Jet Set Knights

Genre: Arcade / Action-Platformer

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Jet Set Knights is an Arcade-style Action-Platformer released on PC in 2016, then ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2020. This game has players fighting off hordes of invading monsters and keeping them from getting to a princess you’re defending.

The presentation in this game is good, using detailed pixel art visuals backed by a catchy chiptune soundtrack. This game does a good job of evoking the 16-Bit era of videogames, and even has fun little references to the Mario series sprinkled throughout.

In keeping with that, this game’s creators have named the original Mario Bros. among this game’s inspirations, and it’s easy enough to see why. The game’s single-screen focus on taking out enemies before they overwhelm you definitely evokes that era, though the one game this put me in mind of more than anything was Towerfall. As in that game, players here can use weapons or jumps on the head to subdue enemies, which spawn from portals appearing toward the top of the stage. There’s also a decent variety of power-ups you can acquire to give your character new weapons and temporary abilities And as with Towerfall, this is definitely a game that you’ll want to try to tackle with a friend.

Having said that, Jet Set Knights isn’t quite on par with Towerfall. Firstly, the level design here leaves a lot to be desired, with platforms that are too often placed too far to jump to easily or close enough to block your movements as you try to dodge monsters. This game does have its own unique element, where you can gather materials to build emplacements and walls to protect the princess, but you’re never given enough options to make these a major factor – you’ll mostly have to take out all of the enemies directly. It’s a shame this element wasn’t expanded on, but I think it would have been interesting to see this gameplay fully meshed with something like a Tower Defense.

In the end, Jet Set Knights doesn’t even come close to taking the crown away from Towerfall, but this is still a fun Arcade-style Action-Platformer much like it, and one that’s enjoyable in its own right (especially in multiplayer), even if it has its flaws as well.

tl;dr – Jet Set Knights is an Arcade-style Action-Platformer where players fight hordes of monsters to keep them from getting to a princess. The gameplay here is generally pretty good, but it doesn’t quite reach the same level as similar games like Towerfall, especially with somewhat poor level design, and minor Tower Defense elements that are promising but never properly developed. This is still an enjoyable game, especially in multiplayer, and those who enjoyed Towerfall but want to play something slightly different may find this game worth a look.

Grade: B

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