Late in the game review: Spiral Knights

Game Title: Spiral Knights

Consoles: PC, Mac

Developer: Three Rings Design, Inc., Sega

Release Date: April 4, 2011

Spiral Knights is a free web-based hack-and-slash style MMORPG where players are knights searching the depths of a newly-discovered planet for the secrets it holds. To do so, they'll have to get past monsters and challenges, and probably die a few times. Like a lot of MMOs, the story is mainly there to give the players some kind of context for what they're doing. There's not much in the way of plot for this game, so it's gameplay all the way. Apparently that's a good thing, since over a million players have already signed up.

Spiral Knights is the brainchild of Three Rings Design, Inc., and Ian McConville, of  Mac Hall and Three Panel Soul fame, served as the game's Art Lead. This means he "concepted, modeled, textured, animated, scripted, and built the FX for every single weapon in the game. The same goes for the majority of the equipment and the creatures [enemies] to date. Combat scripting included."

As a result, Spiral Knights is a very pretty game. It's doesn't have hyper-realistic graphics, but that's not the point. It has stylized, almost chibi-ish characters. Your average character looks something like the one pictured to the right.

Players fight their way through dungeons to earn experience and Crowns (in-game currency). In order to keep playing, however, players must have Energy. A certain amount of energy is free, and regenerates slowly. Additional energy costs either a sizable amount of Crowns or a few real-world dollars. While there isn't too much playtime with the regenerating energy, if a player is determined, he or she can sell enough in-game items to keep playing without spending a cent.

The focus of Spiral Knights' character progression lies with equipment and the Alchemy system, which allows players to craft their own weapons and armor. Players can of course buy new items for their character with Crowns, but it's more cost effective, if more complicated, to use Alchemy. Almost all of a character's equipment must be upgraded to the appropriate tier before entering more difficult dungeons.

Having to upgrade keeps players from getting in over their heads too often, although they'll almost certainly be overwhelmed anyway sooner or later. McConville wrote in a post at Three Panel Soul that it's not that he wants to make games difficult, "it's just that, the mobs [monsters] are all my children, and I oh'so want to see them succeed in their ambitions." 

Players will fight giant wolves, invincible floating skeletons (pro tip: just run) and big bosses like the jerk on the right. Trust me, he's tougher than he looks. Of course, these things get easier the more powerful characters become - just don't expect to coast through this game with a perfect record. 

Each level of a dungeon has a theme, from sunny forests to dark mines to haunted graveyards. While the variety is nice, players will still visit very similar areas more than once, and it can get a bit repetitive. That's not always a bad thing, however. Playing through areas as vibrant as these will still be enjoyable and challenging after a couple dozen visits. 

Final Call:

Spiral Knights is a cute game that's light on the pressure to get sucked in. It's certainly possible, but easily avoidable. It can be a bridge between casual and hardcore, with casual gamers playing for free and hardcore ones paying a little for a more in-depth experience. Being that it is free and all, it's definitely worth a look. You can pick it up at the official site or through Steam.