The Knight Witch Switch Review – The Switchiest Witch on the eShop

The Knight Witch is an adorable indie metroidvania title with some shoot ’em up elements that truly make this a title all its own. This game from Team17 and Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team offers its players cute characters, a compelling story, and one-of-a-kind action.

But does The Knight Witch serve as a protector of the ages? Or does this witch need to be burned at the stake? Let’s find out!

The Knight Witch starts off epic. There is a huge war going on, and Emperor Erebus has sucked the world dry of all its natural resources. The Knight Witches, a band of warriors created to serve as military weaponry, turn against their creator in order to save the planet and try to restore it. Unfortunately, even after stopping Erebus, it was too late, and the remaining inhabitants had to move underground, to an area called Dungeonidas.

In comes our main protagonist, Rayne, and she was trained by none other than the head Knight Witch who defeated Emporer Erebus, Robyn, which means a lot is riding on her. Things are relatively calm in the underground until suddenly wild golems infiltrate and begin to reek havoc once again. Rayne is now the only Knight Witch to save the day, so she takes flight and begins shooting like her master once taught her.

It is a fascinating story that follows a character who truly cares about the people she loves and the community developed in Dungeonidas. Her conviction speaks loudly, and watching Rayne grow, improve, and take down the enemy threat is a joy. The story truly is the perfect amount of depth to suck you in, and the characters are wonderfully developed over the span of the game.

The Knight Witch is essentially a metroidvania were you explore Dungeonidas as you try to figure out what is happening and why your kind are being hunted. There is a large, interconnecting map with progressive powerups and passageways to keep you entertained for many hours. What makes The Knight Witch unique from other metroidvanias are the following: Rayne flies the entire time, enemy and boss encounters are bullet-hell like shoot ’em ups, and power-ups are essentially a mini deck building game of their own.

For fans of metroidvanias and shoot ’em ups, The Knight Witch is a dream come true! This is a huge game with lots to unlock and so many bullets to dodge, and the inclusion of instinct aiming, which is basically auto-aim, making things so much better in tight situation. Unfortunately, there are a couple issues that plague the overall experience, but please do not let that sound like this game is not worth playing. Not so. It is just that there are a couple nagging issues.

For starters, Rayne moves very slowly, which does make the weaving and dodging harder than it should be. Secondly are the cards in your deck, as they rotate randomly and use Mana, meaning that powerup you really need is most likely on deck and not ready to be used yet. Finally, boss fights, although lots of potential fun, can be ruined by the fact that bad RNG hurts the experience tremendously, meaning that how you die often does not feel like your fault.

Aside from those issues, The Knight Witch is quite enjoyable! Rayne’s abilities are a great to use, especially ones you unlock along the way that remind you of bosses you have ultimately taken down. The map and beacon system (Where you save and edit your deck) are set up quite well, and backtracking, for the most part, is no problem. I do find the ambush scenarios to be a bit ridiculous as well, as the RNG at those points can be problematic. Thankfully, the rewards and items for purchase are satisfying and help to make Rayne even stronger over time!

Graphically, The Knight Witch is stunning. It is a beautiful American anime style, and all of the characters look fantastic, both in their text image and gameplay. Rayne is absolutely adorable, and her mannerisms are so wonderfully painted throughout the game, like her fear, anger, and joy. Some of the comedy is also portrayed wonderfully, too, and the game just genuinely looks amazing throughout. The only issue here is that loading between areas is pretty long on the Nintendo Switch, which really takes the gas out.

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I found the music to be satisfactory, as it definitely serves its purpose, but the highlight of the sound department is absolutely in the effects. Since The Knight Witch is part bullet-hell shoot ’em up, it is important to have effective bullet sounds and the crunch of hitting enemies or being hit yourself. This is one of those areas that the game performs perfectly, as the sounds alone here remind you quickly the type of game you are playing, despite the fact that this is a metroidvania at its core.

When it is all said and done, The Knight Witch is a solid and unique title. It boldly tries to blend metroidvania, shoot ’em up, and deck building all into one experience, and for the most part, it works really well. It is unfortunate that some of the nagging issues will bog down gameplay for some people, especially the bad RNG with boss fights and ambush attacks, but it is worth sticking around for the metroidvania elements and the engaging storyline.

One of the nice things about metroidvania titles is that they are normally time-consumers, which means you are getting a lot of bang for your buck, and this is also true for The Knight Witch. It may not be the perfect experience, but it still does so much right that I cannot help but strongly recommend it.

If you are a fan of metroidvanias and shoot ’em ups, it is as if this game was made specifically for you. If you like one of those genres, you may still find joy in this and the challenge of trying something new. However, if you are not a fan of either, you may want to stay away from this one. Despite that, The Knight Witch is an incredible experience with a handful of minor blemishes that will hopefully get patched out down the line.

The Knight Witch Switch Review provided by Nintendo Link
Publisher: Team17
Developer: Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team
Release Date: November 29th, 2022
Price: $19.99, £15.99, €19,99
Game Size: 1.4 GB