The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’sinfluence has been visible across the indie game community for years now, with games likeLil' Gator GameandSableintegrating the game’s thrilling sense of freedom and unbridled exploration into their own small stories. What makes The Knightling truly stand out against the other “BOTW-likes” in the genre is its dedication to level design, mission structure and RPG gameplay.
The Knight’s Apprentice
The Knightling puts players in the shoes of the titular character, a young and scrappy sidekick to a royal and powerful knight that has recently left town for a strange heroic mission. The Knightling tasks themselves with defending their homeland from danger, which mainly consists of local chores to be done or mysteries involving small grunt-level monsters. Unlike the near-apocalyptic world of Hyrule in the most recentZeldatitles, the land of Cesseia is heavily populated with quaint towns and bustling villages, where citizens can be found leading their normal lives. This level of detail and care that is put into the inhabited spaces of Cesseia gives the game a much more intimate and cozy feel, not unlike the starting hours ofTwilight Princess.
Our hero is immediately set free to roam the land and find new quests to take on and characters to meet, equipped with only the absent knight’s shield Magnustego to protect them. This is no ordinary shield (for one, it can talk) and is capable of being repurposed as a melee weapon, a flotation device, a boomerang-esque projectile and even a vehicle to sled down hills on. The limited arsenal that they’re given is a clever way to articulate the Knightling’s potential and scrappiness, as they would clearly be far too small to wield a sword (the shield is visibly too large and heavy for them already). Locals repeatedly underestimate the Knightling based on their size and rank, humoring them like a small child when they ask to help with problems around town but admitting their own disbelief as the Knightling fends off monsters and solves complex issues.
A Hero’s Courage in a Small Frame
The combat is reminiscent of the 3D era ofZeldagames, with a bit ofDark SoulsandHorizon: Zero Dawnthrown in to the mix as well. Players can heal themselves with a refillable flask (of food) and time can slow down when aiming the shield to be thrown while falling. The Knightling mainly finds themselves facing off against small slime-like monsters, with the occasional gang of bandits that prove to be more of a challenge. The combat is solid, if a little slow, but has a lot of potential with the amount of possible upgrades seen in the skill trees. This is only the beginning of the adventure after all and our young hero hasn’t even left their village yet.
The game truly shines in its exploration and movement systems, which pair beautifully with the dense and detailed fantasy world of Clesseia. There are collectibles and currency to be found everywhere, often appearing in a row arcing from a trampoline mushroom or across a patch of speed-boosting fungus. This environment is perfect for sledding and surfing on Magnustego, allowing players to string together double jumps and other abilities to fly across the map at high speeds. It takes a bit of skill, but this just makes it even more satisfying to execute, and adds several new ideas to the shield-surfing mechanic fromBreath of the Wild.
The game truly shines in its exploration and movement systems, which pair beautifully with the dense and detailed fantasy world of Clesseia.
The Knightlingis a breath of familiar (but still fresh) air, boasting tons of potential, ambition and heart in its densely-packed open-world demo. There’s something fun to discover and play with around every corner, whether it be impromptu time-trial races, climbable aqueducts that double as high-speed waterslides, hidden dungeons full of loot or ancient temples protected by clever and intricate puzzles. Players can truly spend hours exploring everything the game has to offer, with a significant chunk of the open world available to be explored and plundered. This is by far one of the most promising demos from the upcoming Steam Next Fest and is a must-play for fans of platforming and RPG fans alike (especially all of youThe Legend of Zeldafans out there).
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