Knights Contract

Even when the game seems to be working against me at every inopportune time, the drive to see the fate of Heinrich and Gretchen made me push forward. I'm glad I did. I didn't see the ending coming, and I love how the story concludes.

Knights Contract is a pretty normal hack and slash game. The gameplay is good and the two characters have a nice connection. You play with Heinrich, a brutal guy and you can't die. On the other hand the other character is Gretchen and she's weak, but has powerful powers. The game got its original elements, but is at no point really strong.

Knights Contract can be enjoyable, but its combat system is rough and not very unique.

Patient gamers will be able to find some fun in this game, especially when the higher difficulty levels open up, but for everyone else, Knights Contract makes for a good weekend rental.

Gratifying, gory combat contends with aggravating design flaws in this intriguing adventure.

A sword combat game which is unbalanced in many aspects. Its difficulty curve is strange, being very easy until its difficulty suddenly leaps. Those who love the genre will like it, but the rest should consider more options.

Knights Contract reminds me of that friend from high school-I think maybe every guy might've had one like this growing up-who was way too into wrestling. For the most part he was a great guy, except for the times when he'd decide that a casual conversation was a perfect opportunity to throw me into an inescapable armbar, on which occasion I found myself wishing he was a dead person.

While not entirely bad, Knights Contract feels like another missed opportunity to capitalize on a good concept, something 'Game Republic' is sadly perfecting.

Unacceptably frustrating.

The combat, for the most part, is satisfying and visceral, and the story, at times, is genuinely compelling. A mostly entertaining experience, it's marred by some terrible flaws and a handful of moments of unadulterated rage; much, we'd expect, like actually selling one's soul.

I have no idea how anyone could possibly think, after getting past the early design stages, that Knights' Contract was in any way a good idea.

Knight's Contract will test your patience and simply just doesn't match what the Hack and Slash market is offering today.

It's just way too irritating.

An unremarkable, cliched action-adventure. [Issue#202, p.86]

Another half-hearted adventure to leave on the shelf. [May 2011, p.118]

This massively unbalanced game manages to produce tears of joy and tears of pain pretty much all at the same time. An awesome combat system can't quite fight off the vast army of frustrating annoyances.

Unfortunately, the flow of battles and Gretchen's finishing moves aren't enough to overpower the linear "stop the villain from attaining ultimate power" storyline. the conventional action-adventure gameplay, or the near non-existent A.I. [April 2011, p.84]

But whatever "fun" might be experienced is abbreviated by a terrifyingly bad plot, and frustrating gameplay choices. While it's true that comparisons may be drawn to God of War, or Devil May Cry, they will always inevitably end with the statement: "Go play those instead."

Bad design decisions destroy a few good ideas and brief glimpses of quality.

A fantastic narrative wrapped in some decent combat and plagued by poor design decisions. This is actually more disappointing because there is something here you want to experience, but the shortcomings really keep you from doing so.

Knights Contracts has nice ideas and too many technical issues. With rivals like Ninja Gaiden, Bayonetta, God of War and Devil May cry, this Game Republic title has no chance to gain your attention.

Even if it didn't want to become a new milestone in the action genre, Knights Contract had all the chances to be an entertaining game. Unfortunately many technical flaws kill the good gameplay and the enjoyable story.

Hack n' Slash games are abundant and I wouldn't have any problems with Knights Contract if Game Republic took the time to design something clever and entertaining.

An interesting, plague-filled Middle Ages premise and decent combat are let down by some poor presentation and seriously questionable AI issues.

The problem stems from the fact that you can be knocked off of the platform, and if that happens it's instant death, which means restarting the entire boss fight.

We expected another Devil May Cry but we've got a weak Dynasty Warriors clone. It is still a challenge due to its complexity but there is no fun once you accept it. [Mar 2011]

Compared with other games of this genre, it's light years away.

Knights Contract can be enjoyable at times, but once players get into the thick of play, the questionable AI, level design, combat mechanics, and even visuals will make it more difficult to feel comfortable with.

Knights Contract seems to have strong qualities... at first. A sexy witch with interesting powers, which is ultimately too limited ; a super strong knight, which is uninspired in his fighting style; an atypical universe, which is finally overwhelmed... and the complementarity gameplay couldn't save this duo. They are not made for each other, as this title is repetitive and dated in many ways. Do not sign this contract!

Namco Bandai has failed to created anything that's actually enjoyable in Knight's Contract, likely due to poor QA and so many design revisions that the original concept of the game has mangled beyond all belief during the development process. It's absolutely frustrating to play through and ultimately joyless.

Knights Contract is essentially one, giant escort mission plagued by a myriad of gripes including horrendous AI. and repetitive combat. Despite its interesting concept, there is not enough on offer to salvage the game from the sheer magnitude of problems encountered throughout.

A miserable game that I hope you do not have the misfortune to play.

Far more tedium than fun, flat out.

Escort missions are rarely any good, but for some reason Namco Bandai has decided to release a game based just on that. The occasionally decent combat action is nowhere near enough to make up for the otherwise tedious gameplay, horrendous dialogue, awkward QTEs, ugly graphics and prolonged yet mind-numbingly boring cut scenes. Avoid at all costs.

For the most part, Knights Contract is a monumental disappointment mainly because there are occasional glimpses at the fact that it could have been so much better. The frustrating combat, dull graphics, uneven acting, and insipid A.I. make it ultimately impossible to recommend even as a rental.