Quick Review: Knight Squad

Okay, who brought a laser gun to a knight fight?

Hunting for grails is a knight's passion.

Chainsawesome Games is the studio behind Knight Squad, released to Steam on November 16th, 2015. (Oh hey, almost-happy birthday to this game!) This is a multiplayer title in which eight knights duel over a wide variety of competitions, though they all involve killing each other repeatedly to gain victory for themselves or for their team. You choose one of the eight, then friends can join in, choosing their own colored knight (all of whom have a name starting with S, for some reason: Shooter, Solo, Savior, etc.). The remainder will be controlled by CPUs. That way of doing things means that every single mode can be played in single-player, if the Online Mode isn’t busy!

And hey, if knights must fight to take the
Grail home...

Each game is played on a map filling the screen, with breakable stone walls alongside indestructible walls. Much of the fun here is to grab the weapons that pop up on the map and use them to defeat the opponents and score a win. The base items include longer swords, bows and arrows, or boots that grant speed; for those three, actually collecting the same item repeatedly boosts its power (ex. Picking up two swords gives a Longsword, two bows lead to explosive arrows, more speed boots = even higher speed, etc.). Shields can also pop up to give a player more HP. Some special items may also appear like a horse, the aforementioned laser gun, bombs… or one of many others!

There’s a lot of modes to try out, and many of these pave the way to different strategies depending on the goal of the competition.

Soccer, I already wasn't a fan of the original
game, this did nothing to change that.

-Capture the Grail: You must attempt to grab the Grail at the center of the screen and take it back to your starting position, while slowed down due to its weight, with the others chasing you for it. A team version exists with “Capture the Flag”, in which you have to get the enemy flag on the opposite side of the screen and take it back to base.

-Soccer: A team game in which you help your team push the giant boulder ball into the other team’s net. Yes, killing the opponents is allowed.

-Gladiator: A battle mode where you get points for killing other knights, but get far more if you can manage to stay in the Arena at the center, where you’ll get points just for being there. Highest score wins.

Okay, forget the laser, who the Heck thought
giving a knight a minigun was a good idea?

-Last Man Standing & Team Deathmatch: This game wouldn’t be complete without a Battle Royale, right? In the first, knights fight until only one remains and one obtains a pre-set number of victories. The second is a team variant.

-Juggernaut: Everyone fights to reach the center of the arena, where a machine gun lies. When one gets it, the others must kill him to obtain it. You make points by killing knights, the machine gun helps with that a lot. Highest score wins.

-Domination: In teams, pass over beacons to claim them for your team and gain points through them. Be wary of members of the other team stealing said beacons for themselves.

-Crystal Rush: Each team has a number of crystals that must be destroyed using the drill, a special weapon. The first team to completely destroy the other team’s crystals wins.

Gladiator is one of the competitions I liked
the most when playing.

This one’s a lot of fun. Between the large number of modes to play through and the many weapons that spice up the gameplay, the base concept of “knights killing each other” remains fresh. The music isn’t particularly notable and the graphics in gameplay are just fine, but I loved the animations for the knights on character select and victory screens (Shooter fingerguns at his own sword, as an example). There’s a “classic Flash game” feel to this one. I particularly appreciate that all the modes can be played as a single player (you pick your knight, and in team modes, select the team you want to play on). That said, though most are simple, some modes aren't well explained (I didn't know you needed the drill to destroy crystals, as an example).

Heck yeah, my orange boi!

Of course, multiplayer is encouraged, with the option to create a server or join one… but with the game being some six years old now, that part is pretty barren and your only option would be to have friends who also own the game and can join in. This does take away some of the game’s interest, but as I said, the variety in game modes can at least keep that interest going for a little longer. There’s also a “Bots Only” mode in which you can watch eight CPUs duke it out.

It’s fun, but worth buying at full price? I’m not entirely sure. There’s also a DLC that includes three additional knight characters and game modes. The state of multiplayer in this one may also have to do with the release of a sequel in April this year. Still, Knight Squad can be purchased on Steam at its regular price of 14.99$ USD.