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0 The Knight Witch is a single player bullet hell metroidvania adventure game. Created by Spanish developer Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team, this is their second console release after their maiden console title Rise & Shine.
Spell Cast Bullet Hell Blast
Played here on PS5 the game is also available on PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Gameplay
In The Knight Witch you play as a Rayne, a young witch who is on a quest to save her world from destruction by an invading force.
You wield a customisable deck of cards which allow you to modify weapons and cast spells for attack and defense. Make your way through the world using a dual thumbstick control scheme with one stick for character movement and the other for aiming weapons in a 360 degree rotation. Firing from the hip automatically targets the nearest enemy but deals less damage.
On your journey you encounter some light puzzling plus an array of hazards and enemies to deal with. There’s also upgraded gear that you can buy using gems you collect when defeating enemies. This gear can be purchased at different shops dotted around the map.
Mixing and matching different play styles, spell abilities and gear is a must for success.
Tweaks
There’s a couple of places where the game could be tweaked for a better player experience. Firstly, in the midst of combat it’s difficult to know what card you are playing as taking your eyes off the action can end in death. If the deck of spells was limited to 3 with fixed button assignments the special abilities could be played with confidence.
Second is the checkpoints. Often you will die during a battle only to have to navigate some previous rooms with enemies and hazards before getting back to the point where you died in action. This gets frustrating to the point where dying starts to suck the enjoyment out of the game.
Lastly the conversations with the characters you meet always seem to drag on when all you want to do is get back to the action. Although it can be skipped quickly some more to the point dialogue would be welcome.
Graphics & Audio
The visuals in The Knight Witch are stunning. The presentation is bright and crisp with gorgeously designed characters. It’s clear a lot of passion has been poured into the character and world designs. During the fights, explosions pop in a burst of colour and spells are cast with their own unique animations. It really is a feast for the eyes.
Matching the looks is some excellent sound design backed by a really nice soundtrack. The team really nailed the complementing of the brilliant visuals with some equally top notch sound effects. I did however have to drop the music volume to about 25% as I found it was drowning everything else.
Lacking is an audio or visual indicator of hitting low health as you can get so caught up in the battle that you don’t notice you’re down to your last morsel of energy.
Longevity
With just one game mode, the single player story takes about 8+ hrs to 100%. It would be nice to have some extra modes like endless ambush, boss rush or even a co-op mode to offer some alternate gameplay experiences.
For trophy hunters, the game features 27 trophies to collect – 15 bronze, 4 Silver, 7 Gold and a Platinum. None of these to taxing to achieve.
Final Thoughts
The Knight Witch is a good game but it’s the little details that separate the good games from the great. While the game excels on the visual and audio front, some frustrating gameplay/game design takes away from the experience.
Super Awesome Hyper Demensional Mega Team are a talented studio, one that should most definitely be on your radar. You certainly won’t forget their name.
It looks and sounds great, runs flawlessly and controls really nicely. I award this game the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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