Made by solo dev Andy Brophy, Knuckle Sandwich is a turn-based RPG that is about guiding a bloke via an island paradise and finally uncovering some bizarre thriller. Its primary hook? Flip-based battles are full of WarioWare-style minigames, lots of that are distinctive to the kooky residents or rats you come up towards. Sadly, I would say its primary hook is definitely its most painful barb, and one you are barely capable of extract by flicking some switches within the settings menu. A disgrace then, as exploring its unusual world and absorbing its bonkers story beats is a superb factor marred by dire fights.
Knuckle Sandwich is an acid journey in 8-bit kind. You are an everyday deadbeat dude who travels from a deadbeat city to Shiny Metropolis within the hopes you may get swallowed up by employers there. After some temporary, barely disconcerting trial stints, you safe a job on the rundown Gorilla Burger. What follows is a battle whereas taking out the trash, leading to a lifeless thug. What outcomes from that… is a few doubtful meat being served to prospects. What follows that is a purple man who calls you “mate”, turning up in an alternate actuality and explaining his place as a member of Goblin Corp. There’s, it seems, a gang in Shiny Metropolis who threatens the material of actuality and escaped goblins have one thing to do with all of it. It is instantly compelling due to the bonkersness, and it is all informed from a perspective harking back to Earthbound and Undertale, the place sinister undertones give technique to a deeper human message.
When given some room to breathe and discover Shiny Metropolis, my frustrations with the fights fizzle away for a bit. Whereas every portion of town is not large, they’re house to quirky residents, funky retailers, and bizarre chats that may provide insights into how every neighbourhood’s getting on. Typically, you pop right into a home and there is a beautiful man who expresses how he enjoys his job as a miner. A safety official may warn you to steer clear of the Rat Lord’s home. Children having a picnic may debate the origins of brie. Whereas I would not say there is a super quantity of backstory to any of those characters or Shiny Metropolis itself, it is nonetheless a pleasure to wander about such a vibrant place and continually brush up towards the surprising.
Plenty of little particulars assist carry Shiny Metropolis to life, too. I just like the “schhh” of automated doorways as they slide open, or the best way birds hop round and flap off as you strategy. You save your recreation at washing machines – glad to see the phone snubbed for as soon as – and at every one there is a tidbit of textual content on its present wash cycle, which could chop and alter relying on the surroundings (prime of the road options can be found at Mr. Apricot’s luxurious resort).
And Brophy flexes these design muscle groups throughout story beats to, frankly, staggering impact. The place some video games of the same ilk may get comfy with the tips they use to push the story forwards i.e., a fade to black, or the digicam following a personality as they barge into the room, Brophy ups the ante with the slickest transitions. You may flash from current to future in a single snap, the background shifting immediately as your character seemingly slots right into a cutout of their silhouette. Desires of an earthly routine may rework your entire recreation into an 8-bit minigame, then issues will loosen up as the main target shifts totally to extra detailed close-ups of you and your goblin buddy. All of it furthers Shiny Metropolis’s penchant for the irregular in actually artistic methods.
It is a disgrace, then, that the story’s unexpectedness makes the sport’s pacing a little bit of a mare. Sections of blissful exploration are few and much between, with a lot of your time being taken up both by annoying puzzles the place one slip-up means failure, or essentially the most tedious duties. As an illustration, the sport had me backtrack a few flooring to fetch a hearth extinguisher I would handed earlier (I assumed it was set dressing), purely as a result of a path was ablaze; no twist, no nothing. One other time, I needed to discover three rooms on a cruise ship and assist whoever was in them. One man needed a deal with from the eating corridor, so I needed to run off, get it, run again, then that was it. Later, on an abandoned island I needed to backtrack once more and discover a number of pallets to construct a raft. Come on, man.
Off the again of the puzzles and duties, you may all of a sudden be thrown into back-to-back boss fights you are 1) woefully underprepared for and a couple of) weren’t actually anticipating as a result of both the character’s barely been launched, or it is the sport’s try at being humorous by crashing them into view. For these causes I felt most of the hardest fights lacked the load of context. Positive, I can crush a baddie, however I would really feel extra in the event that they’d have given me a swirly beforehand you recognize? Perhaps they’d have accomplished that factor the place they make a bit circle with their fingers, coerce you into it, then say, “hah! I made you look!”.
