Skautfold: Moonless Knight: A Lovecraftian Bloodbath on Switch 2
Skautfold: Moonless Knight is a Lovecraftian-inspired action-adventure Metroidvania developed by Pugware and published by Red Art Games. Set in the Angelic Empire of Britannia, you play as Gray, the 2nd Knight, sent on a diplomatic mission to the Dawn Empire of Japan that quickly descends into a religious coup. You’ll explore the vast Oda Imperial Palace, navigating a semi-open world filled with eldritch horrors and warring factions to secure the survival of the Empire.
Specs & HUD |
Gameplay & Mechanics |
Performance & Fidelity |
Settings & Control
Skautfold: Moonless Knight Nintendo Switch 2 Review: Specs & HUD
- Developer: Pugware
- Publisher: Red Art Games
- Official Website: Red Art Games
- UK Store Link: Nintendo eShop
- Genre: Action-Adventure / Metroidvania
- Release Date: April 9, 2026
- Download Size: Small / Optimised
- HUD: Health bar system with guard meter, damage numbers (including guard break), and an interactive prompt system for points of interest.
- Map: Fills in as you explore, showing doorways and points of interest, though it doesn’t show your exact position in a room.
Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown
It’s a weird game as it gives you a set-up or explanation, instead, you are just chucked into a world and expected to learn it yourself. I do actually like the flow of the game, as I don’t know what I’m doing, and it’s kind of fun in a way to work it out and learn as I go. It’s a game where you will poke at parts of the level and feel your way into an adventure. The action-adventure gameplay has you moving a 2D character around a top-down 3D game world.
Combat requires you to learn patterns, roll, and block attacks, and then, when countering, you can go all out swinging, but it’s not effective, and you can parry. You have a guard meter that goes down as you block, and can break your blocking. It also acts like stamina, going down as you attack and dash. There are five different types of weapons in the game: Great sword, Spear, Sword, Dual blades, and Dagger. You earn zen from enemies and find them in chests to spend in the shop for new items and weapon upgrades. Collect Yth stones and Zen to upgrade weapons and unlock new abilities and buffs. Using weapons and finding banners increases their damage and improves your blocks.
Exploration is key, and the map fills in as you go, showing doorways and points of interest. You can examine bodies and points of interest for close-up art and text descriptions that help tell the story. Breakable objects like barrels, chairs, walls, and even bushes can be hacked down to find secrets or zen. You can find and enter secret rooms and loot chests for huge amounts of Zen. You have a familiar with you, and you can set if he fights automatically or if you command him. Find and activate fast travel teleports to get around, and you can go back to your hub town to use the crystal to save, which heals you, replenishes your health injections, and respawns enemies.
Skautfold: Moonless Knight Nintendo Switch 2 Review: Performance & Fidelity
- Visuals: Awesome modern pixel art graphics with a top-down 3D world perspective.
- Gore: Features blood, but it’s not a gory game, more like puddles of red ketchup.
- Art Style: Close-up art for examined objects and points of interest adds depth to the storytelling.
- Sound: Putting on your headphones and just zoning out is the best way to play.
- Technical: Small download size makes it an easy addition to your library.
- Performance: Smooth gameplay on the Switch 2 with separate auto-save and five manual save slots.
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
- Video Settings: Text draw speed and Kanji on special actions.
- Game Settings: In-game time scale, damage numbers, automatic lock-on, input buffer, hit stop, attack direction lock, and vibration.
- Audio Settings: Enemy alert sound, footstep volume, text sound, ambient, SFX, and BGM volume.
- Controls: Dedicated taunt button (brilliant!), remappable controls from the pause menu at any time.
- Tutorials: A dedicated tutorials menu in the pause screen acts as a manual with text and images.
- Dialogue: In-game cutscenes and interactions allow for fast clicking through conversations.
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Skautfold: Moonless Knight Nintendo Switch 2
Summary
GOOD STUFF
Skautfold: Moonless Knight is a proper result for those who love a bit of mystery and discovery. The modern pixel art graphics are awesome, and I actually like the flow of the game where you’re just chucked in and expected to work it out as you go. Exploring the world, poking at every corner, and finding secret rooms or looting chests for zen feels like a real adventure. The combat is solid, forcing you to learn patterns and master the guard meter rather than just swinging like a madman, and having a dedicated taunt button is just brilliant. Plus, the deep customisation for things like text draw speed, time scale, and even your familiar’s behaviour, mixed with a dedicated manual in the pause screen, makes for a really polished package you can just zone out with.
BAD STUFF
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though, as some design choices really grind my gears. The map is a bit of a pain because it doesn’t show exactly where you are in a room, leaving you with a fair amount of guesswork in the bigger areas. The lack of any real accessibility options is a massive letdown, and the fact that you can’t undo weapon upgrades is a proper annoyance. I ended up upgrading the wrong thing because it wasn’t clear what I started with. Conversations are all text-based with zero voice work, and you can’t set them to auto-scroll or even exit them if you realise you’ve heard the chat before. To top it off, coins sometimes vanish into the background because the colours clash, which is just sloppy.
FINAL VERDICT
A top-tier pixel art adventure that rewards your curiosity, even if the lack of a proper map marker and accessibility hold it back from greatness.
