Game: Knight vs. Giant: The Broken Excalibur
Genre: Action, Adventure, RPG
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam (Windows), PS4 & Xbox)
Developer|Publisher: Gambir Game Studio| PQube
Age Rating: EU 7+ | US Everyone 10
Price: US $19.99 | UK £16.99 | EU € 19,99
Release Date: October 5th, 2023
Review code provided with many thanks to PQube.
Return to Camelot
Knight vs. Giant: The Broken Excalibur is a top-action game with rogue-lite elements. It’s a game that feels similar to heavy hitters in the genre, such as Hades, with its fast, fluid action and addictive upgrade system. But there is something particularly special about this one that had me pretty hooked, and it’s not just because it’s based on King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Set in the fantasy realm of Camelot. The Knights of the Round Table are on the quest for the holy grail. Only things don’t quite go to plan. All the Knights get slain by a humongous void giant, with Excalibur being shattered in the process. So, it’s not the best start to the day. Merlin steps in to save the day (sort of), transporting the giant back to the Astral Dimension, along with Camelot itself, which causes a whole new problem. With Camelot’s citizens scattered and the Knights fallen, Merlin revives King Arthur to save the day. With the help of the spirits of his fallen Knights, he must slay the giants, save Camelot and get everyone home.
Knights of the Round Table
To begin with, I was very conflicted about the game’s plot. You see, I’m a massive fan of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I love the lore and books like Sir Gaiwan and The Green Knight. So, seeing these Knights and characters like Morgana displayed in video game form really excited me. The problem with being a fan like this is I wasn’t too keen on the interpretation of Arthur, who comes across as angry and arrogant to start. There was plenty to nitpick. But as I continued to play, my stance softened, and I grew to accept its presentation, including the obligatory video game humour, which sometimes feels forced. Whether you know the lore or not, it’s a story that grows on you if you give it the time. The same can be said for the gameplay.
Giant Hunter
The gameplay is of the hack-and-slash variety. It’s the familiar action rogue-lite where you need to clear out each room of enemies and gradually upgrade your abilities over time in your attempt to hunt down the boss room. Do this multiple times to win the day and earn yourself an honourable pat on the back. Of course, it’s never that easy; death comes fast. But with each fall, Merlin brings you back, you get stronger and try the whole thing again. Whenever you try again, the levels are randomly generated with different room and enemy placement. Welcome to a roguelite action game.
Controls are easy to pick up. You have a standard attack, a dodge and a special magic skill. I was very grateful that the developers added an option to hold the attack button rather than mash it since there were some runs where I felt my thumbs getting pretty sore. What makes the game stand out is you can equip a unique attack and skill gifted from one of the fallen Knights. These essentially act as different spells and weapons. You can choose both from one Knight or mix and match to find the build that suits you.
Replay Value
It makes for a lot of replay value, made all the more enticing with the game’s responsive controls. Your weapons and skills can be upgraded by finding statues of the Knights during the run, adding even more variety to the gameplay. When you complete a room, you are rewarded with purple and gold orbs. The purple can be exchanged at a vendor for potions and extra items to buff your stats. These don’t carry over to another run. The gold orbs are used back at the main hub to rebuild Camelot and upgrade your Knights, upping your stats permanently to make future runs a little easier.
What’s interesting is to be able to upgrade the Knights, you do need to actually use their skills or weapons to earn experience to do this. It was not a bad idea, but it often led to me sticking to one build and not experimenting. Gold orbs can also be found in crates; a nice touch to this is you can just walk into crates to break them rather than making an effort to bash them with your sword. It’s a small thing, but I liked it.
Another feature I really liked is enemies will display a clear region of damage, allowing you to respond with a nifty dodge to get out of the way. Whether you’re quick enough, though, is up to you. Another nice feature is you can teleport instantly to any previous room you have visited. So, if you want to hold off on replenishing your health at the one-use fountain, you don’t have to backtrack tediously.
Niggles
In terms of niggles I have a few nitpicks. There are only three biomes, each with two levels, meaning the game feels a little light on content. You must also go through the obligatory rogue-lite grind to get the game to a state where enemies feel much less meat shield-like. The trickle of new content, such as new Knights and allies to help you on your quest, feels inconsistent and slow. Usually, you’ll unlock one new thing per run, but to unlock an important new feature in Camelot, I had to survive to the third biome, which was a ridiculous amount of grinding. So much so that I had more gold orbs than I knew what to do with. It was fine once I reached there, but I’m not sure I would have made the investment had I not been a big fan of the genre. Someone new may be put off.
Detailed and Lush
Graphically, the game uses simple 2D sprite designs, a style I like to call the paper character look. Arthur himself feels a little too basic in design, appearing more like a ninja Knight with his red scarf. Kinda got Shinobi vibes from the PS2 days, only less speedy.
Enemy sprite design fairs far better, with various encounters across the various biomes. The boss characters, in particular, are enormous and very detailed, feeling like epic encounters. The environments feel lush and detailed with vibrant colours. It may be the usual affair of forest, desert and lava, but I felt like I was treading through a fantasy adventure as I explored each room. The game also performed well in TV and handheld modes without hiccups or glitches.
Conclusion: Good Knight
Knight vs. Giant: The Broken Excalibur is a good action roguelike worth its name. Combat is fun and satisfying, offering addictive pick-up-and-play gameplay that kept me returning run after run. I was personally very fond of the fantasy setting as a fan of the lore.
However, it doesn’t bring much to the round table compared to other games in the genre and also suffers similar issues. The game can be grindy and requires a lot of investment before you get to the good stuff, making some runs feel like obligations than time well spent. If you love the genre, it’s a quest worth taking up. But if this has never been your chalice, then you need not venture. Somehow, I’m not tired of this genre yet, and Kings Vs. Giants certainly made a video game Knight out of me.
Final Verdict: I Like It a Lot
Want to get your Knight on first? A free demo is available on the eShop.