In case you were unaware, Ember Knights is a Roguelite action game for up to four players. You play as a warrior and part of the Ember Knights who fight Praxis’ evil sorcerer. Praxis is determined to corrupt the universe so that he can take full control and secure the dominance he believes he owes. You will meet a few allies along the way who will assist you in defeating Praxis’ creatures and henchmen along the way. In order to restore the universe, you must defeat all five stages and return all the embers to the Ember Tree.
As far as gameplay goes, Ember Knights reminds me of Castle Crashers and Gauntlet. The two games I enjoy a lot, both by myself and with friends. You will face a variety of enemies on maps that appear to be randomly generated as you navigate each of the five worlds. After defeating each map, you will move on to the next until you reach the world boss. In the event that you survive this part of the game, you will be transported to the shop where you can spend the coins you have gathered before moving on. You can find coins in various pots, as well as spilling them out after clearing a map. During your run through the world, you can purchase upgrades to temporarily improve your stats or abilities, as well as potions to regain any health that you have lost.
While coins are often the most important form of currency in the game, Ember actually proves much more valuable. You can gain Ember by defeating enemies and by clearing certain maps. Once you return to the hub world, you can use the Ember that you have acquired on the Ember Tree. This tree will allow you to unlock permanent upgrades to your character that will make future runs much easier. Also, Ember is essential to unlock more weapons in the armory area of the hub world. In contrast to the Ember Tree, the armory does not require you to spend Ember to unlock weapons. In order to unlock the weapons permanently, you have to gather a certain amount of Ember. There are six main weapons to unlock, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Different playstyles will benefit from each weapon.
It is possible to earn Relic Orbs and Skill Tablets after defeating a certain number of enemies. While you can gain Skill Tablets by defeating Bosses and Mini-Bosses. In each of these games, there is a set number of them. Each of which offers an entirely different gameplay experience. Once you find Evee on your first run, you will interact with her to use your Skill Tablets. The Relic Orbs are used with Esper, who is mainly the ruler of your universe, the main reason why Praxis is angry. Overall, these two currencies can be used to change the upgrades you can find during the run. But they don’t drastically change the experience in a way you’ll notice right away.
I can safely say that Ember Knights is one of my favorite games of this year. Despite the fact that there have been many great games released so far. A game like this is one you can play with friends today and then pick it up again years later and enjoy it just as much. As much as it might be bold, I would honestly consider this to be the spiritual successor to Castle Crashers. It encompasses almost everything that is good about that game. While The Behemoth’s trademark humor has been absent from Ember Knights, Doom Turtle has made quite the splash in the videogame space with this game. I look forward to seeing what the developers have in store for the future!
