Video Game Review - Ember Knights (Early Access)

Rob reviews Ember Knights on PC...

Recently rogue-lites have gained an increase in popularity. Since Hades (and the success it brought with it) there's been an abundance of titles released that fall into the genre. What Zagarus' adventure through the Underworld brought was a sense of progression - even if you've previously failed X amount of times. Failure was never seen as a chore and with every run, our Prince of Darkness got stronger. Naturally, this simple learn-hard to master gameplay has been adopted by many other rogue sites. And it's also the gameplay mechanic that drives Doom Turtle and Asmodee Digital's; Ember Knights. 

Currently enjoying a spell in Steam's Early Access, Ember Knights is a four-player co-op action rogue-lite. With the developer planning on bringing more content to this world during its Early Access period - Ember Knights is already showing promise to build upon its rock-solid foundations. 

Ember Knights tell the tale of a fantasy world that's suffering from the shenanigans of its local evildoer - the sorcerer Praxis. This dastardly sorcerer has been siphoning life from the Ember Tree and as such corruption is creeping over the Prime Worlds As an Ember Knight you're called upon to restore the Prime Worlds to their once-proud state, whilst making sure that Praxis and their minions get their just deserts - one sword swing at a time. 

As with any rogue-lite its gameplay loop needs to keep the player entertained whilst drip-feeding its narrative while not feeling like a chore. Thankfully Ember Knights succeed in this, and its gameplay loop is very enjoyable. Naturally, the biggest chunk of this loop is made up of combat. Combat is incredibly fluid and as you progress through each run your Ember Knight becomes quite a fearsome little flame. As you clear each room of its many various enemies, the next room slowly becomes more difficult. And this keeps going until you inevitably die and get sent back to the main hub - or defeat the final boss. 

To keep you on this journey there are various skills and relics that you can equip. These are mostly rewarded for clearing certain rooms and serve to give your Knight a leg-up during this run. There's quite a variation to these skills and relics with each run providing you with a different set to discover. Collecting skills gives you added attacks such as throwing fireballs, chaining lightning attacks, or sprouting fire from your hands. Meanwhile, relics offer stat increases or other abilities. With both only lasting for that particular run.

Away from this and you can also collect Ember which is used to buy permanent upgrades upon death. These help to make your Knight stronger and grant perminant buffs such as granting a small amount of hp for clearing a room, or giving you a boost against certain enemies. Spending your Ember is an essential part of Doom Turtle's journey, while it can seem like a grind at times - it's worth it. Especially when your latest upgrade finally sees you beating that pesky mini-boss you've been stuck on!

Speaking of bosses. Each of the game's three current stages features a wealth of enemies for you to tackle. Away from your standard adds, there are specific mini-bosses, area bosses, and veteran adds to fight. Each enemy also has its unique attack patterns and memorising how to tackle each one will help you in getting further within your run. As of writing you only have two weapons to choose from - Ember Blade or Guardian Bow. Neither offers a real advantage over the other, but they do allow you to try a different approach.

One big difference that sets Ember Knights apart from its competitors is the inclusion of cooperative multiplayer. Up to four players can take part, and it's a lot of fun! While it's not necessarily a game that caters for any tactical gameplay, it's still great to simply smash enemies with a friend - or three. Considering that the multiplayer framework is already here, I'm hoping that Doom Turtle add in a few more co-op game modes in the future. I'd love a horde mode or some kind of infinite defence. Either way, I'm excited to see what the future holds. 

In terms of presentation, Ember Knights is a gorgeous game. Characters all have an impressive amount of detail to them, with the flames of your Ember Knights flickering in amongst the flashy spells, and menacing looking, bad guys. The world is also of the same pixilated design. Arenas are fairly simple with plenty of open space. On occasion there will be mixed up with some scenery or giant holes which allow for some breathing space, however, for the majority, you'll be toe-to-toe with whoever you're currently fighting. 

All in all, Ember Knights is a great addition to the rogue-lite genre. Its gameplay loop is pretty fast-paced and it's great fun in unlocking skills and seeing how far you'll get in your next run. While the game isnt necessarily "easy", its combat is pretty robust and offers a lot of variation as to how you play. Throw in some gorgeous visuals, the ability to experience the adventure with friends, and Doom Turtle have quite the game to expand upon. 

With the promise of many more additions to come, Ember Knights could be THE go-to rogue-lite! 

Rating: 9/10 

A code was kindly provided for this review. 

Ember Knights is available now via Steam Early Access. You can check out the games page by clicking here. 

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