Home / Reviews /Kill Knight review ByRichard Seagrave 1 October 20241 October 2024
Playing as a knight banished to an abyss, Kill Knight just asks one thing of you: kill everything. It sounds simple and, armed with numerous firearms as well as a melee weapon, you’re certainly geared up for the task. But being swarmed by many enemies in arenas that change shape around you and provide dangerous hazards for you to avoid, chances are you’re going to die, die and then die again before you make any considerable progress.
Five layers await you in this abyss, so that’s essentially five arenas for you to conquer. In addition to that there are four difficulty levels to master, and along with a scoring system and online leaderboards, you could say that Kill Knight provides an endless challenge for those who want to reign supreme over all others. Chances are it’ll be a long road though, with you having to learn the ins-and-outs of the game before you can score big.
You see, there are many complexities to master if you wish to play Kill Knight effectively. Take your pistols, for example, your primary weapons; upon running out of ammo, you’ll want to perform an active reload if you want to get back to perforating your enemies without a delay, and you’ll gain a bonus effect for a short while to boost. And then there’s your heavy weapon; if you run out of ammo for that, you need to kill enemies with melee attacks to replenish it.
Truth be told, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Your attack power here is increased if you keep killing enemies without letting your combo meter drop, and if you want to replenish your health at any point, you need to charge a gauge in order to perform a powerful special attack. Add in the fact that certain foes have armour that you need to break before you can deal major damage to them — and the fact that some have powerful attacks that need to be countered with a melee attack — and there’s a lot to take in.
Once you’ve got to grips with everything on offer in Kill Knight, however, chances are you’ll be gripped by it. It’s fast paced, and controlling your unfortunate knight is a joy. Get into the flow, and you’ll be dodging enemy attacks in no time, while reliably hitting perfect reloads, making use of your special attack to wipe out hordes of enemies and top up your health, and using your sword to keep your heavy ammo topped up for when you need it.
Success in Kill Knight not only results in you making progression through the layers available and you possibly placing high on the global leaderboards, but also with new gear to make use of. There are many weapons to unlock as well as armour pieces and more, and you can do so by completing certain challenges. Failing that, you earn currency at the end of every run, which can also be used to unlock gear if you’re having trouble or just want to target something in a hurry.
Ultimately, Kill Knight is a challenging action shooter that encourages you to make full use of your arsenal on your quest for revenge. While it’s a simple concept, it actually has considerable depth in action, which makes it somewhat unique. And further adding to that uniqueness is a lo-fi visual style that gives the game a suitably dark and gritty look. If you like games that reward you for taking time to master their systems, be sure to check Kill Knight out.
Kill Knight Review
Kill Knight is easy to pick up and hard to master, but it's rewarding to do so thanks to the wealth of unlockable weapons and more that are on offer. Most importantly, it's devilishly fun to play, being fast-paced, responsive and full of variety.8out of 10
We like…
- Lo-fi visuals are atmospheric
- Easy to pick up but hard to master
- Lots of unlockable weapons and more
We don’t like…
- Can be a grind to unlock new weapons, etc. if you can't complete challenges
This review of Kill Knight is based on the PS5 version, with a code provided by the game’s publisher. It’s available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch and PC.
