{"id":137310,"date":"2019-01-03T09:05:11","date_gmt":"2019-01-03T09:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/?p=137310"},"modified":"2019-11-12T05:32:41","modified_gmt":"2019-11-12T05:32:41","slug":"knights-of-pen-and-paper-bundle-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/archives\/137310","title":{"rendered":"Knights of Pen and Paper Bundle Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite\u00a0starting<\/span>\u00a0life<\/span>\u00a0as mobile titles, the Knights of Pen and\u00a0Paper series<\/span>\u00a0is<\/span>\u00a0definitely a\u00a0success<\/span>\u00a0in console form.<\/span>\u00a0Stripping away in-game\u00a0purchases<\/span>\u00a0has\u00a0opened<\/span>\u00a0up these wonderful RPGs, and despite a few\u00a0shortcomings,<\/span>\u00a0they\u00a0serve<\/span>\u00a0as beautiful pixellated call backs to tabletop gaming; all whilst\u00a0being<\/span>\u00a0solid adventures in their own right.<\/span>\u00a0If\u00a0you<\/span>\u2019ve ever been\u00a0interested<\/span>\u00a0in the board gaming world,\u00a0then Knights\u00a0is<\/span>\u00a0a fantastic light introduction, and there\u2019s\u00a0never<\/span>\u00a0been a better place\u00a0(or\u00a0time<\/span>)<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0start<\/span>\u00a0your\u00a0adventure<\/span>\u00a0in this fast growing medium.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If\u00a0you<\/span>\u2019ve\u00a0ever<\/span>\u00a0played a\u00a0round<\/span>\u00a0of Dungeons and Dragons then\u00a0you<\/span>\u2019ll\u00a0know<\/span>\u00a0how this is\u00a0going<\/span>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0go down<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Your\u00a0Dungeon Master<\/span>\u00a0has\u00a0sent<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0and your fellow adventurers on a\u00a0string<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0quests<\/span>\u00a0that\u00a0usually<\/span>\u00a0involve grabbing loot and slaying monsters.<\/span>\u00a0While\u00a0quests<\/span>\u00a0are loosely\u00a0planned, you\u00a0can<\/span>\u00a0go<\/span>\u00a0about<\/span>\u00a0them any way\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0please. For\u00a0example,<\/span>\u00a0if\u00a0you<\/span>\u2019re tasked with\u00a0taking<\/span>\u00a0out<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0group<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0Invisible Men,<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0can<\/span>\u00a0pick<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0take on<\/span>\u00a0anywhere up to seven at a\u00a0time,<\/span>\u00a0depending how brave\u00a0you<\/span>\u2019re\u00a0feeling<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Of\u00a0course<\/span>\u00a0the bigger the\u00a0bet,<\/span>\u00a0the higher the\u00a0reward<\/span>, so if\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0want<\/span>\u00a0to reap the best loot,\u00a0you<\/span>\u2019ll\u00a0want<\/span>\u00a0to go all in.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A simple map\u00a0shows<\/span>\u00a0various\u00a0locations<\/span>\u00a0for\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0to traverse, with each\u00a0location<\/span>\u00a0offering quests and usually\u00a0spots<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0buy<\/span>\u00a0goods<\/span>\u00a0and upgrade your\u00a0gear<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Gold<\/span>\u00a0is<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0currency<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0choice<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0used<\/span>\u00a0for pretty much everything;<\/span>\u00a0resurrecting your\u00a0fallen<\/span>\u00a0heroes and\u00a0purchasing<\/span>\u00a0new<\/span>\u00a0characters.<\/span>\u00a0You<\/span>\u00a0pay<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0travel<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0different<\/span>\u00a0locations too, so\u00a0keeping an\u00a0<\/span>eye<\/span>\u00a0on<\/span>\u00a0your\u00a0income<\/span>\u00a0is paramount.<\/span>\u00a0Luckily<\/span>\u00a0gold<\/span>\u00a0is\u00a0easier<\/span>\u00a0to come by when compared to Knights mobile counterpart,\u00a0removing<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0pay<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0win<\/span>\u00a0element<\/span>\u00a0that the\u00a0latter<\/span>\u00a0demonstrated<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Turn based battles take up much of your\u00a0time<\/span>, with the\u00a0order<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0fight<\/span>\u00a0randomly dished out between\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0and your\u00a0foes<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Obviously if\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0feel intimidated\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0can\u00a0roll<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0escape<\/span>, but doing so and\u00a0failing<\/span>\u00a0puts<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0at the\u00a0mercy<\/span>\u00a0of your\u00a0enemies<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Of course,\u00a0stats<\/span>\u00a0play<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0big<\/span>\u00a0part in both character development and enemy rankings, so knowing your HP from your\u00a0MP<\/span>\u00a0is<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0necessity<\/span>, but while\u00a0it<\/span>\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0an\u00a0entirely<\/span>\u00a0competent