Knights of the Road Review (Steam)

by Jim Smale · Published August 9, 2024 · Updated August 8, 2024

Knights of the Road Review, Once upon a time, there was a kingdom of Rockwall, strong and prosperous, and ruled by a king loved and respected by all. But soon a plight befell the kingdom: a curse struck the queen and put her in a deep and dreamless slumber. All the kingdom’s healers and sorcerers tried their trade, but no one could wake her from her eternal sleep. Distraught and desperate, the king himself turned to dark sorcery to find a cure for his beloved. But the dark occult is subtle and treacherous. It blackened the king’s heart more with each passing day and soon the dark forces possessed him whole. The kingdom of Rockwall began to fade into darkness…

Knights of the Road Review Pros:

Decent 8 Bit graphics.
142.96MB Download size.
Steam achievements.
Full controller support.
Keyboard support.
Video settings – display, fullscreen, v-sync, and CRT filter.
Can remap both the keyboard and the controller.
Cheats – God mode (cannot die) can be turned on or off.
Beautiful 8 Bit art cutscenes.
Platformer gameplay.
A modern retro feel.
You can skip some cutscenes and fast-forward to others.
World map level select.
You are armed with a shield you can throw and it returns, and you can jump and place the shield underneath you so you can kill enemies that way. The shield can also block enemy projectiles.
You have a double jump and can reset the jumps by hitting or landing on an enemy.
Mana is in use and it goes down as you throw your shield and fills back up when you land up an enemy’s head or find a mana bottle.
Magicians are all over the world and they will save your progress and heal you for a price.
Gold drops from enemies and randomly from breakable objects.
Slide down slopes on your shield and get a super high jump at the end.
You can shield jump off projectiles to do higher jumps.
A surprising amount of ideas in what looks like a simple platformer.
Find secrets and shortcuts.
Boss battles.
Slight puzzle elements.

Knights of the Road Review Cons:

FYI but God mode disables achievements.
The mouse cursor stays on the screen even when using the controller.
Can’t jump up ladders to go faster.
The music can sound a bit repetitive.
No way to jump and throw your shield.
Drops like coins and health disappear way too fast.
Some of the screens are just empty spaces.
You don’t see the enemy’s health which is annoying on boss fights.
Characters don’t change what they say even after you have beaten a boss or opened a door.
Foreground art and scenery can get in the way.
Frustrating set pieces.

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