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A good enough idea can be the tentpole for a whole game. The Knightling, an upcoming open-world game which seems directly inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, is all about the shield. You can shield slide around just like Link does in the open-world Zelda duology, except it's even more important for getting around The Knightling's 3D platformer-style world, delightfully sculpted from ramps and speed boosts that all but scream "shield slide here." But your sentient shield is also your melee weapon, throwing weapon, glider, parry, slow-mo throw, and basically everything else.
We first spotted The Knightling last year, and as developer Twirlbound prepares the game for a PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Steam release, I was eager to give it a go in Steam Next Fest. Its demo is a condensed, slightly sparse, but instantly enjoyable romp around cute hillsides dotted with treasure, towns, collectibles, and NPCs to assist as our aspiring young knight.
The Knightling himself moves and controls pretty well, with a heavy shield attack combo, responsive double jump, and an especially satisfying parry and follow-up attack. A familiar shot of electricity surged through me the first time I perfectly parried a swipe from what I'd call a demon frog. Ooh, that felt good. I wish I had a few more of the moves shown off in the trailer. The more shield nonsense you can string together, the better The Knightling becomes, which I suppose bodes well for the many upgrades that are apparently in the full game.
The Knightling doesn't have a release date yet and still feels unfinished – especially in the world, which lacks the interactivity and thrill-a-minute density of Zelda's triumphs – but this is a demo with what we in the business call stuff. There's something here. The bright art style is a perfect fit for the lighthearted 3D platforming energy pouring out of this game, the soundtrack has a lovely chipper vibe, and the Swiss Army Shield may well be strong enough to carry this thing. This strikes me as a game that could be something special as long as it doesn't overextend itself in world design – less is more, for my money – and as a fan of 3D platformers and the modern Zelda games, it's staying on my wishlist.
