Card Battles, Hot Women, And a Hunter in Search of His Sister

Knightly Passions' review

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• Developer: FEYADA

• Genre: Point & Click, Sandbox, Card Battler

• Store: Steam, Itch.io

• Reviewed version: 1.05

• Censored: No

• Patch Needed: No

• OS: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android

• Language: English, Russian

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Knightly Passions is one of the many games I played in the latest Next Fest and one of my favorites of the bunch since its production values were as good as I expected, though the plot was a bit disjointed. I imagined the final release was going to be a completely different beast, and it turns out I was right.

Pros

• Gorgeous hand-drawn art that's a feast for the eyes

• Smoothly animated sex scenes that are a feast for your... well, you get me

• An engaging story with a likable cast

• Entertaining gameplay that features solid card battles and varied minigames

• An immersive soundtrack that adds a lot to the experience

Cons

• The ending is a bit abrupt

Story

To say the plot is good is one hell of an understatement, as it's a fascinating story about a hunter searching for his missing sister after she disappeared one night, who gets involved with the townsfolk while trying to learn about his sister's whereabouts. What makes it so charming is that the characters are likable—with a few obvious exceptions—and you can't help but get invested in their circumstances despite getting constantly sidetracked from the main quest. 

Furthermore, it includes some funny scenes that lighten the tone, usually at the expense of whoever was unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of the Witch's shenanigans, some serious moments that add tension, and some meaningful choices that completely alter the plot. However, the game ends with a sequel hook that feels a bit abrupt, as some conflicts are left unresolved.

Gameplay

At its core, the game is a solid card battler that incorporates RPG and sandbox elements while tweaking it here and there to make it different from the norm. For starters, they ditched the deck-building elements that are common in the genre and, instead, you obtain new skills by completing quests and then use the points you get for beating enemies to upgrade your skills in the Stonehenge-like building. Moreover, you can switch mid-combat which weapon you use to deal with flying enemies, as they are immune to your sword attacks, and some ground foes take flight while fighting them.

Outside the combat bits, the game features over 30 different side quests with varying degrees of difficulty that reward you with money and skill points necessary to upgrade your passive skills. Most of them are the typical ones that increase your stats, while others affect what you do outside combat, whether it makes finishing future quests easier or saves you money. Furthermore, you have different ways to upgrade your gear, such as buying it at the dealer, paying the blacksmith to craft it using some of your loot, and getting accessories from quests and hidden treasures.

Another thing the game features in spades is minigames, as it has a good variety of them that prevent the game from becoming monotone. It has a mix of classic ones, such as slider puzzles, sequence memory minigames, short runner minigames, etc., and some unique ones. For instance, there's an arm-wrestling minigame in which you have to click multiple times on the left or right arrow that appears on the screen or press their equivalent button on your keyboard to move a slider to the right, sometimes showing Bonus and Trap buttons that push said slider to the right or the left respectively. Furthermore, they changed the ubiquitous fishing minigame in that it consists of keeping a moving fish icon within a blue slider, and you have to hold the left-click button to raise it and release it to let it go down.

Audiovisuals

Hands down, it's one of the best-looking games I've played this year, as its hand-drawn art is straight-out gorgeous. It has pretty characters with defining traits that make them easy to tell apart, beautiful still shots that sometimes feature comic-like paneling and cutouts for extra effect, and eye-popping animated sex scenes that are a feast for the eyes.

The soundtrack didn't disappoint either since its orchestral tracks make the scenes more impactful, and the rock song that plays during the spicier moments beats your standard jazzy track. Moreover, it makes everything you do feel more epic, no matter how mundane the quest is. "Having an amicable conversation" with the guard so he returns the slingshot he stole from the town's kid? Heroic AF, bringing some boar meat to the commoner woman? So epic that Gigachad shed a manly tear, giving one of the big bads the dicking of a lifetime? Badass AF.

Verdict: Outstanding

Knightly Passions is an excellent game that matches every one of my expectations, to the point I finished it twice to get all the achievements. It's worth every single cent spent on it, and you shouldn't hesitate to get it and play it.