Peasant Knight is a puzzle platformer with a simple concept. Run through the end of the level as quickly as you can before the timer runs out while evading all the obstacles in your way. I thought this to be a fun premise and was curious to see what kind of experience Peasant Knight had to offer. Will the Peasant Knight fall flat on its face or emerge victorious on his quest to defeat the evil wizard?

Gameplay

When I first began playing, I was introduced to our main character peasant knight in the form of a few slides with text. He is on a quest to destroy the evil wizard who has roused the King’s ire. A tough ask for a knight without a sword.

The lack of further context didn’t bother me much because Peasant Knight offers bite-sized levels and a quick restart upon death. Getting to the end of each level is enough of a motivator for me. I also enjoy figuring out the mechanics of a game, which is something Peasant Knight handles well. You start off with basic levels that teach you about the various gameplay mechanics through good level design. Most noticeably, without any input, peasant knight will run forward and you have to hold left to get him to a standstill. It is important to get the timing down on this. Stop too early and a trap won’t trigger. Stop too late and you’ll get burned to a crisp, crushed by a moving platform, or killed in some other fashion.

Once you think you’ve got the hang of one of the new mechanics, Peasant Knight will introduce a new feature, trap, or enemy. The later, more complex, levels put the puzzle in this platformer. This includes the few boss levels scattered throughout the game. Your goal is still to reach the end of the level, as you have no way of defeating the boss without a weapon. So, evade their attacks by jumping and halting, as you make your way to the exit.

Control

As fun as my adventure started out, I never ended up feeling in full control of Peasant Knight. I initially thought it was just a matter of practice. But I was never able to get used to it. And in the later levels, the lack of control I felt over my character exacerbated my feelings. A prime example is a sort-of catapult that you need to jump off. Depending on how well you time your jump, you will fly farther. This needs such precise timing that I’m not able to pull it off consistently, even in the practice levels. I’m currently stuck on level 62 out of 80 as I can’t get the timing down in a trickier part. I’d persist, except that getting to the point where I can try is an inconsistent endeavor as well.

In general, I often feel that I press jump or flick left to halt at the right time. But the game doesn’t agree. I often overshoot when trying to stop or jump too late due to not being able to react in time after getting teleported somewhere. This is frustrating and stands in stark contrast to a game like Celeste, which is hard but deaths always feel fair. In the end, this means that I can’t get myself to finish this game. It ends up being too frustrating to keep trying. You need to feel in control to be able to own your mistakes, stay motivated, and keep pushing.

Multiplayer

There is a multiplayer mode available where you can either face-off against each other or play the story-mode levels together. Co-0p in Peasant Knight is horizontal split-screen, and you complete the level when either of you reaches the end. Facing off against each other works pretty much in the same way, except the player who reaches the end first is declared the winner. You get to choose between a best of three or best of seven and the victor will get to triumphantly stand on a raised platform.

Frankly, I don’t really see the point in having a multiplayer option in Peasant Knight. I play precision platformers to learn and improve by myself and to get that feeling of accomplishment when finally overcoming a challenge. And so, I don’t see myself competing against a friend. Playing cooperatively seems even worse as only one person gets to finish the level each time.

Audio and Visuals

Taking into account its budget, Peasant Knight’s visuals and audio are passable. Nothing impressive but the music didn’t get on my nerves and the game contains decent pixel art. Tunes and objects are re-used throughout different levels, but a noticeable effort went into creating the boss levels. These contain songs and sprites not found in other levels, mixing things up enough to keep Peasant Knight from becoming a stale experience.

Conclusion

The concept of Peasant Knight has potential, but the lack of control I felt while playing made it too frustrating to finish. I did have some fun times and enjoyed various levels. The boss levels, in particular, felt really well thought out. If you’re willing to take a chance and maybe have more patience than me, you could consider checking out Peasant Knight. However, it’s a tough sell, because even at its low price I think there are many better games out there that will offer a better experience and more content.

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