Ender Lilies Quietus of the Knights Review

Game: Ender Lilies Quietus of the Knights
Genre: Action, Adventure
System: Steam (Also on Nintendo Switch)
Developer|Publisher: Live Wire, Adglobe | Binary Haze Interactive
Age Rating: EU 12+ | US Teen
Price:  UK £21.99 | US $ 24.99 | EU € 24,99
Release Date: June 21st, 2021

Review code provided with many thanks to Player Two PR

Surprise Release

Ender Lilies Quietus of the Knights is a gorgeous looking 2D adventure game that seemed to just release out of nowhere. I had no idea this game was on the way, but, I am very grateful to have the opportunity to play it and share my thoughts. If you have room in your gaming schedule for a Metroidvania style game with a hefty challenge this is worth keeping your eye on.

Lands End

Set in ‘Lands End’ which doesn’t sound suspicious at all…. The world has descended into ruin thanks to the ‘Rain of Death’ which transformed living creatures into hideous undead nasties called Blighted. All hope truly looks lost and the world is a dark place. But in the deepest darkness is always the smallest spark of light. That light comes in the form of Lily, the main character of this adventure. When she awakens from her slumber, Lily has the power to purify the land of the Blighted. However, she is not a fighter. Fortunately, an immortal knight is at hand to defeat enemies for Lily allowing her the opportunity to purify specific enemies, recruiting them to your side and continuing her quest to bring hope to this tortured land.

Dark but Beautiful

I adore the art style of this game. The environments, the world and enemies all look dark and diseased. This is not a place you would like to end up in. The game is fully hand-drawn and the animations of the sprites are incredibly detailed. The enemies range from Zombie-like warriors, infected animals and behemoth monsters. All of these look lost to the disease that plagues the land. As the player, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the fate that was cast on these once normal creatures. 

Lily is this innocent glow of light that you genuinely care for and attempt to do all you can to prevent any harm coming to her. The clash of this light against the dark is striking. It’s brought even more to life with the incredible piano score that accompanies you as you explore spider riddled caverns, disease-infested villages and ruined castles. Rarely have I played a game that makes the darkness look so beautiful.

Purify the Land 

The main objective of the game is to explore the dark depressing world, looking for horrific bosses to defeat which were once Lily’s allies. These boss fights are incredibly challenging but once slain you can recruit them to your side to use in combat and often unlock new abilities for Lily so she can access previously inaccessible areas such as double jumps and gliding.

A handy mini-map allows you to keep track of your progress showing you areas you have yet to explore as well as advising you if certain rooms contain any items you are yet to discover. By exploring the world you can also find small health upgrades as well as mini-bosses which are like buffed up regular enemies which you can also defeat and recruit to your side.

Let Them Fight For You

When you’re not exploring you are fighting. Lily herself is only able to move about and avoid attacks. When you attack one of your immortal knights instantly jumps in to take a swing at the baddie. You start off with just a knight with a sword but soon you recruit archers, spell users and my personal favourite, the Viking looking fella with an enormous hammer.

You can only map three knights at a time, with an additional three on a set you can access by pressing the number on the controller. But by finding a bench to rest, you  can change out your knights, as well as upgrade them. Use relics to boost your stats and the most important thing by far, save the game. Seriously, do this as often as you can. Combat is incredibly smooth and rewarding. Even regular enemies in the game can be a threat, requiring the player to pay attention to their attacks. But It’s not as frustrating as it may seem.

Enemies often give off faint hints of their attacks with red lines for melee strikes and highlighted projectiles which makes it easier to determine when you need to dodge. You still need pretty quick reflexes but this method worked really well for me. There is also an enormous amount of spirits to experiment with meaning you can find a crew of immortal knights that gels best with your gameplay style.

Difficulty 

Death will, of course, come frequently and each time you rest at a bench the game does revive all regular enemies. But if your Dark Souls PTSD is starting to tickle don’t panic too much. Any progress or experience you have acquired is saved without having to backtrack to the last area you fell.

I guess it’s the difficulty that will be the biggest niggle for gamers. The game does not have any accessibility features or difficulty settings so if the gameplay doesn’t click with you it’s understandable why you may get turned off. A darn shame because the game is so good to look at.

Conclusion – The Light in the Dark

Ender Lilies Quietus of the Knights is one of those games where, usually, this level of high difficulty would put me off and I would just walk away due to frustration. But I didn’t, some bosses took me multiple attempts to complete and yes I had to take breaks, but I kept getting drawn back to fight the darkness.

Maybe it was the delightful piano score, the light vs dark story arc or the smooth control system but I just couldn’t help being drawn back in. I’ll admit I was not very good at the game but this is a rare occasion where despite my hardships I have nothing but praise for this title. Not for everyone, but as the game seems to hint at in the darkest of depths there is always light. At least that’s what I took from it. 

Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up