Knight Squad from Chainsawesome is an arcade-style arena fighter on Nintendo Switch for up to eight players. Learn more in our Knight Squad review!

 

In Knight Squad from Chainsawesome, you will take on arcade-style arena battles for up to eight players in local multiplayer. Games with eight players are usually hectic and fast-paced, but they’re also games with a lot of potential for being fun. Knight Squad, in particular, feels like a mix of old-school Gauntlet – use your knight to shoot around as you control it from a top-down perspective on a fantasy-themed dungeon location – and the beloved Bomberman series – single-screen arena-style battles in which all players are up against each other. Is it a combination that works on Nintendo Switch?

 

You’ll be taking on a Versus Mode, a Bots Showdown Mode, or a Challenges Mode. Versus is the main local multiplayer mode in which up to eight human players can break out the Joy-Con and Nintendo Switch Pro Controllers to duel out in a wide variety of match types. If you’re playing on your own, then all of the many modes that I’m about to mention can be played in Bots Showdown Mode by, well, adding bot AI-controlled players to the match as you select their overall difficulty level.

As for the modes, there’s certainly many of them to play! There’s, for example, Capture the Grail, which is basically a free for all in which all players are out to knock out everyone else to get their hands on the grail so that they can bring it back to their base. Capture the Flag is a 4 vs. 4 mode in which you have to steal the opposing team’s flag to bring it back to your beacon while you also protect your team’s flag. Soccer has two teams of 4 vs. 4 players take on a soccer match played under the overall rules of Knight Squad, which means lots of back and forth with the ball, as well as attacking players on the opposing team with everything you got.

 

Gladiator is another free for all type of match in which, while every opponent you defeat is good news, staying within the ring is even more important. Team Deathmatch is a classic mode in which two teams of four players have to defeat as many opponents as possible within the time limit. Juggernaut is a free for all match in which you will aim to become the juggernaut to get a minigun so that you can destroy all of your opponents. Domination is a 4 vs. 4 match in which you have to take control of beacons to earn points. Crystal Rush is a 4 vs. 4 match in which you must do whatever you can to protect your team’s crystals while also drilling up your opponents’ crystals.

Jail Break is a 4 vs. 4 battle in which any allies that are defeated will be jailed, and you must rescue them, or else you’ll end up losing the round! Arms Race is a fun mode in which you’ll be cycling through all of the available weapons in the game by defeating every other knight foolish enough to get in your way. Serial Killer is a free for all in which you’ll have to destroy all other knights in the order set on your spawning point to be able to win. Soul Hunter is another free for all in which knight souls are your target, and you must collect them to bring all back to your spawning point. The final match type is Last Man Standing, in which it’s every knight for itself as you try to be the last one standing to win the round.

 

As for the Challenges Mode, for this one you’ll be selecting one of the colorful knights – red, green, orange, pink, white, rainbow, gold, blue, light blue, purple, and yellow – to then pick one of two difficulty options – Easy or Insane -, so that you can select one of the available challenges so that you can aim for the highscore. There’s Lighting Rampage, in which you’ll pick up a lighting rod and shoot at enemy nests that produce a never-ending barrage of monsters, which is why you need to destroy them as quickly as possible. You can take on Worms Attack, which has you battling against huge worms that are bouncing around the arena, and the only way to defeat them is to hit them in their glowing tails over and over. In Attack of the Trolls, you will have to survive the trolls as they rush to try and squash you with their shields.

Crystalor will task you with destroying a glowing crystal that is protected by gremlin-like creatures, which are protected by thick fur, which is why you first need to drill away the fur to then attack them with another weapon, all while avoiding a flurry of attacks! Dragon Alert has four huge dragon heads on the sides of the screen, and you have to defeat the before you’re toast. The last challenge is Dark Knights Army, which has you battling a growing group of dark knights who won’t stop until you’re dead.

I had a lot of fun with the many gameplay modes that Knight Squad had to offer for single-player and multiplayer action. The lack of online multiplayer might rub some people the wrong way, but the local multiplayer is definitely fun, and nothing can substitute playing against human players sitting next to you. The game does feature an online leaderboard on which you can compare your performance in the different challenges. Knight Squad is out on Nintendo Switch for a $14.99 asking price.

Disclaimer
This Knight Squad review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Chainsawesome.