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Knuckle Sandwich review: a turn-based RPG that’s a little too randomMight make you eat your fist
Might make you eat your fist
It’s hard to define what genre the OST is, but it’s phenomenal. Glitchy. Bouncy. Eclectic. Synthy. Yeah, it’s real good. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Andy Brophy
When given some room to breathe and explore Bright City, my frustrations with the fights fizzle away for a bit. While each portion of the city isn’t massive, they’re home to quirky residents, funky shops, and weird chats that might offer insights into how each neighbourhood’s getting on. Sometimes, you pop into a house and there’s a lovely guy who expresses how he enjoys his job as a miner. A security official might warn you to stay away from the Rat Lord’s house.Kidshaving a picnic might debate the origins of brie. While I wouldn’t say there’s a tremendous amount of backstory to any of these characters or Bright City itself, it’s still a joy to wander about such a colourful place and constantly brush up against the unexpected.
Lots of little details help bring Bright City to life, too. I like the “schhh” of automatic doors as they slide open, or the way birds hop around and flap off as you approach. You save your game at washing machines - glad to see the telephone snubbed for once - and at each one there’s a tidbit of text on its current wash cycle, which might chop and change depending on the environment (top of the line features are available at Mr. Apricot’s luxurious resort).
And Brophy flexes these design muscles during story beats to, frankly, staggering effect. Where some games of a similar ilk might get comfortable with the tricks they use to push the story forwards i.e., a fade to black, or the camera following a character as they barge into the room, Brophy ups the ante with the slickest transitions. You might flash from present to future in one snap, the background shifting in an instant as your character seemingly slots into a cutout of their silhouette. Dreams of a mundane routine might transform the entire game into an 8-bit minigame, then things will relax as the focus shifts entirely to more detailed close-ups of you and your goblin friend. All of it furthers Bright City’s penchant for the abnormal in really creative ways.
Much like, say, Undertale, I like the way each character has a bespoke patter and tone to their text as it populates dialogue boxes. Sometimes it’ll wiggle or shake or blow out of proportion, all going a long way to keeping conversations from ever getting stale. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Andy Brophy
Tackling baddies is a turn-based affair, except instead of pressing the attack button and watching your sprite rock forwards to deal damage, you time your button-presses to align with knobs on a track, a bit like when you take a swing in a golf game. When it comes to skills, your performance in Wario Ware-style minigames often dictates how effective they might be. The same goes for when enemies attack you, too. Beat their minigames and you can counterattack for free, or time your dodge when they opt for a more basic swing and you’ll emerge without a scratch.
Timing your presses for basic attacks is supremely satisfying, and it’s neat how the Attack Track™ can switch between horizontal, loopy, or vertical to keep things interesting. And the array of minigames on offer aren’t only themed well for each enemy - many are bespoke - they’re often a solid mixture of funny and intense. A rat king had me scurrying out the way of his loyal minions. I’ve had to direct a bendy arm and hand to clutch a falling egg at just the right time. I’ve driven a car, avoided UFO catchers, jumped over rain clouds.
I’ve also nearly broken down in tears. You see, the game’s numbers aren’t balanced properly, so when Knuckle Sandwich has forced into fights with enemies in narrow corridors or shoved into bosses, I’ve wanted to hurl myself into a wall. There’s none of the gradual ramp you’d get from other RPGs, where the numbers you output mark up nicely against those you receive as levels increase. Knuckle Sandwich’s difficulty ramp is, it seems, more of a random slalom.
There’s no resistances or enemy weaknesses to play off, meaning there’s never a trick to discover or a way to flip the numbers into consistency. I longed for ways to make enemies vulnerable or speed up fights in ways that didn’t just lie in flipping a switch in a menu. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Andy Brophy
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Andy Brophy
The settings menu can alleviate much of the pain, as you’re able to tweak whether you even bother with the basic attacks minigames, how easy each minigame is, how much damage you take, and auto healing before battle. The holy grail, though? The option to skip battles entirely. Even after lowering the difficulty I skip almost every fight, as more generous numbers still don’t make for a battle system that’s actually fun in the long run.
It’s a real shame that Knuckle Sandwich’s combat is beyond frustrating, because it’s a huge part of uncovering the mysteries lurking within Bright City. If it gets rebalanced later down the line, then it would undo a lot of why I’d hesitate to recommend the game right now. I simply don’t think the kooky residents and wonderful visuals can make up for fights that’ll raise your blood pressure to dangerous levels. Here’s hoping things change.
