GoNintendo Review - Knights and Bikes (written by NintendoJam)

Knights and Bikes from developer Foam Sword Games (published by Double Fine) perfectly encapsulates the feeling of imaginative exploration that inhabited the 1980s. With a uniquely crafted gameplay experience, childlike creativity plays a major role in this beautifully stylized, heartfelt action/adventure title.

Playing as a young child coping with the recent passing of her explorative mother, Demelza, alongside her newly found pal Nessa, continues her late mother’s expedition to uncover the ancient treasure hidden within their hometown on Penfurzy Island. Along their journey, they must prevent the spreading of an evil curse that's been placed to protect the finding of the treasure. Keeping this review relatively spoiler-free, Knights and Bikes' narrative is something to behold. Perfectly handling some serious issues, you'll laugh, smile, and maybe get a bit teary-eyed through an undoubtedly heartwarming and innocently fun experience.

Not understanding the game world's core principles helps to bring some of the imagination within the game directly to the player. While sometimes it's obvious when Demelza is just playing pretend with her friend Nessa, other times you aren't exactly sure what's entirely real. Dialogue clues from various characters help to suggest what is actually going on in the story, but you're never taken away from feeling like a child having silly and creative adventures.

Both of the playable protagonists are best controlled through the intuitive co-op mode. Swapping between Demelza and Nessa while experiencing the game solo is perfectly functional, but slightly decreases the enjoyability of puzzle-solving and battle participation. Minigames are also sprinkled throughout the story, providing races and other friendly competition. Playing these in single-player seems almost entirely pointless, as nothing is earned or lost from winning or losing.

Knights and Bikes definitely isn’t for someone looking to challenge themselves, as the game is relatively easy in all departments. The charm of the gameplay isn’t from difficulty, but from the wonderfully put together world with a brilliant art-style, interesting characters, and casual yet exciting exploration. Regaining each character's health is done through randomly found bandages (which, in hindsight, is pretty gross). Once easily obtained, you can give your friend a magical high-five to heal their injuries (you can also give high-fives just for fun).

The entire playthrough of Knights and Bikes is childish in all the right ways. Silly sound effects, crazy music, and wacky weapons and gadgets accumulate to create something truly delightful. A lovable goose named “Captain Honkers” is an important part of your adventure, and will guide you through as you explore the cursed island. Repetitive noises could get a bit annoying for some players (with no audio adjustment available apart from general volume), so make sure you’re fully in tune with your inner-child before starting up the game.

In true 80s kid fashion, bicycle riding is one of the main mechanics for traveling around in Knights and Bikes. You may need to occasionally ditch your trusty bike to solve puzzles or explore otherwise unreachable places, but sometimes, they are actually required to proceed. Upgrades and customization options are available, allowing you to pimp your ride however you’d like. This isn’t done for free however, but your form of currency couldn’t be more adorable. Stickers, trading cards, keychains, and other various items can be discovered on your adventure; under rocks, in bushes, hidden boxes, or by defeating enemies. They’re quite plentiful, so don’t worry about filing for virtual bankruptcy anytime soon.

While not a perfect game, Knights and Bikes certainly comes close. The majority of issues I had were caused by my own stupidity in puzzle-solving, but once the solution is realized, it’s clear that my time wasted was of no fault of the game. Not knowing exactly what caused it, there was a sudden crash during my playthrough. Luckily, the game saves automatically almost constantly, so you don’t have to worry about losing much progress if you happen to experience the same.

Knights and Bikes justifies its admittedly low 7-8 hour gameplay time by costing only $19.99 USD. Providing a unique experience unlike anything I’ve ever played, the imaginative childlike creativity is absolutely sensational. My enjoyment never faded, and it was always difficult to put the game down (just as it was difficult to stop make-believing as a kid). Foam Sword Games should be extremely proud of themselves, and I’d highly recommend this action/adventure title for anyone who is a kid at heart.