Knight Terrors (PC) review "Knight Run"

Knight Terrors is a game that’s kind of similar to Flappy Bird only it’s actually completely different. I need to rethink this intro.

It’s kind of unfair to limit Knight Terrors’ obvious inspirations like that; it takes a little part of many games, operating as a retro-infused ever-runner that uses a similar jump/flight mechanic to that flappiest of birds, mixed with a chunky pixel punk Ghost N’ Ghouls vibe. It’s a points-rush thing where you’re constantly adding to your score until your armour-clad knight is killed and strewn inconveniently across the screen. It’s simple to the point that you only need two button commands (jump and attack), and it advertises its simplicity by offering multiple runs powered by that ‘one more go’ factor.



The idea is that you set out, you die, and then you try again because that death was completely your fault and you know you can do better. To begin with, the knight has a relatively easy time of things; there are spike pits to jump over, tricky gates to navigate, and a weird cast of enemies to bludgeon. Once your score dials up a little and you bypass the first few stages, shambling zombies are joined by flying skulls and alien invaders, meaning you have to add leap attacks to your repertoire. At this point, kill things is important; if just three manage to bypass you and exit the screen, it’s game over.

You are aided in game by unlocking bonuses such as extra weapons and health buffs that you can collect on the way, but, mainly, you’re just expected to get better the more you play. Doing well in the initial stage eventually unlocks the Flight Terror mode, which is much more Flappy Bird-esque and finally makes my aborted intro make more sense. Here, the knight sprouts some demonic wings and takes to the skies to further his obsession with random monster slicing. Do well enough here and unlock another mode which, once you rack an acceptable score up in, you can unlock another mode. There are five in total.



Each mode is a slight variation of “always run right; stab stuff and avoid running into sharp, pointy death”, but that’s okay. Knight Terrors knows what it is and doesn’t try to overcomplicate itself. It sets you little goals like unlocking the different modes and hitting the points caps you need to hit to unlock throwing axes or boomerangs (can’t fool me; I know what it is, despite its in-game name of Stick of Returning). But the biggest chase is performed on yourself; wanting to go one stage further or beat that last high score you posted. You probably won’t lose entire evenings to this pursuit, but that’s not what Knight Terrors is about; it’s purely pick up and play without any baggage attached. It’s a fun distraction and nothing more – we all probably need more of that in our lives.

Staff review by Gary Hartley (July 02, 2018) Gary Hartley arbitrarily arrives, leaves a review for a game no one has heard of, then retreats to his 17th century castle in rural England to feed whatever lives in the moat and complain about you.