The Knightling Is A Missed Opportunity, A Review

When the word apprentice is mentioned in conversation, I immediately think of the story about a little boy named Lapitch, his boots, and the world that awaited him to explore as one great adventure. The Knightling attempts to deliver something similar, but in a slightly more modern form, akin to a video game. Instead of patched boots and a sewing needle, here the apprentice takes on a massive shield, almost larger than himself. With it, he takes on the responsibility of solving the problem that arose after his mentor suddenly disappeared, as the least experienced in the company.

The Knightling draws inspiration from modern 3D worlds in the style of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and then tries to merge that with ideas and mechanics typical of platformers from the PlayStation 2 era. 

On paper, that blend sounds excellent, and even the first impression after the introduction is promising. However, what should have been an exciting blend of old and new quickly turns into an experience that reveals all the weaknesses of poorly thought-out design, leaving the impression that the game does not know which path it wants to take.

If your are looking to play something completly different check out our Discounty review!

The Knightling Is A Promising Concept That Struggles in Execution

Our young, nameless squire has inherited a mysterious and talkative shield named Magnustego. He can use it in various ways—for sliding down slopes like a sled, for surfing and gliding, as well as for solving puzzles and fighting enemies. Whatever the apprentice does, the shield will always have something to comment on. At first, this feels charming, but it becomes tiring very quickly because it cannot be silenced. Ironically, the most enjoyable moments of The Knightling are those when Magnus the shield has not yet spoken.

There isn't much to say about the story. The mentor disappears and leaves you a mysterious shield, and your task as a knight-in-training is to go in search of him. The premise is straightforward, but the execution of the story is mediocre and definitely weaker than the gameplay itself. The game attempts to expand the world through collectible scrolls, but most of the time, they yield nothing particularly mysterious. 

Adding to that is the fact that the main characters are pretty shallow. The protagonist is anonymous and lacks a backstory or clear development. The lack of voice acting is not a catastrophe by itself, but it would have significantly helped strengthen the characters and create a sense of presence, since, aside from the shield, everyone else just mumbles.

Shallow Combat Mechanics Hold The Knightling Back

Basic mechanics such as blocking, parrying, and counterattacking are taken for granted in games of this type today, as is the development of new combat techniques and character progression. The Knightling also possesses all of these things, but on the other hand, it never delves into much complexity or requires a deeper strategy. That could otherwise be a positive thing, but for some reason, it still feels clumsy. This is most evident in combat, as that is the first place where the shortcomings become apparent.

Although the game offers various skills, from lifting enemies into the air to dodging and counterattacking, in practice, it all boils down to one basic and tedious button-mashing. It doesn't matter if it's the early hours of the game, later sections, or clashes with larger groups of enemies—the result is always the same: pounding the same key over and over again. To make matters worse, the parry timing follows no rhythm whatsoever. The shield's animation regularly lags, whether intentionally or not, which leads to frustration

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I often felt like a juggling ball because the game loves to throw multiple enemies at you at the same time, including those with projectiles. More often than not, bandits would literally stunlock me until they stripped away almost my entire life bar. And there were moments when the enemies behaved so slowly and clumsily that I bypassed them without any trouble.

Easy Mode Makes Battles More Bearable

Aside from the basic attack, the shield can be thrown when someone needs to be dealt with at a distance or height. That option is clumsy, as it deals very little damage on its own. The shield always returns like a boomerang, so the actual chances of dealing additional damage are almost negligible. The only real benefit is that the difficulty setting can be changed at any time. Easy mode saves the experience because shorter battles feel more fun, so on lower settings, encounters become easier to digest.

I have already mentioned that the shield can be used for moving through the world, and it is actually essential because without it, travel becomes slow and exhausting. Some locations are nearly impossible to reach. That mechanic simultaneously defines the entire game, as new possibilities are unlocked as the story progresses. 

Those are the most enjoyable moments, when you turn the shield into an improvised sled and slide downhill at high speed. The only minor drawback is that you sometimes need to press the run button repeatedly to reach the destination faster.The most fun moments are when you turn the shield into an improvised sled and slide downhill at high speed.

While traveling through the world of Clesseia, I noticed the remarkable diversity of its landscape. At first glance, the map looks simple, but when passing through those areas, the colors really stand out—from bright green forests to dry orange canyons. Unfortunately, the game's structure does not align with the diversity of the environment. 

Attractive locations exist, but the game does not encourage further exploration. Everything is on rails, always pushing the player toward the main point, and rarely leaving room for the player to explore independently. Ultimately, the world of The Knightling proves relatively small and sometimes surprisingly empty.

Technical Shortcomings Hurt the Experience

Even when you decide to step off the main path and explore something on your own, the content quickly begins to repeat. Most activities boil down to races or tasks that are variations of what you've already seen, just moved to a new location. Side quests mostly boil down to solving other people's problems without much context or exciting twists. 

The dialogues feel as if they're fulfilling some quota, so missions quickly become mechanical and uninteresting. Even the puzzles fail to elevate the experience. Only one of the initial dungeons is well-designed, where you use the shield's powers to move and place objects, similar to what has been seen in the Zelda series. All the others are cut from the same cloth, empty and overly simplistic.

The graphics are simple, and considering this is an indie title, it would be logical to expect the game to run smoothly from a technical standpoint. Yet the Knightling fails even there. During certain scenes, I noticed stuttering, and in the central city, the framerate dropped suddenly. If nothing else, at least combat was fluid and stable.

The PC version is not particularly polished. Some settings, such as draw distance, are practically non-functional, while the game does not allow key mapping or an overview of all available controls, except for those that appear on the screen at a given moment.

The Knightling In Conclusion 

It's clear that The Knightling has some ambitions, and it showcases them well in its opening sections. The central shield mechanic is well-executed, and the puzzles and world are decently designed. Unfortunately, all those positive aspects lose importance when combat becomes tiresome, and many tasks are not clear enough.

 Even if the game were technically perfect (and it is not), it would still lack a key element to tie all the parts into a coherent whole, making the 15-hour experience more interesting and meaningful. Instead of an open world, it would have worked much better as a more linear adventure, with more evident progression and more potent motivators for exploration and quest completion.

Game Rating:

I rate the game 6.2/10 because while it introduces a creative shield mechanic and some enjoyable exploration moments, the repetitive combat, lack of depth in story and characters, and technical shortcomings hold it back from being truly engaging.

Recommended Age:

I recommend this game for ages 12 and up because of its fantasy combat, occasional frustration from difficulty spikes, and the need for players to handle repetitive mechanics without losing interest.