Future Knight

I hurl my sentient tumor at you

Why

Why Not

Impressions

You'll know immediately whether this game's aesthetic clicks with you; and if you spent as much time as me messing around with supermarket-shelf handheld games because your parents wouldn't buy you a Gameboy it will. The soundtrack is solid & definitely a good fit; enemy designs never stop being creative and weird. There are some interesting mechanics centred around the 'player' being a sentient tumor controlling a humanoid robot and your ability to eject from said robot to fight alone. In the robot you have more health (i.e. you don't get one-shot) but much lower mobility, while ejecting gives you more firepower/mobility but also means any damage boots you to the nearest checkpoint. Your robot also recharges its health/goes untargetable while abandoned, and returning to it replenishes the tumor's limited supply of energy for abilities.

So there's quite a bit going on for a sidescroller, unfortunately all you're required to do most of the time is run forward and shoot. Enemies are cool to look at and have some interesting patterns but often die before revealing them while bosses are very cool visually but not much more difficult outside inflated health pools. Maybe hard mode changes this but I'm happy with a single playthrough. There's also a time trial-esuqe system for each stage if that kind of thing interests you, and probably some potential for fast routes with advanced use of the mechanics but speed running isn't really my thing.

Overall it was a fun experience I'm glad I played, but probably won't stick with me much outside the visuals.