Knight Squad Review
Matt Wilt
So, what did you think of Knight Squad?
Ryan Johnson
For what it's worth, as a free XBL Gold download, it's a fun time. I'm sure a full squad is a blast, with the trash talking and such.
But unfortunately, I found some of the features to hamper my excitement in the game. With one hit kills, corner respawns, no running, and mazes to the goal, it was frustrating. I found myself in a corner, with a crossbow powerup permanent in a bottleneck. I wasn't good with the bow but couldn't get out without it. Was rather frustrating.
Matt Wilt
I feel that the corner spawns can get ugly if a team can push you into it and keep you there, but the invulnerability on spawn helps with that. I don't like that the walls only block some projectiles, and that sword swings can go through them. I think this is a good alternative to the PS4's Towerfall Ascension game.
One of the coolest parts is the local multiplayer appears to support up to 8 players, which I think is the max for controller support.
Ryan Johnson
I like a game that maxes out the controllers. Glad to see that. But, you don't see eight controllers in one place often. Good college dorm game? I tried the soccer. It was straightforward enough, but played like a poor man's Rocket League. That game was a surprise sleeper hit, so it's hard to top.
Matt Wilt
I guess. I think 4 is a solid amount though. You will always have 8 knights at a time, some just might be bots.
Ryan Johnson
The bots ran the gamut between smart and foolish. They'd make a beeline for me some times, and others run circles around me. But the game is made for multi, so it's really not a big issue.
Matt Wilt
Yeah. All of the modes are kinda cumbersome, but that is what makes them fun. My least, and most, favorite is the Juggernaut mode. You have the machine gun and shield. Super tough to beat, and the bots add some "skill levels" to the modes. As you said, some are super inept and end up feeding points to the good bots, so part of that is intercepting them. The challenge modes full of enemies are challenging. They don't really tell you the objective, so you just have to figure it out. There is one with worms where you had to keep hitting an orb in each worm, but the threshold is high enough where you can't confirm 100% on your first several plays.
Ryan Johnson
Those obtuse objectives though. There's a "destroy the crystals" mode. The boys were hacking away with noted sound effects and animations. I would get to one and hear a rinky "chink chink" before getting one hit killed. Never figured that out, and it got frustrating charging across the map to the target just to die and respawn over and over.
Matt Wilt
That's an important thing to note as far as game design goes. There is a balance between "let players figure it out" and "tell them exactly how to do it". I think this game definitely went the former route, and suffers slightly for it.
Ryan Johnson
Another problem of the digital age: no manuals. Maybe these modes would have fit in the NES era when instructions came with the game. Perhaps there's a deeper instruction menu, tutorial, or official website.
Matt Wilt
Possibly. It would fit with the vibe if they made a digital 8-bit manual to explain the game. It would not be super intrusive, and wouldn't affect the rest of the game at all. I also see there is some add-ons for it. Don't think I will be getting them, but they sound interesting.
Ryan Johnson
What is available? Are the add-ons priced well?
Matt Wilt
I didn't look too in-depth, but there was a splash screen in the Free Xbox Live version.
Ryan Johnson
And as a free XBL game, it's always worth adding to your purchase history. Not a game for someone who has very few gamer friends, and better for local MP groups, but fun can be had by all with enough patience.
Matt Wilt
Yeah. It does have online matchmaking. So if you enjoy those small games akin to Bomberman, this is definitely worth a pickup. I feel the price, $14.99, might be a little high for the experience though. What do you think?
Ryan Johnson
A little steep, but again, free right now, so that's good.
Matt Wilt
Everything considered; price, number of players, game modes, mechanics, what would you rate the game?
Ryan Johnson
There's a lot to enjoy if you get past my frustrations, but the reliance on multiplayer drops it a notch for me. I'd say 3.5/5
Matt Wilt
I would say, for the "local party game" category.
Score 4 out of 5
Thanks to the publisher for supplying a code for review.