Knights Contract

Knights Contract is a Japanese interpretation of Goethe's Faust in hack'n'slay style. Apart from the funny, twisted story, the game lacks in pretty much every aspect: the boss fights are unfair and the AI is plainly stupid, to name but a few examples. Other games in this genre like Dantes Inferno are both better and cheaper.

Knights Contract should have been a better game, but several poor design choices really hurt the experience. Still, I found it rewarding enough to continue on and discovered that underneath some of the glaring issues, there is a solid game to be found.

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.

It's got an interesting story, a control setup that's not too hard to get used to (aside from the annoying lock-on mechanic), and the graphics and sound are nice, though the music can get repetitive after a while.

Unforgiving quick-time events, unintelligent AI, frustrating cheap deaths, and confusing level design are just a few problems.

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.

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

You'll find some bloody good times scattered throughout the journey, but not nearly as many as we'd hoped. [April 2011, p.78]

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.

Obviously, I cannot recommend Knights Contract unless you are looking for a game that will punish you non-stop with horrible companion AI and frustrating boss battles. While the game has some ambitious elements in story, gameplay, and visual design, it also suffers from inexplicable bad choices in those same areas and more.

Almost nothing works in Knights Contract and it's strange since Game Republic have a name for interesting and well crafted games. It's too hard and not accessible enough.

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.

Okay combat, some neat spell effects, okay levels, a protection mechanic that works, upgradeable powers, spells and special items, and protracted cutscenes that revel in being overly dramatic (that's a positive in my book), make Knight's Contract utterly unremarkable.

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.

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."

Frustration and grind are the most prominent attributes. [Issue#69, p.84]

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.

I mostly enjoyed Knights Contract's blistering combat, absorbing story, and dark fantasy setting, which makes it all the more difficult to see it sullied so significantly by a single bad idea. But honestly, the buzz-killing boss battles made reaching the game's conclusion more frustrating than fun.

Knights Contract revealed to be a quite dull game, bound to an outworn combat system and frustrating gameplay.

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.

Too punishing to recommend. [Mar 2011, p.100]

Knights Contract is far too rough around the edges to be worth its asking price. The needlessly frequent cutscenes interrupt the game's flow, combat against the majority of enemies requires little thought, and you'll be constantly fighting either the camera or the level design. The finishing blow is Gretchen's AI, which makes the boss fights annoying instead of exciting.

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.

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.

Knights Contract has a cool premise by design but an abysmal AI completely defeats the purpose and chance at having any fun within.

A poor script and worse voice-acting. [Issue#107, p.94]

An engrossing quest sadly dumped on from great heights by a few unforgivable mistakes. [May 2011, p.100]

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.

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

From the awful AI to the jittery camera to the hazardous-to-controllers difficulty spikes, right down to the grammatically-challenged title, Knights Contract feels unfinished at best and lazy at worst.

Quotation forthcoming.

Given the state of Knights Contract, the famously hellish result of Dr Faust's own little deal seems comparatively sweet. [Mar 2011, p.101]

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.

A monument to not only everything that is wrong with escort missions but with bad action game design in general.