Tackling baddies is a turn-based affair, besides as a substitute of urgent the assault button and watching your sprite rock forwards to deal injury, you time your button-presses to align with knobs on a observe, a bit like if you take a swing in a golf recreation. On the subject of expertise, your efficiency in Wario Ware-style minigames usually dictates how efficient they may be. The identical goes for when enemies assault you, too. Beat their minigames and you’ll counterattack totally free, or time your dodge once they go for a extra primary swing and you will emerge with no scratch.
Timing your presses for primary assaults is supremely satisfying, and it is neat how the Assault Monitor™ can change between horizontal, crazy, or vertical to maintain issues fascinating. And the array of minigames on provide aren’t solely themed properly for every enemy – many are bespoke – they’re usually a strong combination of humorous and intense. A rat king had me scurrying out the best way of his loyal minions. I’ve needed to direct a flexible arm and hand to clutch a falling egg at simply the fitting time. I’ve pushed a automotive, prevented UFO catchers, jumped over rain clouds.
I’ve additionally practically damaged down in tears. You see, the sport’s numbers aren’t balanced correctly, so when Knuckle Sandwich has pressured into fights with enemies in slim corridors or shoved into bosses, I’ve needed to hurl myself right into a wall. There’s not one of the gradual ramp you’d get from different RPGs, the place the numbers you output mark up properly towards these you obtain as ranges improve. Knuckle Sandwich’s issue ramp is, it appears, extra of a random slalom.
In opposition to even the smallest critter I would poop out a measly seven injury with my primary assaults, and do that repeatedly over the course of a number of turns. I would use a ability that drains my EP, just for it to do much less injury or miss totally. All of the whereas I dodge and full minigames completely, which may both nullify injury or deal hundreds. I would hit 36 or 48 off these counterattacks! Then I would mess up one (1) counterattacking minigame, take 66 injury, and die. I would return to battle having outfitted a knife to up my injury by +15, just for my primary assaults to hit simply as laborious as earlier than. The shortage of consistency is infuriating.
Maybe the one constant factor is feeling like most fights, particularly boss fights, outstay their welcome. Many boss battles fall into being story beats on the similar time, with jokey chats and energy ups activating as you chip their well being down. What this implies is a nagging sense of “I’ve to undergo the very same battle if I lose”, enhanced by unhappiness as your measly reps of 16 injury barely chip into their huge well being swimming pools. Sure, counterattacks deal much more, however this solely serves to place you off primary assaults and expertise. Why trouble touchdown your hits when beating an enemy’s minigame offers 4 to 5 instances greater than what you are able to?
And as fights and the specter of extra fights marches on, my gripes with the numbers mix with the minigames themselves: not solely do your assaults barely scratch some enemies, every minigame elongates the struggling. Sure, they introduce some selection and ramp up in issue as fights go on, turning them into bespoke survival challenges. However man, if you’re caught in a boss battle for 20-minutes hammering out timed button-presses for the tiniest of alms, then get blown to shreds by one mistimed counterattack, it is very laborious to not lose your cool. The identical rings true as you sort out much less vital fights.
The settings menu can alleviate a lot of the ache, as you are capable of tweak whether or not you even trouble with the essential assaults minigames, how straightforward every minigame is, how a lot injury you are taking, and auto therapeutic earlier than battle. The holy grail, although? The choice to skip battles totally. Even after decreasing the problem I skip virtually each battle, as extra beneficiant numbers nonetheless do not make for a battle system that is really enjoyable in the long term.
It is an actual disgrace that Knuckle Sandwich’s fight is past irritating, as a result of it is an enormous a part of uncovering the mysteries lurking inside Shiny Metropolis. If it will get rebalanced later down the road, then it will undo a number of why I would hesitate to suggest the sport proper now. I merely do not suppose the kooky residents and fantastic visuals could make up for fights that’ll increase your blood stress to harmful ranges. Here is hoping issues change.
This assessment was primarily based on a retail construct of the sport offered by the writer.
