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0 Knights in Tight Spaces (KITS) is the latest release from Bristol indie developers Ground Shatter, alongside publishers Raw Fury. Taking place in the Fights in Tight Spaces universe. Like its predecessor, KITS is a turn-based tactical deckbuilder, but this time with a high fantasy setting. Kicking off as a local mercenary, you stumble into becoming the hero/heroine opposing various evils threatening the land. Knights in Tight Spaces is available on Steam today i.e. March 4th 2025.
It’s time for some ragtag heroes in Knights in Tight Spaces
I haven’t played Fights in Tight Spaces, but I can easily see how KITS builds upon it in fresh ways. I have had a lot of fun with KITS, which pleasantly reminded me of Wildermyth and Slay The Spire. Let’s check out why and how.
Gameplay
KITS opens up after trying to buy a pint goes awry, and you’re roped into an epic quest involving travelling the realm. The storyline consists of 4 chapters leading into one another with its weaving narrative. I immediately liked the procedurally generated map, as it leads to key points but leaves freedom to pick encounters. Most of these are battles against the various villains and henchmen, with narrative moments peppered in. Using your well-earned gold means buying/upgrading gear, recruiting party members and modifying your card deck. The deck is your party’s pool of movement and abilities, but with numerous combinations, thanks to the fantastic variety of the 300+ cards.
Storytime
The story of Knights in Tight Spaces begins with a frosty welcome in a tavern, which turns into a bar brawl and makes some powerful enemies. This also puts you on the radar of The Eleven, a secret society dedicated to protecting the land. Very reluctantly, you work with them and put your fighting or magic skills to good use. Seeing the chaos the villains are causing means a chance to do good or a good way to gain gold.
The story is linear but has certain key points to visit, but the branching path taken is your own. Along the way, you build your party through chance encounters or by hiring people. Who you pick is almost as important as who you don’t, and it can have consequences down the line. The main quests seamlessly lead into one another and help KITS feel natural so why you may revisit the same locations.
The narrative did feel secondary to gameplay and combat, but I found it easy to become invested in the story and characters. I often found myself stuck when choosing between what will help the in-game world more or being strategic to win. In my run (likely the first of many), I made it to the final boss of this game with the rest of the party having followed shortly before. Narratively, it felt very satisfying, and I was hooked on continuing, but in the end, I had to accept defeat for the characters and myself.
Graphics and Audio
KITS’ visual style unfolds like reading a storybook, which worked well with the high-fantasy setting. Each location appears as a book illustration, helping the game feel natural as the story progresses. It easily allows the freedom to explore the setting with enemies from bandits to banshees, and they have unique visual effects and animations, making combat feel fresh. The colour contrast brings a vibrancy to combat and knowing bigger baddies from regular minions. Many cards come with animations or flourishes, adding small details for a more lively experience.
The game’s audio comes in the form of an engaging soundtrack which sets the mood of different scenes. I found it easy to be immersed as the soundtrack goes hand in hand with the medieval setting. Being in the middle of an intense combat and the soundtrack matching the tone worked well. I did feel the absence of voice acting, which made the plot feel less important than the combat scenes.
Longetivity
So far, I’ve played several hours and found the combat clicking as I go. Strategy is a huge part of encounters from shared pool of momentum to using the environment. Picking who goes where, which enemy to focus on and more. Movement for player characters comes from which cards (if any) are drawn while enemies have set moves/reactions like chess. It is very cool and satisfying to make this your advantage, such as building combos for powerful attacks, other party members getting free hits, or even having enemies hurt each other. Each run earns you XP and level up, unlocking more player character classes and another way to earn more cards.
While KITS gameplay has its strong suits, I found rotating the camera angle a bit awkward as it moves in set increments so often, not feeling quite right. Not to take away from the variety of enemies/monsters you encounter, often in different lineups, which kept the game feeling fresh. This helped with the pacing as the stakes were raised while the story progressed. I felt this even when stepping away from the game and easily picking up where I left off. And if you want to take a break from the main story, there are optional side quests as well as Daily Mode, which is online co-op and Endless Mode.
Final Thoughts
I had a good time playing Knights in Tight Spaces, especially as deck builders are a genre I don’t play often. While second fiddle to the gameplay/combat, the fantasy setting and story were engaging. The combat making up the crux of the game was immersive, thanks to the various strategies available and the hundreds of cards.
With an array of approaches, KITS will easily keep you occupied for hours. This is, of course, helped by the unique visual style and engaging soundtrack, which bring more flair to the game. I genuinely look forward to seeing what Ground Shatter develop next.
I’m thrilled to give Knights in Tight Spaces the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
I look forward to reading any comments below, and do check out my review of While Waiting.
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