The Knight Witch review

Whether you choose shooting or spellcasting, The Knight Witch will kick your ass. Persevering will depend on how well you handle frustration.

Every era has several dominant genres. During the 1980’s shoot ‘em ups and platformers were pervasive, just as fighting games and racers filled the ‘90s. While contemporary gaming is a bit more pluralist, it’s difficult to ignore the popularity of the metroidvania.

The genre is built on top of two sturdy foundations. Beyond the delight of exploration, there is also the intensity of intermittent fights. The second part of that equation contributes variability. While both Guacamelee! and Astro Aqua Kitty supply labyrinthine levels to reconnoiter, one offered hand-to-hand combat inspired by Lucha libre while the other played more like Defender, providing players with plenty of long-range weaponry.

The recent release of Super Mega Team’s The Knight Witch undoubtedly leans toward the latter. Instead of being confined to the ground, Rayne can freely float around the environment. Offensively, she delivers a steady stream of firepower, and can even harness the power of randomized spell cards. Like most metroidvanias, she’s able to gradually augment her basic abilities. Additional skills like dashing bolster her battle abilities, while other talents allow her to return to gated-off areas of the map, surveying new regions.

Sure, The Knight Witch follows formula pretty obediently, resulting in few surprises. And there are also the common genre ailments, from requisite backtracking to a large disparity in difficulty between fighting basic enemies and the game’s hulking bosses. But largely, any shortage of originality is offset by fantastically detailed artwork and frantic firefights that fill the screen with projectiles, so you won’t have much time for contemplation.

The Knight Witch’s prologue begins several years before Rayne’s crusade. A quartet of Knight Witches led by Robyn faces off against the Daigadai and their golem minions. Although the heroes emerge victorious, the battle isn’t without loss, and widespread damage forces everyone to take refuge in a subterranean habitat.

For a while, there’s a quiet peace and even a day dedicated to Robyn’s deeds. But a lingering specter of resentment inhabits Rayne, who never became a true Knight Witch. Unsurprisingly, the protagonist answers the hero’s call when one of Daigadai heirs seeks revenge. While the storyline of an underling proving themselves by facing overwhelming adversity is hardly new, The Knight Witch’s retelling revolves around challenging gatekeeping and includes supportive spouses, injecting just enough modernity. After dying, you’ll skip having to reread the pre-boss battle exposition, which is a shrewd decision.

Rayne’s voyage toward self-actualization is powered by a noteworthy weapon system. At its heart, Knight Witch functions like a traditional twin-stick shooter, where you’ll aim a succession of shots with the right analog stick. But when the number of enemy projectiles becomes too challenging, Rayne can focus on dodging bullets, letting the game take care of aiming. Naturally, there’s a trade-off, and the amount of damage you dish out is decreased when you rely on auto-targeting.

Rayne’s other essential aptitude is rooted in a trio of randomized cards that can be activated with your controller’s face buttons. Ranging from offensive abilities like a pinwheel of oppositional bullets, homing attacks, to defensive barriers, these magical attacks complement your main gun. Much of the fun is earning additional spell cards, which is accomplished by helping her fellow Dungeonidians. The sole issue is that the cards are randomly replaced after use. Taking your eye off the action to scrutinize your hand can prove deadly, pushing players into spamming their spells.

Remarkably, The Knight Witch is filled with diametric tensions. One of your first augmentations forces you to choose between an additional health pip and a larger mana gauge. It’s a tough decision, as enemies can wound you in quick succession while a larger supply of mana allows the use of spell cards with higher requirements. If you get a thrill from perilous play, you can capture mana orbs and subsequently issue a battering of spells by facing bosses up close. The downside is that you’ll be closer to the dense patterns of enemy projectiles, so you had better be an expert bullet dodger.

Most interesting is Knight Witch’s post-boss battle public interviews. Here, the game lets you manage your image in the community. But realize that hyping yourself and neglecting to acknowledge any difficulties will have repercussions later on. The last intricacy is a cheat system connected to the setting menu, which extends tweaks like invulnerability, unlimited mana, or even making things more difficult by seizing Rayne’s health bar. Thankfully, Super Mega Team and Team 17 didn’t follow industry tendency and make this paid DLC.

That said, the game isn’t free of blemish. The in-game map is adequate for general navigation but you’ll have to remember the location of citizens. There’s a section that forces you into a submarine that can only fire horizontally, putting you at a distinct disadvantage. It’s frustrating enough to erase some of the charm leading up to that moment. And then there are the game’s length load times. On a high-end PC, these are manageable, with a 20-second pause between the main menu and jumping into the game. On Steam Deck, the waits are closer to a minute and sporadically, the game would hang. The upside is that on Valve’s portable hardware, The Knight Witch outputs a steady 60 frames-per-second.

Undoubtedly, The Knight Witch demonstrates potential. Much like Super Mega Team’s meticulous sprite work in Rise & Shine, the game is a visual charmer, with ornately drawn sprites that come alive through animation. Small details such as Rayne’s sprite leaning toward her firing direction and the soft glow of collectibles like mana orbs and energy shards help bring the world of Dungeonidas to life. The action is sufficiently intense, although the thrill of exploration is adequate. But the big issue is the glaring lack of play testing, with a few sections prone to produce exasperation rather than enjoyment.

The Knight Witch was played on PC with review provided by the publisher.