Knuckle Sandwich Review (PC)

Three skeletons and a rat are sitting opposite my character and a companion, ready to deliver damage. The animal deploys a special attack which gives my party the sick effect, which isn’t a great start to the battle. The skeletons deliver their own strikes, one of which I entirely dodge, while the other launches a mini game.

I manage to avoid all the ghosts inside a haunted mansion which means my character does not take any damage. It’s time to strike back, using the beatdown special skill to attack all three opponents at once. It takes a few more turns and the party needs to use a zoop to get health back, but I take down all the opponents, gaining some experience and a few magical stones.

I run around this icy warehouse, trying to move around enemies as much as possible, avoiding all the low-light areas. I’ve already slipped on the frozen floor once and I had to get through quite a few battles to get back on the critical path. At least I’ve found some items along the way. The fate of Bright City is at stake and plenty of more tactical battles need to be fought to keep everyone safe.

Knuckle Sandwich is developed by Andy Brophy, with publishing handled by Andy Brophy and Superhot Presents. I played it on the PC using Steam. The game mixes a variety of ideas and creates a surreal world for players to explore.

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As a new kid in the big Bright City, players will first go to the Job Centre, where a gameshow host and audience watch then fail to match with several open positions. Our character then ends up in a down-on-its-luck dinner, where some light cannibalism takes place. The mysterious Busdriver takes them to the Goblin Design Tower, revealing that a nefarious group is preparing to destroy reality.

That’s just the start of an adventure infused with a ton ofsurprises. Players will move through Bright City, interacting with characters or objects (the protagonist has something almost witty to say about most of them). Washing machines are the save points. The stakes might be high, but they also don’t matter. Get used to hearing a lot of “mate”. Knuckle Sandwich is all about the narrative journey, boosted by funny writing, and not the destination.

As in all good role-playing games that draw on the genre’s classic, the world is riddled with enemies that are always ready for a fight. Encounters are turn-based but players have to pay attention and use buttons at the right time to deliver critical hits and to dodge incoming strikes. The party also has access to special attacks, as well as an item inventory. It’s a familiar system executed well.

But Knuckle Sandwich’s innovation lies in the way it uses mini games to keep combat interesting. All skill use launches a small window where players will engage, for a short time, with a new set of mechanics. Avoid ghosts and other enemies. Battle a massive bat, classic Space Invader style. Catch a falling object or run a short obstacle race. These are just a few of the many activities that players have to master to avoid incoming attacks and to drive their own home.

The concept is brilliant and for about two hours I was looking forward to combat because I wanted to see what else the game could conjure. But it soon becomes clear that the energy devoted to the mini games also has negative effects. The biggest one is the difficulty, which can spike significantly even when facing non-boss enemies.

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It’s not that opponents have complex plans, it’s that my party dealt too little damage when compared to their hit-point pool. Repetition is the only way to deal with them and failing even one mini-game on their special attack can have big consequences. Keep as many healing items in the limited inventory as possible.

Knuckle Sandwich aims to add even more variety by bringing in some Quick Time Events. As always when this mechanic is involved, it’s a bad idea. They aren’t hard to complete but they do not actually add much to the experience. The world also features puzzles, another way to give gamers something to do between battle sequences.

The game never talks about it but the Settings menu allows players to enable an option to skip most combat encounters (it also features a few other choices that can make the game easier). It frees players to focus on the zany world and play the mini games. When a battle becomes annoying because it’s taking too long or is simply too difficult, simply skip it and never look back. It’s the best way to see Bright City for those who do not enjoy being frustrated.

Knuckle Sandwich isn’t a great-looking video game, even for players who love the low-fidelity approach. The limited appeal of its graphics is a good fit for the gameplay and general atmosphere. But I still struggled to constantly watch this sickly-looking hero move through bare environments and play the same rough-looking mini games during combat. The design choices can be weirdly charming initially but don’t really work for a ten-hour experience.

The sound design does not deliver much more. The characters are not voice acting but they babble while they deliver their lines, which quickly become very annoying. Turn that down as soon as possible. Combat sounds are 8-bit role-playing game inspired. The title’s soundtrack draws from the same sources and needs more tracks.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion