Knight Squad

Genre: Top-Down Arcade / Party Game

Players: 1-8 Competitive (Local), Online Leaderboards

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Review:

Knight Squad is a Top-Down Arcade-style Party Game released on PC and Xbox One in 2015 and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2020. This game has players fighting it out as color-coded knights in an enclosed arena in various game types.

The presentation here uses pretty simple 2D visuals that work well enough for the gameplay but apart from some amusing character art in win screens there’s not much interesting on the visual side of things. The music is energetic and seemingly metal-inspired, and again works but is forgettable, and probably the most memorable part of the presentation is the Mortal Kombat/Unreal Tournament-style announcer declaring kill streaks.

Along with the generic presentation, the gameplay at its core is also pretty generic. You can move around, and you can press a button to attack with your current weapon, and that’s about it. As you move around, you can pick up different weapons or power-ups, and if you get hit, depending on the game mode, you instantly die and respawn a few seconds later at your base.

Despite the generic core gameplay… it actually works. The frenetic 8-player competition makes for a really hectic struggle to make headway in free-for-all contests, and team-based games do feel like they require some strategy. It also helps that there’s a pretty good variety of weapons and power-ups, along with a good variety of game modes. And the simple gameplay seems like it’s ideal for a party situation where anyone can pick up a controller and figure out how to play quickly enough.

I do have a few complaints here, though. First, projectile weapons are pretty difficult to aim, and I really wish that this game enabled two-stick controls. Additionally, when two players with melee weapons square off, it can often result in the two dancing around each other chasing each others’ tails while trying to get their sword to face their enemy, which can be irritating. Finally, I have to point out that while other versions of this game support online multiplayer, the Nintendo Switch version does not, which is a disappointing omission.

Despite all of this, I had a blast playing Knight Squad. The game is highly-accessible, fast-paced, has plenty of variety, supports 8 players, and just seems like an overall great addition to any Party Game rotation. And since it frequently goes on sale for $3, I think it’s absolutely worth keeping an eye out for if you enjoy throwing down at home with friends.

tl;dr – Knight Squad is a Top-Down Arcade-style Party Game where players take the role of knights competing in various game modes in an enclosed arena. The gameplay here is pretty simple at its core, but it’s also fast-paced, frenetic, accessible, and highly varied, making this a great addition to any Party Game collection.

Grade: B+

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