Candle Knight Review

Candle Knight tells the story of an enchanted candle holder who’s looking to restore light to their home; which is a wide and sprawling castle with deep and dark areas. You’ll need to venture into the darkness in order to restore light to your home.

Candle Knight is a 2.5D action platformer Metroidvania game where players explore various areas of the castle by uncovering interconnected areas and new powers. Using the newly acquired powers, you’ll need to backtrack to previously then-inaccessible areas to progress through the story.

As with any action game, our little protagonist can defend himself. You’ll pick up a sword and shield to help you survive the various threats found throughout the castle. Our tiny hero can also jump. Holding the jump button, the protagonist can also higher. While nifty mechanic out of the box, the jumping feels floaty which makes aerial combat frustrating.

Unlike most action games, the combat has a unique twist instead of simply attack/defend pattern. Dubbed the Ignis system, the more you attack and kill enemies in a short span, your attack power increases while your defense decreases. It gives the game a bit of a strategic layer during combat. Also keep in mind that blocking takes out two bars of the Ignis meter. Blocking when it’s empty leaves you stunned and vulnerable to attacks.

The game’s most unique features is that at various points in various levels, you’ll come across paintings in which you’ll be able to teleport yourself either to progress through the area or solve puzzles. It’s neat feature that breaks the monotony of the backtracking.

Candle Knight looks great. The game has a dark color palette and also has a bit of cartoon-like Castlevania inspired design. The castle is overly well-designed and enjoyable to explore; although, some areas are poorly lit and the 2.5D can make it easy at times to lose track of where you need to go. It also gives off Little Nightmares vibe. The soundtrack is fine for what it is. It feels like the perfect soundtrack to a Disney or Pixar movie like Hotel Transylvania.

The biggest flaw here is the lack of a map. It’s Metroidvania style game without a map. This is like playing a contact sport without a cup protector. You can’t keep tabs on your progress and this can also cause players to go around in circles. I’ve said this before and I’ll say again; being forced to use the joystick for 2D (or 2.5D) platformers makes it irritating and giving less precision in terms of movement.

Candle Knight is a decent Metroidvania style game. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, the unique combat adds a unique layer of strategy, albeit it does feel like it holds the game back and it’s a lazy way to avoid opting for a deeper combat system. If you’re a fan of the genre, I’d definitely recommend Candle Knight. If you’re looking to dabble in the genre however, I wouldn’t recommend this as your first experience.