Knights & Guns is the newest title from indie developers Baltoro Games which takes inspiration from games like Metal Slug and The Bug Butcher. Knights & Guns is an arcade-style shooter set in a medieval fantasy world in which armies of mutant aliens, monsters, and beasts have invaded your land. All is lost until a band of brave knights discover the power to stop them – GUNS!

Knights & Guns is very much an arcade shooter. The difference between this and your classic side-scrolling shooters is the fact that you can only shoot your gun upwards. That’s right, you can only shoot up which means you have to shoot the enemy while they’re in the air. Targets on the ground can’t be shot and running into them will hurt you. However, you’re not completely helpless in this situation either as there is a mighty hammer blow you can cast to deal damage to all enemies at once regardless of where they are. This can only be used sparingly so use it when you’re being overrun. You can also jump over low-flying enemies as well as using a dash run to avoid them as well.

Your main weapon however is your gun and there’s plenty of them here. You start off with a basic pistol but as you progress and earn money, you can buy better and more powerful ones. Not only that, killing certain enemies will yield a temporary weapon upgrade so use these wisely while you can. Aside from the huge list of guns, there are also armor upgrades you can buy from the store that will help increase your chances of survival.

There are apparently around 150 small levels you can play on, though you do not need to play them all to actually win the game. You just need to make it through the map and get to the end goal to win. You’ll want to prioritize certain levels however as some contain keys that can open chest levels for upgrades. Others have secret side missions that need to be open with coins. I just love the variety that there is here.

Aside from the gameplay, Knights and Guns presents itself really nicely. The artwork is top-notch with some really great hand-drawn artwork. The character designs are really good with lots of detailing and the same goes for the enemy designs. What is really good though is the soundtrack which is a combination of heavy rock and medieval tunes. It’s an auditory treat for your ears.

FEATURES

• Fight awesome bosses on various stages!
• Conquer the non-linear world! Rush through over 150 hand crafted stages, or enjoy the game at your own pace, looking for secrets and special routes!
• Entire game designed for both single player or co-op multiplayer. Invite a friend at any time for some extra firepower and mayhem.
• 60 fps gameplay! Try the different modes! Hunt the monsters! Survive! Play on small, big and narrow maps!
• Check out all the awesome suits of armor and, of course, all the GUNS! Lasers, shotguns, grenade launchers, sniper rifles… They are all here!
• Over 30 unique guns. (That’s probably more flavors of death than flavors of ice cream you can name.)
• Over 25 types of enemies, 5 types of mini-bosses and 3 types of bosses. Most of these come in different colors, too.
• 30 unique suits of armor for the knights. Extra protection and extra style!
• Traps, chests, keys, scrolls of lore, books of monsters…

Knights & Guns is certainly a unique game. While simple in nature, it’s far from easy and will challenge even the most experienced of players. I like the open-ended nature of the game where you can play any level you wish to get to your goal and there isn’t just one set path to get there. I also love the insane number of weapons and armor you can get. Overall, Knights & Guns is a really fun game that is even more fun if you get a friend to play with.

Knights & Guns is available now on the Nintendo eShop here.

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Received game from developer and/or publisher for coverage purposes.
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