Playing as an apprentice knight rather than an experienced battle-hardened hero may not seem like a promising set-up for an action packed adventure, but the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. The Knightling tells the story of a knight in training who ends up receiving far more first-hand experience than they bargained for, becoming more adept and skilful with every completed quest. It’s very much a tale about realising the potential inside yourself, and while this is true for many sword-swinging adventures, this story isn’t one you’ve heard before.
During an expedition, our young and spritely apprentice and his hulking mentor Sir Lionstone – who has a super-sized reputation to match his stature – end up becoming separated while confronted by a colossal beast. Fearing the worst, our hero in training returns to the grand city of Clesseia alone while clutching his mentor’s prized shield. A glimmer of hope soon emerges, in the form of sightings of somebody matching Sir Lionstone’s description. To return the mighty shield to their mentor, the Knightling – as he’s often referred to – sets about tracking leads.
There’s also the need to fill Sir Lionstone’s boots in his absence, taking on side-missions, helping the oddball citizens with their daily struggles, and clearing out the bandit camps plaguing the otherwise idyllic countryside. Good deeds always start at home, of course, resulting in dozens of optional quests and opportunities in the city, giving plenty to focus on before returning to the great outdoors. This includes helping the local farmers by repairing the city’s aqueducts, as well as taking on some extra battle training.
From start to finish, the Knightling is armed solely with Sir Lionstone’s shield. This by far the game’s most defining feature, as it’s used within combat, traversal and puzzle solving. It can be thrown Captain America-style to harm enemies, in addition to its intended use of blocking and parrying attacks – with combat here being of the ‘parry variety’ with every repelled attack filling a gauge for a stunning blow. Weirdly, there’s no lock-on function – not even during one-on-one boss battles – and the need to perform button matching combos to strip stronger enemies of armour can also leave you exposed. Blows with the shield do at least feel hefty, and parrying is accompanied by a flashy animation. More skills can be acquired over time, while perk slots gradually unlock, including the ability to syphon health and increase damage when weak.
Traversal is one of the better implemented features, as the shield can be used as a sled to slide down the countryside’s many rolling hills and propel you to new hights after being upgraded with a glider component. While our hero isn’t the most agile, they’re still able to get around with relative grace, double jumping and gliding via gusts of wind. Sledding is a fun pursuit too, with some areas coated in goo in help get around. Puzzles meanwhile are a predominant feature, including a multifloored dungeon to conquer a few hours in, and several sub-quests linked to helping citizens with their switch-activated contraptions.
Tonally, The Knightling is lighter than you may expect. Perhaps that’s fitting seeing this isn’t a world-saving quest but rather one to find a missing person, albeit one of importance. Citizens encountered in the various encampments are often jolly, each sporting a comical headpiece such as wooden box or a bale of hay, and there’s an underlining narrative that apprentice’s ideas shouldn’t be ignored, with our gallant hero seeking help from fellow blacksmiths and alchemists in training. While things do become darker much later, the game world is also brighter and more inviting than most, with the open-world peppered with farmhouses, towns, windmills and more. There’s quite a bit distract too, with glowing ‘praise shards’ often found on top of structures or leading the path to secret locations.
The main quest features a bit of backtracking – which can be skipped using fast travel – and isn’t too difficult to follow overall, with clear on-screen waypoints and a map screen to assist. New skills are gained along the way, and there’s a frequent reminder to invest in new attacks. Upon revisiting the city, the chance emerges to complete any optional quests left here unresolved. While the open world is reasonably large, this still feels like a more condensed adventure than most, especially if you stick to the main quest and aren’t drawn away from duties too often.
Ultimately, The Knightling aims for glory but instead gets a well-deserved pat on the back. It borrows ideas from the best, with several similarities to Zelda: Breath of the Wild in particular, and while most of these are well implemented it’s its own ideas that let things slide. Combat is skill based, calling for timing, but never feels wholly satisfying. And by often calling upon ‘out of the box’ solutions for its puzzle solving elements said solutions can be hard to piece together.
Like our plucky protagonist, The Knightling is well meaning but doesn’t always put its best foot forward, stumbling at times. It’s a gallant enough effort though, and if you’re able to appreciate a game that tries hard at everything it sets out to achieve, you’ll find a quest worth embarking on. It’s neither epic nor spellbinding, and that’s kind of the point; this is a humble quest based around discovering your strengths and working with what’s available.
Twirlbound’s The Knightling is out now on PS5, Xbox Series and PC. Published by Sabre Interactive.