Play as one of several multicolored knights as you battle it out in top down viewed arenas in a gameplay style similar to Gauntlet or Atari’s Combat on 2600.  Up to eight can go at it locally or online in this title available for Switch, Xbox One, and PC (reviewed on Switch here).

First you’ll choose your knight to play as, and each is a different color.  There’s even a rainbow one!  You’ll then go at it in top down single screen arenas.  You can swing your sword to kill other players, or find power-ups that can give you a boost.  Some include speed ups, shields, and new weapons and magic like long range arrows or lightning spells.

There are a few modes of play.  Challenge Mode is more single player centric, but up to 8 can join in here as well.  You’ll have to attempt challenges like shooting all the enemies and their bases as quick as you can, fight some Zelda-style worm bosses, etc.  You’ll get a score based on how fast you complete these challenges.  Versus Mode is the meat of the game.  Here you’ll pick different arenas and rules.  Some are general deathmatches, while others have you play soccer, destroy all the enemies’ gems, capture the flag, etc.  The last mode lets you watch a bunch of computer controlled bots battle it out.  Not sure why you’d want to do that, but it’s there if you do.

And that’s pretty much the game.  I do wish that it had more single player content, like maybe actual mazes and an adventure or something like that.  And the game checks leaderboards after every match, so if you’re not connected online it can get a little annoying.  But if you enjoy multiplayer games like Gauntlet, Bomberman, or Combat, then you may want to check this one out.

Kid Factor:

Knight Squad is rated E-10 with an ESRB descriptor of Fantasy Violence.  You can hit other players with weapons and spells, and they turn into bones and stay there for a while.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, and younger gamers may find it too difficult.  Since up to eight players can go at it, the whole family can join in here.

Tags: Game Reviews