Ember Knights Nintendo Switch Review

Couch Co-op gamers rejoice! With the recent release of Manic Mechanics (Check out our review here) and now, Ember Knights, there’s plenty to cheer about if you love gaming in the same living room as your friends or family. Now, admittedly, I had no idea about Ember Knights when I saw it release on the Switch E-shop, and I’m not really one to enjoy Rogue-Like games at the best of times, but I had a few gold points stacked up on my account and thought I would give it a try to see if it could convert me to become a fan of the roguelike genre. Spoiler Alert: It did.

Opening up with a gorgeously rendered, anime-style cutscene, the game tells the story of Praxis the Mad sorcerer, who has drained the life force out of the Ember Tree. Your character is brought to life by Esper, the elder who guards the Nexus. Not much is really revealed at the start except the knowledge that you have to venture into the tear in the fabric of space to bring back Ember Shards to restore the tree, and ultimately bring Praxis to justice.

From the outset, the amazing art direction oozes style and charm. The world and characters are a combination of gorgeously animated pixel art, and stylish spell and lighting effects. The inhabitants of the Nexus, and the stragglers you meet along the way, all have their own unique designs and characteristic charm. It’s clear that the artwork and character design was a labour of love, and that love shines throughout the game world. Levels are fun and littered with detail, without too much going on so the focus remains tightly on gameplay.

This is where Ember Knights on Nintendo Switch really shines. The core gameplay loop (literally) is progressing, dying, upgrading, progressing dying etc. While this may sound tedious, the game is something akin to the Tom Cruise film “Edge of Tomorrow” where each iteration of your life you discover something more before hitting the tear again… and again… and again.

Each dive into the tear can result in unlocking a new item or skill which enters rotation, making your run easier should the Random Number Gods decide it. Skill certainly plays a part in how much you progress, and luck certainly decides your fate in the field. Thankfully, you can sway the gods by using the Ember you collect with each run to unlock special abilities like re-rolling the skills presented to you on a playthrough, or more basic ones like extra hit points. It’s this rewarding progression that makes the gameplay loop so addictive and I spent a solid 5 hours playing through, with 3 of them simply working my way up to defeating the first boss.

There are mini-bosses and encounters throughout each level and the mini-boss skills and abilities are randomised so the giant mosquito in the first level might be the Sanguine Sucker, or could be the easier (in my opinion) Gust Mosquito variant. After thoroughly exhausting my character with countless loops, I enlisted some help and enjoyed some 4 player couch co-op which was a blast, especially when the team switched out load-outs to become a balance of ranged and melee attacks.

Combat is fluid, fun, and rewarding, especially when you perform the perfect dodge into an attack and cut your way through enemies either solo or as a group. The loop-style gameplay seems to reward you just enough to always leave you wanting more and jumping once more into the Tear, hoping to get the perfect mix of gear and skills to finally defeat that boss! Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you may even find a fallen adventurer who has an extra relic on them to give you the upper hand this time around.

There are a lot of mechanics at play that can alter the outcome of your loop and tip the scales in your favour, but all of those mechanics are worth nothing if you don’t sharpen your skills. The game’s fast-paced nature means you are always on the move and if for some reason you stop, you might find yourself having a bad time. Those bad times rarely last though as the more you play, the more you are rewarded and those rewards even carry on to your multiplayer sessions.

There’s only one minor issue and that is the framerate sometimes drops in 4-player mode, but it doesn’t take long to recover and the fun, frantic nature of the game means it’s not very noticeable during the thick of battle.

As someone who has never enjoyed a rogue-like game, and is often put off by overly difficult games (or games that take pride in destroying you) I am absolutely enthralled by Ember Knights on the Nintendo Switch. Its affordable price point, fluid and rewarding gameplay, and overall fun has drawn me into one of my favorite purchases this year on the Nintendo Switch. At under $30, you really can’t go wrong with Ember Knights, a few friends, and some snacks.

So Whats it Like?

Ember Knights would be the lovechild of Vampire Survivors and Castle Crashers.