Thank you Ratalaika Games for sending us a copy to review!

Jet Set Knights is an arcade-style game where you play as one of four knights protecting a queen. Monsters appear in waves from the top of the map and slowly make their way downward. If any of them reach the queen, or if you lose all your hearts, it's game over.

The levels are laid out like small platforming levels. Each knight has a sword as their basic weapon along with a special attack they can do by holding the attack button. These special attacks range from shooting arrows in the 8 cardinal directions to leaving a trail of poison wherever you walk for a few seconds. Players can also collect wood and stone to build temporary walls or turrets. Powerups and temporary weapons appear around the map as well, and the player can jump on enemy heads to do damage.

There are some unlockable minigames to play, but they are very simple with a Gameboy aesthetic. One of them is just an Arkanoid clone, another a Frogger clone. Playing these games awards the player with tokens. These tokens can be spent at a slot-machine game that then unlock equipment for the player to take into the next level.

There are some unlockable minigames to play, but they are very simple with a Gameboy aesthetic. One of them is just an Arkanoid clone, another a Frogger clone. Playing these games awards the player with tokens. These tokens can be spent at a slot-machine game that then unlock equipment for the player to take into the next level.

Finally, Jet Set Knights supports local multiplayer with up to 4 people. There are several game modes. For 2 player, there is survival, where two people play the normal single-player experience together. Alternatively, 2–4 players can battle against each other in games like capture the flag or king of the hill.

Jet Set Knights uses a pixel art style and chiptune music, both of which fit the overall style and theme of the game. There are just 5 levels, each of which has different enemies that appear. I have a bit of a bone to pick with the spike-backed enemies of the ice level. In no game ever can you jump on a spikey enemy and expect to not get hurt...except for Jet Set Knights, apparently. I avoided jumping on them for quite some time, expecting to get hurt, only to find out by accident that they are treated just like every other enemy in that regard. I feel like it wouldn't have been too difficult to change the enemy design in a way that didn't confuse players.

That wasn't the only confusing design choice. I accidentally quit out of a level several times because, in the pause menu, pressing B (normally the back button) takes you back to the title rather than just returning to the game. It's completely different than virtually any other game in a way that is likely to be frustrating to most players. I also experienced a single bug while playing, where the entire game froze and I had to reset it.

But my biggest complaint is how SHORT the game is. For an arcade game to have any lasting power, to be something you spend hours on, it either has to have myriad levels, have some rogue-like elements, or other unlockables to keep the experience fresh. However, I managed to beat all 5 levels' boss rounds and unlock all of the equipment in under 2 hours. The gameplay isn't subtle or complex enough to feel like something you want to spend hours mastering, either. Finally, the multiplayer aspect seems like something that'd be fun to try with your friends once, but not much more.

There are a few moral aspects to be aware of. You do fight enemies with swords, arrows, and the like, though there is no blood. The enemies consist of myriad monsters, but include flaming skulls, skeletons, and demons. Finally, as mentioned earlier, tokens can be obtained to play the slot machine game, though the rewards of the slot machine dry up pretty fast. There are three awards from the slot machine: an equippable, more tokens, or, if you get three poop icons, the loss of two tokens.

In short, Jet Set Knights is a simple but short arcade game. It might provide an hour or two of fun, but for most people, I wouldn't expect much more than that.

-maestro_dana