Knight Squad 2 - Switch Review

In May last year, I reviewed the original entry to the Knight Squad series when it came to Nintendo Switch. I settled on 65% as I thought that the game had polish but it just needed a greater sense of plot, fine-tuning to its controls and AI and its long load times were substantial. Knight Squad 2 aims to fix a lot of these issues but if you're unfamiliar with the series, the game is a topdown action party title that pits eight players against one another in a sea of game modes.

Gameplay

Knight Squad 2 contains a total of 13 game modes. Each mode is played with up to eight players and while you can play single-player with seven bots, the game is much more fun with as many friends you can get together. Each mode is uniquely different, ranging from Capture the Flag to Battle Royale to Soccer and each are worth at least one try until you and your friends decide on your favourites.

Knight Squad 2's biggest improvement is its online cross-platform multiplayer. The original felt quite bare-bones in terms of single-player longevity so this addition helps to add more value to the game and justify its price tag better.

Enjoying our Knight Squad 2 Switch Review so far? Don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more Nintendo Switch content. Also, please consider supporting us on Patreon so that we can continue to keep the website running and get our fortnightly podcast two days early.

Story / Personality

Similar to the first entry, there is no plot to mention here. This comes as a major disappointment as it was one of my primary gripes in my original review. The Knight Squad series has its focussed locked onto multiplayer/party gameplay and that's fine, but when a player picks up the game on a whim, its lacklustre single-player offering can leave much to be desired.

That being said, there are some new Knight characters that add a bit of personality to the fray. Love them or hate them, the Selfie Knight is the easiest 0ne to highlight where they, as the name suggests, continues to take selfies in the loadout screen.

Graphics / Art Direction

The graphics remain simplistic but to its charm, the sequel helps to smooth out the rough edges to make the game feel more lively. It still retains a topdown perspective with most assets simply pulled from the original instalment but the presentation around that (i.e. the 3D character models and the menu screen) are taken to a level that breathes personality into it.

Music / Sound Design

This department is more a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Not once did I mention the music in my original review and that was because there's not really much of note here. The announcer voice plays that expected role with a deep yet charasmatic tone akin to the classic Unreal Tournament entries and the music is upbeat that fits the tempo of the gameplay.

Final Score: 70%

While it doesn't fix every issue that I had with the previous instalment, the sequel to Knight Squad does a respectable job of learning from its initial shortcomings. Its lack of single-player content is still a tough pill to swallow but considering that this series now features online cross-platform multiplayer, it now provides much more of a reason to continue coming back. Will it be nominated for tonnes of awards? Unlikely. Is it a fun time to be had with friends? Absolutely!

Thank you for checking out our Knight Squad 2 Switch review, thank you to Chainsawesome Games (via Stride PR) for providing the review code and thank you to our $5 and up Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

• Andrew Caluzzi (Inca Studios / Camped Out)
• Bel Cubitt
• Jon Crispe
• Matthew Sandstrom