Let's Try Fight Knight (Kickstarter Demo)
2Here's my Let's Try of the kickstarter demo (v11) of Fight Knight, an indie retro-styled hybrid first-person dungeon crawler and fast-paced brawler, in-development by Sourcerobe.
In this title, we play as the eponymous Fight Knight, a Knight whose primary means of offense, defense, and communication consist of his fists and arms. He's on a quest to ascend the cursed Tower that has recently risen from the depths from the earth into an unsuspecting town, and slay the tower's lord residing at the top. Helping him on this journey are Captain Cooke, and the various townspeople Fight Knight can rescue, each of whom can add a new functionality to the town.
The game takes place in two main locations: the town and the tower. The town is where you can rest up and save at the boat, restock on potions, visit the library, and set specialties. In the final game, I suppose new stuff will be added to the town. The tower is where the dungeon crawling gameplay comes front and center. Here. you navigate through the various floors, battling enemies, activating switches, avoiding traps, and collecting items. It appears that each zone comprises of 2 floors, but that'll likely change in the final game.
While walking in the tower, you'll eventually get into a random encounter against an enemy or (more likely) a group of a enemies. This is where the game shifts into its second mode, and where it currently shines the most. In this mode, you'll be facing one or more enemies in a two-lane "arena". Here, you'll able to utilize punches, dodges, parries, specialties, and items to dispatch foes. The combat is arcade-y, face-paced, and visceral. But, you'll need to learn the various enemy attack patterns and how they interact with each other if you wish to ascend higher in the tower. Both you and most of the enemies you'll face can be dispatched rather quickly. But, it's oh so satisfying once you nail down the enemy patterns, successfully executing parries, and avoiding taking damage.
Overall, I enjoyed playing through this demo. The controls are very responsive, and the dithered graphics are a nice throwback to the era of early computer graphics. I don't usually see that many games in the first-person fighting and/or brawling genres. The other game that would fit this bill is Gone with the Demon. But, that takes a much more slow-paced Soulsborne-oriented approach to its combat. The only issue I would say is that the dungeon crawling can get monotonous over a long period of time. Same with the combat, but at least that can keep you engaged for longer. I suppose this will be better played in short to medium sessions. But alas, this may all change when the final game gets released, where we actually have access to a lot more of the customization and upgrade options.
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EtharonG
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1139574598/fight-knight
Itch.io: https://boen.itch.io/fight-knight-ks
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Fight Knight is in-development by Sourcerobe.