system\u00a0it<\/span>\u2019s never intimidating or\u00a0too<\/span>\u00a0complex for\u00a0newbies<\/span>\u00a0to the\u00a0genre<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0understand<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You<\/span>\u00a0can flesh out your\u00a0roster<\/span>\u00a0with trinkets and\u00a0equipment<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0give<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0an\u00a0edge, as well as being able to\u00a0<\/span>decorate<\/span>\u00a0your\u00a0room<\/span>\u00a0with\u00a0all<\/span>\u00a0sorts<\/span>\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0eighties memorabilia which\u00a0allows<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0to personalise your\u00a0adventure, as well as boost your parties stats<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0New table tops, dungeon masters and\u00a0game<\/span>\u00a0room must-haves\u00a0such as<\/span>\u00a0arcade machines and movie posters are\u00a0all<\/span>\u00a0available to\u00a0purchase<\/span>\u00a0with in-game currency.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0titles<\/span>\u00a0do a good job of\u00a0putting<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0charge<\/span>\u00a0of your\u00a0character<\/span>\u00a0development, so\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0can<\/span>\u00a0live<\/span>\u00a0out your<\/span>\u00a0fantasies<\/span>\u00a0as a hipster cleric or even a\u00a0jock<\/span>\u00a0warrior<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Each\u00a0character\u00a0<\/span>(and race in Knights 2)<\/span>\u00a0gives<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0different attributes and\u00a0abilities<\/span>\u00a0that\u00a0can<\/span>\u00a0be unlocked and levelled up as\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0progress<\/span>\u00a0through the\u00a0game<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0There\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0a decent amount of\u00a0variation<\/span>\u00a0between the\u00a0different<\/span>\u00a0characters, a<\/span>nd<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0can<\/span>\u00a0tailor<\/span>\u00a0your\u00a0team<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0suit<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0and some of the DLC heroes that come in this complete package boast some really interest\u00a0abilities<\/span>\u00a0that are genuinely fun to play around with.<\/span><\/p>\n

But while your\u00a0characters<\/span>\u00a0have<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0great<\/span>\u00a0selection of\u00a0spells<\/span>\u00a0and powers enemy\u00a0attacks<\/span>\u00a0are less interesting and there isn\u2019t much variation between\u00a0bad guys<\/span>\u00a0abilities<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0It doesn\u2019t really matter whether your\u00a0fighting<\/span>\u00a0a giant Dragon or an\u00a0army<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0rats<\/span>, the\u00a0attacks<\/span>\u00a0usually<\/span>\u00a0just<\/span>\u00a0leave<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0with less HP and occasionally a negative status effect that\u00a0clears off<\/span>\u00a0at the\u00a0end<\/span>\u00a0of<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0battle<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0It would have been\u00a0nice<\/span>\u00a0if more of the\u00a0enemies<\/span>\u00a0would have\u00a0received<\/span>\u00a0the same fleshing out that your\u00a0characters<\/span>\u00a0have<\/span>, perhaps with more\u00a0spells<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0attack<\/span>\u00a0animations of their own.<\/span>\u00a0That being\u00a0said<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0variation<\/span>\u00a0in creature design is fantastic and\u00a0keeps<\/span>\u00a0to the\u00a0games<\/span>\u00a0genuinely funny riffs on popular culture.<\/span>\u00a0There\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0classic\u00a0D&D-esc<\/span>\u00a0ghouls and goblins in\u00a0abundance<\/span>\u00a0but the\u00a0likes<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0very<\/span>\u00a0familiar looking ninja turtles and other budget knock offs\u00a0are<\/span>\u00a0the most\u00a0fun<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0fight<\/span>, and its hard to stay frustrated for long at a\u00a0game<\/span>\u00a0so intent on having\u00a0fun<\/span>\u00a0at its own expense.<\/span><\/p>\n

There’s\u00a0obviously<\/span>\u00a0an\u00a0element<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0luck<\/span>\u00a0involved<\/span>\u00a0with dice rolls dictating the\u00a0outcome<\/span>\u00a0of certain\u00a0situations, although an element of skill still remains with tactical decision making<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0It<\/span>\u00a0can<\/span>\u00a0sometimes be aggravating when\u00a0attempting<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0escape<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0situation<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0have<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0keep<\/span>\u00a0rolling<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0leave<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0fight,\u00a0<\/span>especially as\u00a0you<\/span>\u2019re\u00a0thrown<\/span>\u00a0into the deep end\u00a0quite<\/span>\u00a0quickly and<\/span>\u00a0find<\/span>\u00a0yourself\u00a0fighting<\/span>\u00a0much higher level\u00a0bad guys<\/span>\u00a0than\u00a0you<\/span>‘ve\u00a0had time to\u00a0<\/span>prepare<\/span>\u00a0for<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0This for me is where my biggest gripe with both titles rears its ugly head;\u00a0quests are just too similar.