It’s easy to make a retro-inspired game and rely on nostalgia to draw in players. What’s hard is making a retro-inspired game that feels new.
Knights of the Road is an old school platformer, borrowing heavily from 2D adventure and metroidvania games. There’s boss battles, exploration, secrets, upgrades, and quests. All the pieces for a proper game of the genre, but does it stand out? Or does it borrow too heavily from the games of yesteryear?
Knights of the Road
Developer: Shiny Byte Studio
Publisher: Shiny Byte Studio
Platforms: Microsoft Windows (Reviewed)
Release Date: August 16, 2024
Players: 1
Price: $4.99
In Knights of the Road players take on the role of Fred and Aiwa. Fred is a human bandit armed with a tank top, hat, and a can-do attitude. His partner-in-crime Aiwa is a fairy who can turn into a shield which Fred uses in combat.
The two bandits find themselves in the middle of the trouble plaguing the kingdom of Rockwall, the queen has been cursed to eternal slumber and the king has fallen to the lure of the occult in order to cure her. As evil takes root in the king’s heart, it will be up to Fred and Aiwa to put things right.
Knights of the Road has some tight controls which makes combat entertaining, Fred’s main attack is throwing his shield as a boomerang and this is often the way to solve puzzles. Many puzzles involve throwing Fred’s shield and then getting into position so the return will break boxes or hit enemies in hard to reach spots.
Fred’s shield also helps with platforming, and some of the screens require some clever tricks. For instance Fred can place his shield under himself to jump off of enemies and even projectiles, reaching secret areas this way.
There are times that enemies feel a bit unfair, due in part to the hitstun that Fred experiences. But on the other hand it’s an iconic retro platforming experience, who can’t help but be nostalgic for Mega Man sliding off of a platform after being hit (for real, the hitstun in the Mega Man series is gross).
Another thing I didn’t particularly care for was having to “buy” saves. I get that limited saves are a form of added difficulty but really it’s more like a chore. I respect that it’s an intentional design choice, but it just isn’t one that felt good to me.
The developer really shows a talent for level design, and each screen is a satisfying micro-challenge in its own right. Some of the earlier boss battles leave a little to be desired as far as interactivity, but the parkour and puzzle-solving while exploring more than makes up for it.
While the game brags about its music inspired by Irish Folk, I had a hard time picking up on those influences, but then again I’m not Irish so maybe I’m just uncultured. Regardless, it was pretty decent music, it fit the game and the title music in particular had some heroic vibes to it. It’s a far cry better to some of the nondescript or even royalty-free music you find on smaller games.
Ultimately Knights of the Road is a fantastically unique adventure, I’m always a fan of developers making more of the things I loved back in the 90s. I love modern platformers too, but there’s nothing quite like sitting down with something that would feel right at home on an original NES.
Knights of the Road was reviewed on Microsoft Windows using a game code provided by Shiny Byte Studio. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Knights of the Road is available on Microsoft Windows (trough Steam).
