Fallen Knight is a 2D platformer developed by FairPlay Studios Co. Ltd and published by PQube Limited. The game is hamstrung by its terrible controls, which undermine what could have been a fun title.
Fallen Knight is set in a futuristic world, where a new iteration of the Knights of the Round Table have discovered the Holy Grail and are using it as an energy source, which has resulted in many of society's ills being resolved. A terrorist organization called The Purge seeks the Holy Grail, so they attack the city of Neo-Utopia. Lancelot and Galahad of the Knights of the Round Table are dispatched to deal with them, as well as protecting the Holy Grail from falling into the wrong hands.
It's obvious from the get-go that Fallen Knight is heavily inspired by the Mega Man Zero games, as its two protagonists function a great deal like the sword-wielding Zero. Along with the basic movements of a platform character, the two protagonists of the Fallen Knight can also wall run, wall jump, and dash forward through the air. They both also possess a parry move, which is activated by hitting an enemy when they flash before performing a move. There is also a meter that fills whenever the player hits an enemy, which Lancelot can use to heal, in a manner similar to Hollow Knight. Galahad cannot use Lancelot's healing move, but he does regain health by parrying enemies, making him a far more skill-focused character.
Fallen Knight has two story modes. The first one focuses on Lancelot and it uses a Mega Man style progression, where the player can choose from different stages that have their own bosses. Lancelot can be upgraded between missions by unlocking items and purchasing stat boosts. Galahad's mode is more of a Roguelite, as his abilities are chosen at the start of a run and he only has one life. Together, these two story campaigns could have presented an exhilarating experience, were it not for the fact that the skill-based gameplay doesn't work in reality.
The problem with Fallen Knight is its controls. They are so unresponsive and unpredictable that it makes it difficult to play the game. The issues range from: the character not stopping when letting go of left/right; the game having trouble distinguishing between a wall jump and a wall run; the game not registering when trying to use the heal move, leading to wasted time for something that already has a lengthy animation; the game having trouble registering mid-air attacks, and the character sometimes not climbing onto ledges. The issue is exacerbated by enemy attacks often drastically moving the player character's position, such as missiles sending them rocketing towards the ground, making it feel as if the player has even less control over battle.
The controls in Fallen Knight were tested on multiple controllers and a keyboard, with the same result each time. It doesn't help that the characters have no invincibility frames, making it easy to take chain hits from multiple enemies due to a single screw-up caused by the game not registering play input. The issues are unacceptable, and it's difficult to recommend Fallen Knight in its current state. It's possible to finish the game in its current state, but it boils down to luck and trial & error, rather than anything under the player's control.
Fallen Knight could have been a lot of fun, but its inability to master the basic necessities means that it's hard to recommend in its current form. A Hollow Knight-style platformer with parries and counters needs to have the tightest controls possible, and Fallen Knight should be avoided until it is brought up to speed.
Fallen Knight is available now on iOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Screen Rant was provided with a digital code for the PC version of the game for the purposes of this review.