<\/span>\u00a0It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re escorting a stranger, clearing a dungeon or completing a fetch quest, it all leads to the same outcome, and because it can be so hard to complete story missions you\u2019re left to grind against low-level bad guys until you\u2019ve reached a point you can continue.<\/span>\u00a0It<\/span>\u2019s\u00a0also<\/span>\u00a0hard<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0build<\/span>\u00a0up a decent amount of\u00a0gold<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0purchase<\/span>\u00a0new<\/span>\u00a0equipment and\u00a0stuff<\/span>\u00a0for your\u00a0room<\/span>\u00a0when\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0have<\/span>\u00a0to keep reviving characters because the\u00a0game<\/span>\u00a0pits\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0against ridiculously\u00a0strong<\/span>\u00a0enemies at inappropriate times.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully the\u00a0titles<\/span>\u00a0have\u00a0survived<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0jump<\/span>\u00a0from\u00a0small<\/span>\u00a0screen to console and\u00a0it<\/span>\u00a0looks great in both handheld mode as well as docked.<\/span>\u00a0A sumptuous colour palette makes the pixelated adventure a genuine pleasure to look at and fantastic character design keeps encounters fresh and engaging.<\/span>\u00a0Knights 2\u00a0in\u00a0<\/span>particular<\/span>\u00a0is<\/span>\u00a0aplomb with whimsy, a charming callback to gaming past with gorgeous backgrounds and great variation between\u00a0enemies<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

But while it\u2019s\u00a0great<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0have<\/span>\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0complete<\/span>\u00a0experience bundled together there\u2019s an argument that\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0only<\/span>\u00a0really<\/span>\u00a0need one of the\u00a0titles<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Apart from being aesthetically the\u00a0superior<\/span>, Knights 2 isn\u2019t as challenging nor as satisfying as its\u00a0predecessor<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0That being\u00a0said<\/span>\u00a0as far as getting\u00a0bang<\/span>\u00a0for your\u00a0buck goes<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0package<\/span>\u00a0is absolutely worth it.\u00a0All DLC including new characters and quests are\u00a0included<\/span>\u00a0giving<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0bounty<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0entertainment<\/span>\u00a0which warrants\u00a0paying<\/span>\u00a0the Switch Tax if\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0want<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0complete<\/span>\u00a0package<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0The mobile versions muddy the\u00a0water<\/span>\u00a0with in-app purchases and\u00a0dastardly<\/span>\u00a0adverts<\/span>\u00a0that hinder progression and overall quality and this is something the console release completely avoids.<\/span>\u00a0That being\u00a0said<\/span>\u00a0both\u00a0games<\/span>\u00a0are\u00a0very<\/span>\u00a0similar and your\u00a0better<\/span>\u00a0playing<\/span>\u00a0in short bursts to dispel any repetition.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Knights of Pen and Paper and its\u00a0sequel<\/span>\u00a0are<\/span>\u00a0both solid RPGs but for me the\u00a0main<\/span>\u00a0victory\u00a0is<\/span>\u00a0that they\u00a0serve<\/span>\u00a0as a\u00a0love letter<\/span>\u00a0to tabletop gaming;\u00a0a once dying\u00a0genre<\/span>\u00a0that in recent years has\u00a0made<\/span>\u00a0an exciting revival.<\/span>\u00a0The riffing on popular culture doesn\u2019t squander this addictive RPG but repetitive missions and an\u00a0emphasis<\/span>\u00a0on grinding take the shine off an otherwise solid adventure.<\/span>\u00a0If\u00a0you<\/span>\u00a0want<\/span>\u00a0a\u00a0taste<\/span>\u00a0of The Knights of Pen and Paper\u00a0then<\/span>\u00a0you<\/span>\u2019ll\u00a0find<\/span>\u00a0plenty of\u00a0entertainment<\/span>\u00a0in the first\u00a0title<\/span>, but for those\u00a0looking<\/span>\u00a0for<\/span>\u00a0almost<\/span>\u00a0endless tabletop adventures\u00a0then<\/span>\u00a0this\u00a0is<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0package<\/span>\u00a0for\u00a0you<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

REVIEW CODE:<\/b>\u00a0A complimentary Nintendo Switch code was provided to\u00a0Bonus Stage for this review.\u00a0Please send all review code enquiries to\u00a0press@4gn.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A beautiful love letter to both tabletop gaming and old school RPGs alike with enough content to keep you looting for days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65760,"featured_media":137314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[12,2050,408,10288,10289],"tags":[7036,10890,7058,13198,13197,13272,10281,4336,9209,91,6936,10299],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Knights-of-Pen-and-Paper-Bundle.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Ijik-zIG","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137310"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65760"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bonusstage.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}