Overview – developed and published by Eastasiasoft, Stormy Knights is the second instalment of the Tiny Pixels series, providing fun experiences at a budget friendly price point. In this entry, take the role of a knight on a quest to save the princesses of the realm, battling monsters across different locations. This title is available across all platforms, with a link to all versions of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Tiny Pixels Vol. 2: Stormy Knights that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. I will be skipping the story as this title is light on plot, so I will be going straight into discussing the gameplay.
Gameplay – stormy Knights is a real time action game, where the objective is to rescue the princess that is being held in each stronghold. As the hero, traverse a goblin fortress, the palace of the lizard queen and the feudal forest, all on a journey to the lair of the timeless one. During this journey battle the minions of each stronghold, fighting to reach the princess and the boss that is holding them. There are four stages in this game to clear.
This release has a pretty simple gameplay loop. As the heroic knight, you must battle enemies in side scrolling one-on-one encounters. This combat has a strategy feel to it, as the player must make tactical decisions, responding to the actions of your foes. The player has access to a limited moveset, which works in favour of the game. At the start there is the sword to fight enemies, the shield to block, a back step dodge and the ability to crouch.
With these moves, the battles have a back and forth strategic feel to them. As the enemies will advance and retreat, avoiding attacks or to get space for a ranged attack. The minions have limited attacks, each with their own unique tells, allowing players to learn their patterns. Some attacks can be blocked, whereas others must be dodged. The blockable attacks have the potential to stun enemies, leaving them open to counter attacks.
After defeating an enemy, the knight will transform into an orb of light, moving to the next section. During this transition, there will be coins hanging down, which can be collected by making contact with them. These are added to the total for the player, coming in handy at the end of a run. When the player reaches the end of the stronghold, they will encounter the boss, who is the strongest enemy of that territory.
In a boss battle, the player will face down a challenging opponent, with increased health and powerful attacks that will decimate the knight if they connect. Each of the boss opponents has three attacks, aside from the final boss of the run, who has even more power. These each have unique triggers, with ranged and up close strikes. Upon defeating each of the first three bosses, the princess will descend and reward the knight with a kiss and more coins.
Upon defeating the final boss, the player will get a completion screen, showing their stats including princesses saved, number of deaths and more. Speaking of deaths, the demise of the knight will more often than not be the reason for a run to end. When this or a completion occurs, the player will be allowed to use the coins collected to purchase skill upgrades. There are three different skill trees that the player will be able to improve.
The three skill trees are split between attack, defense and special. In the attack tree, the player will be able to improve their weapon, with upgraded combos and more damage. The defense tree allows players to improve their health, receive healing from a rescued princess and even give the shield special powers. Then there is the special tree, which unlocks the powerful lighting strike, a limited use power alongside special bonus effects to use in battles.
This set of skill tress will take some time to fully upgrade, so there will be numerous runs that need to be cleared. The most coins are available after defeating a boss, with many coins that can be collected. This can further be augmented by skill power-ups, providing the opportunity of an increase to the coins, with a 50% chance to get 2 and a 25% chance to get 3 coins. This gives some replay value for this release.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – There is a relatively simple to pick up input system for this release, with all of the required inputs on the screen. This is pretty handy as it allows players to quickly get into the action, which is good as it allows players to jump in any time and know what to do. However, there are moments where it can feel that the inputs aren’t responding correctly, which can be frustrating. There does feel like there is a delay at times, which may or may not be user error.
Difficulty – in general this may seem like a difficult game, with runs ending fairly quickly when trying to figure things out and learn attacks. But after spending some time to learn each enemy attack, the way bosses work and upgrading the skill trees, the difficulty is eased. The real challenge comes from deciding what skills to get, as some are more beneficial earlier than others. This gives the challenge a bit of a dynamic feel the more it is played.
Presentation – from a visual perspective, there is a lots of retro style to the use of color, pixel art and the way that the stages are designed. All of these elements come together, creating something that evokes nostalgia, while not relying on it. The pixel art is made well, with plenty of detail in the characters and environments. The sound is good too, which further adds to the aesthetic that the game tries to give, with good music and solid sound effects.
Final Thoughts – I enjoyed the first Tiny Pixels game (which can be found HERE), so I was interested in seeing what was next from Eastasiasoft. The gameplay of Stormy Knights is satisfying, offering an interesting and unique challenge. It was a little awkward to get started, but as I learned the timing of enemy attacks, everything slotted into play. There are some minor blemishes, but they do not significantly affect the overall experience.
From a quality perspective, this game is well made and has many elements that give it a unique feel. But it does feel a little too short at times, which is both a blessing and a curse at the same time. While it is good for speed play by having multiple runs done quickly, it may feel a little hollow upon complete victory, especially if it takes a while to get there. But as a pick up and play budget game, I am happy to recommend this to everyone.
In the end, I give Tiny Pixels Vol. 2: Stormy Knights a final score of 4/5. This is an interesting and solid retro style action game, with tactical play and a decent skill tree system, creating something that feels nostalgic but unique. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Nintendo Switch (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
Link to Steam (HERE)
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