Knights Contract: Review

If you are looking for video games to bring you some fun, then Knights Contract is definitely a wrong choice, as this incredible waste of an excellent story will be nothing more than an exhausting exercise in frustration. Heinrich, a former executioner, is cursed with immortality and wants to die.

This task becomes even more difficult to accomplish because of his team-mate, a resurrected witch, Gretchen, who had cursed Heinrich just before he killed her. These two together must stop the puppet-master Faust. To do so they have to destroy row of murderers and witches (also back from the grave). The trick here is that Heinrich, being immortal, is unbeatable while Gretchen can be killed, and he has to keep her side all the time in order to protect her.

Gretchen has quite a number of witchy skills that could make a pretty enjoyable experience if used together with those of Heinrich’s. But unfortunately player controls Heinrich only, and all the game is left largely at the AI Gretchen's mercy. And her AI truly behaves like one looking to die, quite forgetful of the fact that it doesn’t possess Heinrich's immortality. She would rush headlong into combat, and when Heinrich carries her to a safe place and set her down, she is back again in the very thick of it the very next moment.

Bosses at Knights Contract follow the exactly same formula: after proceeding at several life bars, a quick time event (QTE) is what culminates the battle. If the player misses the narrow window of any input, the QTE ends with the hero being thrown back into the fight. Knights Contract has a pretty long list of quite frustrating drawbacks, such as: poor design level that makes it all very easy to get lost; Gretchen's employing some of her big spells in smaller areas sets camera freaking out; excessive loading screens; numbing deadlock of God of War button and some others.

Its boss battle formula in general shouldn't have passed any further than the first month of development. All the above stated should be enough to discourage the desire to spend one's money and time on this game. Overall Knights Contract is outstandingly miserable.

If, by any misfortunate chance, you play it and manage to make it to the end, the most predictable culmination will be a string of curse words you’ll let lose at the thought of sixty bucks spent on something that is not even remotely worth it.