Up: The plot begins with the Ulmer brothers framed for the King's murder.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: The Queen turns out to be the leader of the coup, and her short solo reign throws the kingdom into chaos.
- Hanging Around: At one point Edmund is hanged, although the attempt is unsuccessful.
- Hearts Are Health: In some of the fights against conspirator knights, their health is represented by three hearts. They lose a heart each time you successfully complete a puzzle.
- Hidden Backup Prince: Randall was raised secretly by one of the King's advisors (without even the King knowing) in a fishing village.
- Hidden Object Game: Some of the puzzles are hidden object types.
- In Medias Res: The first scene is Edmund getting hanged, then the game backtracks to earlier that day and leads up to the hanging before moving on.
- Meaningful Name: Badrick is, well... bad. He's one of the main players in the coup.
- Missing Mom: Aside from being mentioned in backstory, the Ulmer matriarch is never mentioned. Neither of the brothers try to go to her, and Randall only mentions their father being able to help them, not mom, so it's unclear if she's alive, dead, or just left.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The King realizes that his decision to have his son lead a crusade so he could exile his son's commoner wife without him knowing directly resulted in the Prince's death. This led to him mourning and stricken with guilt for decades, allowing the kingdom to grow weak and others to manipulate him.
- Nominal Importance: Only Badrick, Edmund, Randall, Rose and William are named. Rose dies, but the others live. Every unnamed character dies.
- Our Gryphons Are Different: The griffin that Griffinvale is named for appears to be a classical version, except it lacks the ears they are known for.
- Parental Abandonment: The Ulmer brothers' father is dead, their mother is never seen, and Randall's birth parents, the Prince and Rose, are also both dead.
- Parental Marriage Veto: The King was against the Prince marrying a commoner, but the Prince married her anyway against his father's wishes. This led to the King exiling the girl behind his son's back.
- Really Royalty Reveal: Randall is revealed to be the lost Prince.
- Regicide: The king is killed by his own guards.
- Rightful King Returns: The end of the game is Randall becoming King of Griffinvale.
- Rust-Removing Oil: Finding a nail to hold pieces in place requires using some generic oil, which takes away all the rust.
- Taken for Granite: The Queen turns to wood after putting on the crown of the first King, showing she isn't the rightful ruler.
- Unnamed Parent: Neither of the Ulmer parents are named, only referred to as mother and father.
- You Killed My Father: Edmund finds his father dead in their home, and swears revenge on whoever killed him.
