The Knightling wants to be a heart-warming indie game about an apprentice stepping out of his master’s shadow while also being a throwback action-platformer where you bash monsters with a giant talking shield. It mostly succeeds thanks to its charm and platforming, even if its combat and pacing can’t quite keep up.
Our main character is the knightling to the legendary hero Sir Lionstone, who is famed for defeating a powerful Earthborne and claiming its magic sword and shield. Since that fateful day, Lionstone has become the defender of the realm, the person you go to when you need a monster slain or a problem solved, or possibly a problem slain and a monster solved.
Available On: PC, Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 5
Reviewed On: PS5
Developed By: Twirlbound
Published By: Saber InteractiveReview code provided by the publisher
Unfortunately for our little knight-in-training, Sir Lionstone dashes off in hot pursuit of an enemy during a mission, leaving the knightling alone. Well, almost alone, because Lionstone also leaves behind his magical talking shield — a hunk of enchanted tech that’s practically as big as the knightling himself. Luckily, its unusual properties, plus one of Sir Lionstone’s gauntlets, let the apprentice wield it. So our fledgling hero heads home to report to the Queen, who turns out to be far more interested in the vault of magical weapons Lionstone stumbled upon than in the fate of the realm’s protector. Thus begins the knightling’s quest to follow in his mentor’s footsteps, rescue his hero, become a knight in his own right and save the day.
It’s a fun setup for a cosy coming-of-age tale, one that also toys with the difference between legend and reality. But it’s a theme the game doesn’t always stick with; the middle stretch in particular feels like the plot vanishes for a while before popping back up again.
A lot of time and love has clearly gone into the animation. It shows in the simple yet highly expressive eyes, and in the way the wiry knightling hefts Lionstone’s massive shield. It’s meant to be ridiculously light, yet the animations sell the opposite — every block or bash looks like a full-body effort. The thing’s practically a barn door to him, and you can almost feel the shadow of Sir Lionstone clinging to it, towering over our naïve little knightling and weighing him down on his journey.
This simple, charming tale unfolds in an action-platformer where you unleash straightforward combos on wildlife and bandits, bounce off mushrooms, and toboggan down hills. There’s the occasional puzzle involving dragging heavy objects or hitting switches, and a dash of RPG found in the shield and ability trees.
No awards for originality will be handed out here, especially since the knightling can hurl the shield like a certain marvellous patriot. But that’s fine — it’s a classic formula and The Knightling has fun with it, throwing in a few quirks of its own. For example, every character’s face is covered. That isn’t just a clever way for the developers to skip facial animations; it’s also neat world-building. What people wear reflects their status, neatly differentiating the peasantry from the royal guard and the richer folk who live atop the city rather than at its base. The muffled nonsense they speak through their masks makes it even funnier when you meet someone without one and they talk clearly.
The Knightling is at its best when you’re platforming. Sir Lionstone’s shield isn’t just a battering ram — you can ride it like a sledge, gaining speed on downhills or sliding across special gloop. Later upgrades turn it into a glider for clearing big gaps. Simply exploring is a lot of fun, helped by the simple, vibrant graphics.
Smacking faces with a shield is something you’ll do plenty of, but combat is easily the weakest part of the game. Again, the animation work sells the idea that the knightling isn’t a full-fledged hero yet and is improvising with a defensive tool. There’s one basic attack, plus the ability to block or parry (with a satisfying blast if you time it right), or dodge out of the way — much to the chagrin of the shield, which loves to sarcastically comment on all the sidestepping. Blocking is almost always the best option, though, because there’s zero penalty for turtling: no chip damage, no stamina drain, nothing.
There’s no manual lock-on, only a soft system running in the background. Sometimes the game won’t let you shift focus to a specific enemy; other times it will randomly switch targets. It’s never unplayable, but it’s consistently irritating.
Another issue is the pace. Heavy animations make sense for a small apprentice lugging a huge shield, but they also make the combat feel sluggish. Enemy attacks tend to be faster than yours, so you’ll often start a swing and get punched in the face halfway through. Dodging or blocking doesn’t always cancel your animation either, which makes the problem worse.
Armour stripping is another neat but clumsy idea. Dish out enough damage and a foe drops to their knees; you can then dismantle their armour by grabbing it and inputting a sequence of button presses. But the prompts are small, the sequence can take a few seconds, and enemies can still attack and break you out of the animation. The game tries to mitigate this by keeping other enemies grounded for a while, but it still feels awkward.
By the time the final third rolled around my interest was faltering. The raw charm couldn’t quite offset the fact that this chunk takes place in a bland, greyish environment peppered with massive cannons that bombard you unless you spend time disabling them. Combat by this point was something I was actively avoiding, especially since enemies now soaked up damage like a Scotsman soaks up pints. Only the platforming — and a desire to see how the story would end — kept me going.
In Conclusion…
Like its tiny hero lugging a giant shield, The Knightling carries a lot of promise. Its vibrant platforming and playful worldbuilding shine, but slow combat, pacing stumbles and a drab final act weigh it down. It never quite becomes the legend it wants to be, but it’s still an earnest, endearing adventure worth a look if you’re more into hopping and gliding than hammering foes.
