Written by JM Nuqui
Title: Portal Knights
Developer: keen games
Publisher: 505 Games
Genre: Action, Role-Playing, Adventure
Price: $29.99
Also Available On: Android, iOS, PS4, XB1, Steam
I remember when Minecraft was released for the PC with 16-BIT 3D graphics and it sold like millions. It was a hit not only for Kids but also for adults as well. You have the freedom to build your own world in a randomly generated engine. There are some that made Star Wars inspired places and even a Game Boy. That's how powerful Minecraft is. Fast forward to 2017, we have a new Sand box in the name of Portal Knights was released first via Steam, PS4 and Xbox and is now being released for the Nintendo Switch.
When I first fired up Portal Knights, the beauty of the environments was melting my screen away. It is very child friendly and everything looks like Lego. It was great but with some hiccups especially when you go first person mode. But nevertheless, the surroundings and details are amazing.
The game is more comparable to Dragon Quest: Builder which was released last year than Minecraft. It's not as blocky as Minecraft but plays like Dragon Quest: Builder and Ocean Horn. The battle system is great though I died multiple times during the early stages since stages were random, I got lucky that there were tons of monsters were my portal, where I spawn was already infested with goonies. I love how it handles battles on this game though. Like I mentioned it felt like Oceanhorn or Zelda if your more familiar with that. You gain experience after killing an enemy or while mining and you can choose which stat you'd like to grow since you have the option to select a job Knight, Mage and a Scout if you like Bows and Arrows.
If you're familiar with how Minecraft works you'd be familiar here and if you're not, I don't think you'd enjoy how the game works. You have to build or craft everything here, from your house to your equipment, to potions and other stuff. There are tons to build and pick up and yeah, there's a lot of leg work literary to be done. Supplies are scattered across different dimensions. In Portal Knights, you also need to gather stones for portals to transfer you to different environments where you can gather materials. You have the option to generate a small or a large environment for each world at the start of the game. You may want to choose what best suits you depending on your play style.
Focusing on crafting could be a bit of a leg work though. You'd need to find a world and tag it as your home and place all your inventory there. You build chest, workbench and other stuff that you need to craft, and You need to get back there each time you'd like to craft something or store something. You have limited storage capacity considering how many materials you'd be carrying for this game. You also need to carry every ingredient you need for crafting which is tiresome. Not everyone's cup of tea.
On the mining part, you’ll love mining once you get the Drill. It's fast and efficient. Building is a different story. You have all the materials but still not as efficient as Minecraft. Its tiresome and boring to build. There's no creative mode to freely move around so you could build fast.
Adventure is very rich on this game as there are quest that you can tackle for each world, some dungeons to conquer and strangers to help. There's an online option that so you can play coop with friends and other people around the world to help you or you help them on their adventure. Sadly though, there aren't any players on the Nintendo Switch's Portal Knights server. I am not sure if this is just the Nintendo Switch version.
Overall, it’s difficult to recommend this game for seasoned Minecraft fans and there's also a Minecraft for the NS and majority will go there if there are no players to play with online. A good attempt though and I hope to see some cool games from the developers in the future.
Pros:
- Amazing graphics
- Solid SandBox Experience
Cons:
- Some hiccups
- No online players
- Build and Crafting mode experience is tiresome
Overall: 3.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment