King Arthur: Knight’s Tale Review – SIR MORDRED MISUNDERSTOOD?

King Arthur: Knight’s Tale is a tactical turn-based game with rogue-like elements. Set in the world of Avalon, Sir Mordred must recruit heroes, battle monsters and make tough choices on his quest to save Avalon. And yes, I know what you’re all thinking – where is King Arthur in all of this?

The Dark, Twisted Narrative of King Arthur: Knight’s Tale

King Arthur: Knight’s Tale kicks off in spectacular fashion. It begins with an incredible opening cutscene detailing the events leading up to Sir Mordred coming back from the dead. That’s right everyone, Sir Mordred has been revived. As something dark and evil has happened to King Arthur, Sir Mordred must oppose him. Sir Mordred immediately escapes from his tomb in Camelot to bring vengeance upon the bandits that have set up home in the once majestic castle. As he Journeys through King Arthur’s old home, he finds a sad and lonely knight trapped in a cell named Sir Kay. Freeing him, they retake Camelot and start searching for King Arthur, or as he is now known, Knight Midnight.

Is Sir Mordred really as evil as he’s always portrayed? Or was he the only one to see King Arthur for what he would become?

As Sir Mordred makes his way through the story and side missions, he comes across quite a few heroes. Both well known and not so well known. He can then recruit these heroes to his new Knights of the Round Table, all the while building Camelot up to its former glory. As Sir Mordred is on his quest to find King Arthur, he will come across important choices. This affects a morality chart which will determine what kind of ruler Sir Mordred will be, along with unlockable perks and recruitable heroes for each option. Will Sir Mordred be a rightful ruler of the old faith, or a Tyrant professing Christian values? Will he become the evil man everyone thought he was? Or prove them wrong and take advantage of his second chance?… The choice is yours.

This story is incredibly well done. Each character has their own back story and biography to read. Not to mention that side missions can be focused on continuing their story as opposed to Sir Mordred’s. For example, Lady Dindraines quest for the Holy Grail. Even with all of this extra content, it still does not pull away from the main story of the quest to find King Arthur. The world the developers have built is dark and twisted and works amazingly well with the King Arthur story. Plus, is Sir Mordred really as evil as he’s always portrayed? Or was he the only one to see King Arthur for what he would become? Maybe, just maybe he was misunderstood.

Fun and Varied Gameplay

The gameplay for King Arthur: Knight’s Tale is just fantastic, especially for someone who loves tactical turn-based games. You have to maneuver around a small map and once an encounter occurs, it transitions into the tactical play style. The tactics side of things is done incredibly well. Making sure to shoot from behind cover to lessen incoming damage, facing the right direction to nullify flanking, opportunity attacks when moving out of an enemy’s melee range, lining up 3 enemies to use an ability to take all three out at once. All of these “tactics” are very well done. Even though it may not be the most in-depth tactics game around, it doesn’t need to be, as the simple things are done very well.

Out of combat however, there are a lot of loot options to find and plunder. Players will consistently run into shrines that they can use to heal HP, vitality, regain armour points and more. Although, be aware that not all shrines bestow good things on your characters. So if your spellcraft is not high enough to tell what the shrine will bestow upon you, then it may be a good idea to leave it. Shrines are not the only things players will find. You will also discover rubble, chests and bodies, all of which give you coins and other goodies. The most important however, will be the campfires. Resting at a campfire will give you one of two things; you can either heal the HP of your party or regain lost armour points. It is important to note that it changes with difficulty. The harder the difficulty, the fewer HP and armour points you can heal and replenish.

The harder the difficulty, the fewer HP and armour points you can heal and replenish.

Outside of the missions, there is still more to be aware of. Inside Camelot, you have to rebuild several buildings to return Camelot to its glory days. They are the Round Table, Cathedral, Merchant, Training Grounds, Hospice, Crypt, and Enchanted Tower. Each building has its own function. Some are easy to know what they do like the Merchant, while others are a little more in-depth. The Round Table allows Sir Mordred to elect Knights for the Round Table. This increases their loyalty, as well as being ability to select laws and decrees which add buffs.

The Cathedral and Hospice are for healing heroes; Cathedral for injuries and the Hospice for vitality. The Training Grounds allow you to level up heroes while not using them; definitely one of the more beneficial buildings. The Enchanted tower allows you to sacrifice relics for relic dust, which can then be used to buy new relics. Lastly, the Crypt allows you to remember fallen heroes. Any hero that dies is permanent, depending on the difficulty. When a hero falls they are buried in the crypt, allowing you to see their tomb and remember their sacrifice. Each building also has extra perks to upgrade which allow for better options. This helps dramatically with keeping players levelled up and healthy with great equipment.

A Gorgeous World and Spooky Soundtrack

The world design for King Arthur: Knight’s Tale is just another great aspect of this awesome game. The depth of the world, the design of Avalon and Camelot and the dark and seedy forests all meld into an incredible world to explore. The art design really speaks to that medieval style with a definite twist. From the different buildings inside Camelot to all the locations in Avalon, it all looks incredible. Not to mention some awesome atmospheric music to really drive home that dark and evil vibe.

Decision

Is King Arthur: Knight’s Tale worth a purchase? I would say absolutely. Now be aware that there are a couple of minor faults that make it feel slightly unfinished, however, these should be rectified pretty early. Even with a couple of those moments, the game is still incredible. The story is in-depth and detailed, the gameplay is incredibly fun and varied and the world is built amazingly well with some great visuals in both the cutscenes and gameplay.

By Dillon Van Der Putten – Reviewed on PC

This game was reviewed using a download code provided by Neocore Games. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website