Right away I noticed this game played very similar to Dragon Quest Builders,which in my opinion is a VERY GOOD thing. Like Dragon Quest Builders,Portal Knights has a very nice color scheme and charming looking created characters and environments.
You will spend most of your time roaming the environments,attacking enemies and gathering enough materials to create a variety of weapons,clothing,potions,furniture and much more. You can choose from multiple heroes to play as such as Warrior,Ranger,Mage. My time focused on a Warrior class build.
Combat:
Combat in this game is extremely basic, press or hold down right
trigger to continually attack or pick your spots and move. Some people
will take this as a negative,but for the type of creative sandbox rpg that
the game is, it works rather well.
Using a dodge roll before and after attacks is essential. Enemies you encounter have both short range and long range abilities or projectiles that makes speed and evasion a must if you want to survive an onslaught of multiple baddies at the same time.
Environments:
Environments much like Minecraft and DQ Builders,are destructive and can be used to create yourself shelter. This will be needed in some levels, as come night time,some nasty baddies come out to play and they're strong and dangerous.
The overall design of the many worlds/levels ive visted have been very eye pleasing. Ranging from lavish green areas to fall october like areas to areas with poison or water. No one level felt a copy and paste or too similar to another,which was great for keeping my immersion in each environment themselves.
Leveling Up:
Leveling up and crafting armor/weapons are key to survival the further you get into the game. Upon leveling up, make sure you use your attribute points wisely(STR/CON/AGI/DEX/WIS/INT)depending on class. Talents can also be selected at lvl 2,5,10 respectively. Talents are useful traits to have as some provide you with extra defensive measures or health regeneration.
Not getting enough experience by just grinding out kills on baddies? Try exploring secret dungeons and doing quests for nearby NPCs. Return items they're missing or fix a problem for them and you will be rewarded money and experience for your troubles.
(Side note): No noticeable framerate dips occured during single player playthrough.
Online Functionality:
I attempted at playing this game online via co op out of curiosity with a personal friend of mine. I went in expecting a somewhat decent experience but came out of it pleasantly surprised. We were able to locate each other on our friends lists and jump into each others worlds in a seamless and easy manner. We both experienced zero framerate drops or lag during our hour and a half onlne session as well.
One great positive I simply love about the online is the shared loot. Usually in games when one person finds the loot,only they get experience or money found. We both noticed that whenever one or the other picked up experience or gold,we both get it,really nice touch and definitely encourages you to co op more with friends due to the low chance of any hindrance.
Overall Thoughts:
For the most part this game has hours of great enjoyment,but with like all enjoyment,there does come time when I run into stuff I felt should be fixed in the future with patches or even maybe a sequel. One of my nit pick and gripes is when you're speaking to an NPC. If you are doing a quest and speaking to an NPC to complete it or gain insight on what to do,any aggro'ing or linked Mobs/Enemies that are on you will continue to attack you while you're defenseless and kill you during your talk with the NPC. It can get frustrating dying and having to make your way all the way back to the NPC.
Overall thoughts of the game ,I'd say I'd highly recommend this to people who either like
Minecraft or DQ Builders or both. Its got both the charm and creativity
of both games and perfect for pick up and go gameplay. Aside from the NPC and mob problem mentioned,I can't see too much wrong with what is offered.
If you don't have a Switch,pick it up on PS4/XboxOne/Steam. KeenGames and 505Games get a thumbs up from me.
Pros:
-Art Style
-Charm
-Controls
-Online Play
Cons:
-NPC/Mob issues
OR
9/10
Comments