King Arthur: A Knight’s Tale – Test: Knights of Blame and Blame

You have to like the dark setting. Fast turn-based combat, a simple but good morale system and nice role-playing elements shine, however.

The Arthurian legend is probably one of the most rewarding stories for video game conversions. Scenario and characters play classic gaming mechanics on the cards, almost everyone knows the basic pillars of the story and as traditional folklore you don’t even have to pay license fees for it. No wonder all sorts of video games revolve around the legendary King, Camelot or Avalon. The board game implementation Tainted Grail: Conquest, which is still in Early Access, is also one of the kind.

Best known for The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, Hungarians Neocore have been making King Arthur games since 2009, with their most recent, Knight’s Tale, just finished, shifting the focus from real-time tactics to more intimate turn-based battles. It’s almost like a user poll asking 10,000 Alexes what the next game in this series should look like, but I have no complaints because I’m having a lot of fun with King Arthur: Knight’s Tale.

It starts with the fact that you don’t play King Arthur of all things, but his nemesis, Ser Mordred. The two fought their final battle so recklessly that the world fell apart and noble Arthur is now an undead monster. The Lady of the Lake then revives Mordred to put an end to Arthur. Final this time. Probably because it worked so well the first time.

The story is pretty dark and the momentum that Neocore puts into it seems a bit weak at times. Think: Game of Thrones, if no Starbucks had been allowed on the set and the lighting staff had failed anticipating Corona. But it doesn’t matter. I take this with the same sense of humor that I listen to Type O Negative, although no one here has the irony of Pete Steele on paper. Nevertheless, it is always pleasantly written – if you have come to terms with the sound.

I’m here anyway to do tactics, rebuild Camelot between battles, and make a few decisions here and there. Whether honorable or tyrannical, Christianity or old gods, the possibilities of the moral system are manageable, but clearly defined and sustainable. This is how you set the course yourself on your personal path through this story. The first (and most) impact comes in the form of followers eager to join one like you.

I have to admit, King Arthur was one of the few games where I felt like playing “the bad guy” and almost always basically choosing the tyrannical side, because it just fits the character of the Mordred, who is also doing what’s happening himself repeatedly commented.

The heart of the game are definitely the battles, in which you position a manageable number of warriors from your depraved Round Table against the undead and other monstrosities. Surprises are few and far between, but not necessary here. The game benefits a bit from the fact that you know exactly where you stand. Each character has their specialty, which is best served with well-known but well-chosen active and passive skills.

It is a matter of honor that Mordred as a shield bearer is more of a tank and that Ser Kay sometimes hits several opponents at once with his two-handed sword in an area in front of him. Likewise, Ser Balan tends to concentrate his massive damage on individual enemies with his battle axe. Add to that a vanguard who operates from the shadows, archers, and two sets of mages—each filling the expected void. It’s perfectly legitimate and well implemented here.

When you start a mission, you steer your four-man squad, which is often reinforced by commandable guest units, first through the area directly or by right-clicking. You discover cues and treasures and look around the ruined walls, plundered villages and dying forests. If you meet opponents, the game switches to chessboard mode. You quickly distribute the starting positions tactically as cleverly as possible and then it starts.

It is immediately noticeable that this is more of the fast variety. However, unlike the modern XCOM, in which you can perform a movement and an action, this game relies on action points, which is certainly also due to the smaller party size. You don’t have to calculate a lot or plan your moves meticulously, because almost every attack is extremely effective. And the fact that you can save remaining points – you usually have between six and eight of them at the beginning of a round – for the next move speeds up the procedure even more. The battlefield is also easy to read and the operation is intuitive. You get in pretty quickly – without missing any depth. Nicely done.

A nice touch is that the hero’s health is not only protected by your armor, but also separate hit points that the opponents are allowed to wear off before you take vitality damage. This in turn leads to permanent damage up to (permanent) death. I like the system because it slowly and gradually builds up the pressure. At least since Darkest Dungeon I’ve had a weakness for characters that are basically a bunch of handicaps. Similar to Darkest Dungeon, you also tinker between missions at your home base to heal the wounds of your fellow combatants faster, buy runes in the freshly painted magic tower, or lure a merchant to your court. It’s simple and will remain so, it won’t be a very deep management or structural element, but it doesn’t have to be.

King Arthur: Knight’s Tale Test – Conclusion

I would love to write more, but in this case you probably already know how things work. You follow the story, tweaking it here and there, losing and gaining cronies, sometimes in battle, sometimes because of… deviant morals, and gradually craft the perfect team of Round Table Avengers until Arthur is defeated once and for all. It’s not the most imaginative concept, but you have to get the hang of it as rock-solid, atmospheric and technically astute as it is here. For gamers like me, something like this keeps it perfectly solid every second. In short: there are many games like King Arthur, even more, which revolve around the Arthurian legend in the broadest sense. But few achieve this quality. Well spent 40 euros and a few crushed ones.

King Arthur: Knight’s Tale costs €44.95 on Steam. A version for PS5 and XBox Series consoles has been announced.