The Knight Witch from Team17 and Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team is a gorgeous 2D Metroidvania with a dash of deckbuilding and bullet hell thrown in for good measure. Check our The Knight Witch review!

 

The Knight Witch from Team17 and Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team is a gorgeous 2D Metroidvania with a dash of deckbuilding and bullet hell thrown in for good measure. Yes, you did just read that sentence. This one takes the Metroidvania formula while adding the hecticness of a bullet hell, as well as a bit of deckbuilding gameplay mechanics for a very interesting package. This indie team previously gave us the addictive bite-sized puzzler Supermagical, as well as a fast-paced 2D action game with a solid hand-drawn presentation in Rise and Shine.

In The Knight Witch, the whole world had been unified under a single banner: the House of Daigabai. The Daigabai believed in technology, science, and progress, which led to a time of prosperity. Unfortunately, resources started to run low. This leads the Daigabai family to do unspeakable things to the planet and its ecosystems to squeeze out as many resources as possible. A rebel group known as the Children of Gaia took on the mission of saving the planet at all costs. But their efforts fell short. Without any real training or real weapons, they could not stand up to the golem army.

The good news is that it was then that the Knight Witches awoke. The Knight Witches were powerful entities that could fly and use the power of legends to defeat their opponents. They drew energy from the people’s trust, so the more people believed in them, the stronger they would be. As long as people believed in the Knight Witches, then they would also be part of the fight. They were Faruru, the Conjurer, Sykra, the Weapon Master, Irine, the Trickster, and their captain, Robyn, the Angel of Destruction.

Your journey will begin by experiencing the final battle in which the four Knight Witches linked with everyone on the planet to be able to defeat the evil Emperor who blames them for everything that is going on. With everyone’s strength, Robyn managed to defeat the Emperor with a mighty magical fist that ended the war. After the battle, and with everything falling into pieces, all survivors move towards the crater formed from Robyn’s final attack.

 

It’s inside of that crater that they find a network of underground tunnels that lead them to the city of Dungeonidas, a land forgotten by time. It was built by ancient giants known as the Hexkari, and it’s thanks to Dungeonidas and the Machine that the people have energy, oxygen, food, shelter… and a chance at peace. It’s been fourteen years since the final battle in which the Knight Witches saved everyone, and it’s then that you’ll get to start a new adventure as Rayne.

Rayne is someone who actually got a chance to train with the Knight Witches but didn’t end up being part of the group that saved the world. While her husband feels a bit more bitter about the whole situation – especially with everyone having a special day to celebrate Robyn’s efforts and those of the Knight Witches. Rayne doesn’t feel that way, which is why when Dungeonidas is suddenly attacked by golems, she rushes into action and uses her old spell cards to try and save everybody.

The game’s controls are a bit different from what you’re used to for a Metroidvania. You can move around with the left analog stick as your witch flies through each area, as you aim with the right analog stick and attack with the R button. There’s also the option of attacking by pressing and holding down the R button without aiming with the right analog stick. This is called instinct aim, which will make your character shoot at the closes enemy. These bullets will deal less damage, but they’re still very useful since they will never miss their mark.

You can collect mana shards as you defeat enemies to charge up your special spell cards, which are mapped to the Y, X, and A buttons. Each spell card will have a different cost to activate the spell they contain, but they will all certainly be useful! One of them might materialize a barrier to protect you from incoming attacks. Another might unleash a powerful explosion to damage all enemies on the screen. And there’s even one that will release a flurry of bullets in waves in all directions!

As you use each spell card, they will be replaced by a new spell card from your deck. This is why it’s very important that you make the most of the spell cards at your disposal. You can edit your deck at the arcane beacons, which will also save your progress. The number on top of a spell card establishes the mana cost for activating it. And since cards are not consumed when used, you can create as many decks as you want and take them for a spin at the training palace that you can access at an arcane beacon. Oh, and before I forget. If you’re ever feeling lost, you can always press the – button to activate a guiding magic gust of wind that will show you the way!

Since Rayne is technically now an acting Knight Witch, she will need to power up her abilities to be able to stand a chance against the horde of enemies in her path. She will be able to level up by way of the link she can establish with people. Just like the Knight Witches managed to use the energy of the people who believed in them to defeat the evil Emperor, Rayne will need to use her link to people to improve as a Knight Witch. Level up, and you’ll be able to boost either the Knight side of Rayne or her Witch side, which will make subsequent sections a tad bit easier.

You should visit every room in each area that you visit since you never know where you can end up finding a permanent upgrade for Rayne’s health and mana! You’ll be able to select which one you want to improve upon collecting one of these permanent upgrades, so be sure to analyze which one can favor your playing style as well as allow you to progress further into the game. Having an extra heart means you can take an extra hit, which is very useful given the bullet hell nature of the game. Having extra mana will allow you to use more spell cards, which is extremely important during ambushes or boss fights.

As you defeat enemies and open treasure chests, you’ll be able to collect a bunch of glowing energy shards. These can be put to good use early in the game when you find a peculiar skeleton who happens to be a baker! While making muffins is a big part of his day-to-day, he can also use some of the energy shards you collect to, say, have him bake you a special piece of armor that will break after a single hit, protecting you from one point of damage. And you can, of course, also buy some muffins from him to heal your wounds and recover some of your lost health!

The Knight Witch is a fun Metroidvania that mixes bullet hell gameplay mechanics with a dash of deckbuilding for the spells that you can conjure thanks to the power of mana. The game does have a couple of issues. Rayne’s movement takes a bit to get used to since her flying around feels a bit, for lack of a better word, floaty. This means you’ll have to adjust accordingly to compensate for it. The other thing is that the loading is definitely on the longer side of things. It takes around 30+ seconds or so for the game to load between different main areas to explore, as well as during changes to some cutscenes. The Knight Witch is out on Nintendo Switch with a $19.99 asking price.

Disclaimer
This The Witch Knight review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Team17.