KILL KNIGHT Review

I've come to the point of perusing the internet, where I find myself pulling my phone out at every dull moment. I either scroll mindlessly on a social media app or go on the ever-ruthless tirade of seeing if the first 5 seconds of a TikTok video are interesting enough for me to sit through the entire video or skip past it.

Unfortunately, this routine has somewhat transferred itself into the way I play video games, too. The phenomenon of having a shortened attention span—yes, I suffer from it, too. Even in the excellent Silent Hill 2 Remake, there was an initial buffer where I struggled to fully get myself immersed in the game before the game worked its magic on me. You will not see me criticize the game about this "buffer," though, because I think it is irrelevant to the quality of the game, but that is beside the point.

I say all of this because KILL KNIGHT is a game that managed to bypass all of that "buffer" I mentioned. As soon as I started this game, I was bombarded with stimuli I enjoyed—a cutscene clad in the crimson of you, KILL KNIGHT, who plunges into a red abyss to fight off the horrors. After that, you are thrown right into the heat of battle.

This cutscene oozed style—beefy sound effects that echoed accompanied by the rad visuals. This introduction got me so excited that my first attempt at KILL KNIGHT went without going through the tutorial. I would not recommend this.

With that lengthy introduction out of the way, let me tell you how this game keeps your attention after grabbing it so fiercely. KILL KNIGHT is a retro-style arcade twin-stick shooter with a lot of mechanics that keep things fresh and new. It comes from the developers, Playside, the ones behind Age of Darkness: Final Stand. Their previous game still stays within the realm of destroying hundreds of enemies from an isometric view with an RTS flavor.

The story of KILL KNIGHT is quite simple—you are a loyal knight who was betrayed and cast away into the abyss. You're a reanimated corpse who has only one goal: fight off hordes of demons until you can take down the last Angel.

Mechanically, in KILL KNIGHT, you are given a main gun, heavy gun, melee weapon, and a dash, and each of these has a certain function. If you have played DOOM before, you might be aware of how killing demons with each weapon influences what is dropped from the kills.

By default, shooting enemies builds up a combo meter, which in turn progresses your level and makes you stronger. The idea is to turn the gameplay loop into forming a snowball effect where you get stronger and stronger while the game throws more and more enemies at you from all angles.

Your goal is to outgrow the enemy spawns and rack up a high score that shows up on the leaderboard, which possibly features your friends. You are shown a leaderboard of how far you have gotten and how well you have done compared to other players each time you die in a run.

Here's where things get interesting: When you have to reload your gun, there's an active reload mechanic in KILL KNIGHT. You have to time your reloads with a QTE to reload faster and gain a damage bonus on your next clip. On your screen, you also have special ammo, which is used by your heavy gun attacks.

It's essentially a shotgun, which is good with AoE. Your primary weapon is more of a machine gun. It helps clear out hordes of enemies at once, and the only way to replenish this is by killing enemies with your melee attack.

By default, the enemies that you kill drop blood gems that increase your power level in KILL KNIGHT. You deal more damage and get more HP by collecting these gems. These items, just like all items that drop from your kills, disappear if you aren't able to collect them quickly enough.

You also have the option to charge a special attack—sort of a laser blaster that takes out most enemies in its path when things get too rowdy. Enemies are killed by these drop gems that replenish your HP, and it comes by rather infrequently, so it ends up being really important to keep track of this ability and learn when to use it.

With you shooting enemies with your primary gun, shotgun, melee weapon, and occasionally your blaster at opportune moments as you kite enemies around in a circle, you face a lot of different enemies that have their weaknesses in KILL KNIGHT.

In one encounter, I faced an enemy with a shield and learned that my special attack could strip it with one hit. However, there's always the option to chip away at it with regular attacks, though it takes significantly longer. Quick decision-making becomes essential to balance risk and reward, especially when facing off against large, shielded enemies in tight spaces.

If things weren't hard enough already, the platform you are on constantly changes as you progress your runs in KILL KNIGHT. You have no choice but to be spatially aware when you are playing this game. Various hazards, like spikes and lasers, are there to mess up your flow. The combination of cramped environments and dangerous traps forces you to stay sharp and constantly adapt your strategy.

In terms of meta progression, you unlock different loadouts as you play through levels and earn higher scores in KILL KNIGHT. Each loadout consists of a primary weapon, a secondary weapon, a sword, and armor. For instance, the flux strikers are fast-firing weapons, while the revolters offer a slower, more powerful alternative. Additionally, each secondary weapon brings something unique to the table, such as homing missiles or large AOE blasts.

You also have five different levels to progress through in KILL KNIGHT, each of which challenges you differently. The game ramps up in difficulty, with modes like Acolyte's Regret being the lowest difficulty and Knight being one of the hardest modes currently available.

One of the main things distinguishing KILL KNIGHT is the way the fighting feels. The game rewards accuracy and fast reflexes, whether your strategy is melee or ranged, skirting lasers, parrying attacks, or both.

Though every round feels like a race against time, proper planning can help you put together combos that let you survive for longer and net you a higher score. KILL KNIGHT has lots of replay value when it manages to draw you in, particularly if you enjoy chasing high scores.

Visually, KILL KNIGHT does the job. It's driven by vintage 90s arcade games, neon-lit surroundings, and an isometric camera, along with a gothic, unsettling mood. It all just works together fantastically.

The simple visuals keep the action front and center while still providing enough eye candy to transport you to another dimension. KILL KNIGHT feels like you are playing Hades with strong DOOM energy with all the demons you are ripping and tearing. The only thing missing here is Mick Gordon's OST, which perfectly draws out the aggression in you. However, an OST like that is a tall order to expect from an indie game.

The one you get in KILL KNIGHT is still superb. You can also see some inspiration drawn from DOOM's OST. From the weighted thump of the shotgun to the quick strokes of the sword, every weapon has a pleasing punch. The soundtrack picks up alongside the gameplay, and it truly helps to create the white-knuckle tension—in a positive sense—especially in the midst of the later rounds.

The only things I would add are that the color palette usually stays within a limited range, and the venues, albeit well-designed, lack a great degree of visual variation. Things did start to feel a touch repetitious and a little mixed together after some time.

Nothing was terrible, and I feel that you would not notice these things if you played KILL KNIGHT in short bursts, which seems to be how it ended up being played. While I had the pleasure of experiencing this game on PC, I applaud the fact that it has come to the Nintendo Switch. I see this sort of title thriving on a Switch. Although I don't see this game as Steam Deck verified, I hope it somehow gets support on that system because it would be a shame if it didn't.

KILL KNIGHT is an enjoyable and fast-paced action experience that avoids the attention struggles that I face in our digitally-dominated society. From the very beginning of the game, it had my full attention with gut-wrenching visuals in cutscenes and easy-to-learn but deep combat mechanics.

The aesthetic appeal to retro arcades, tight arena designs, and the dynamic DOOM-like soundtrack churns nostalgia with freshness. Its challenges make you come back for more. While a bit repetitive in visuals and level design in some instances, the pure urge to play it makes KILL KNIGHT easily accessible for both short and longer sessions. If you like chasing high scores, twin-stick shooters, or any game that keeps you hooked with heaps of stimuli, KILL KNIGHT is your best bet.