Previews// Black Knight Sword

Think of Grasshopper Manufacture, and one of the words that instantly spring to mind is ‘quirky’ - the art of creating action games of curious design, but always rooted in some form of prior art. Grindhouse films. Detective thrillers. Erm... frogs... But the Japanese studio is looking to another source of inspiration for platformer Black Knight Sword - European theatre.

The game hasn’t really been in the spotlight since its extremely quiet announcement at Gamescom, and it’s somewhat baffling as this could very well turn out to be a sleeper hit on PlayStation Network. Perhaps the studio feels the game is somewhat too niche?

It’s incredibly abstract in its presentation, with the action bordered with majestic theatre-style red curtains and a silhouette of a captivated audience watching your every move at the bottom of the screen. It’s a dark and eerie tale, of a man who is destined to become the Black Knight who travels the land to take on the evil Queen who rules with an iron fist.

Morbidly, you begin your plight not as the Knight initially, but as an unnamed man hanging from his bedroom ceiling. Neon city lights flare up beyond the window, and the left stick allows the character to struggle to the ground and clamber into a pile of cursed armour. From that point onwards, the scenery dynamically changes into warped and twisted fantasy worlds.

Speaking with the director of the game in Grasshopper Manufacture’s Tokyo headquarters, I was told that the team working on Black Knight Sword are big fans of Terry Gilliam. That influence is clear in the art direction. Walking heads spit pellets at you as you try to crouch and slash them to smithereens; boards with eyes in the middle bounce around the background and various inanimate objects come complete with mouths and other human features.

All the while, a soundtrack that is reminiscent of classic Castlevania games chime away as you leap around, with a chilling British narrator detailing your every step of the journey. As you complete levels and batter bosses, this chap’s tone seems to turn slightly sarcastic in his celebration of your victory - almost as if he doesn’t want you to really win.

In gameplay terms, it’s a slow-paced but interesting little platformer. The unique concept here is in the Knight’s Black Hellabore - a flying creature that can be flung at switches and other contraptions to manipulate them at will. While I only played the first stage, where puzzles were as simple as flicking basic switches, there were still multiple routes and secret pathways that could be explored with a little imagination.

As you slash your sword to smite bizarre-looking creatures, you obtain a number of hearts (once the blood splatters have cleared). These work as your currency, which can be used to spend on upgrades. And you’ll need to be savvy with your expenditures too, as bosses can bring some serious pain if you’re not aware of their attack patterns.

The guardian of the first stage is a silver knight that looks to be about three times your size. He’s introduced with a twee little trumpet fanfare (which adds a touch of comedy to the surreal events that have just taken place) before leaping at you for a staunch assault.

His pattern appears to be flopping towards you, taking advantage of his superior height and bulk. Using the quick backwards dodge button will allow you to get out of the way in time and deal a counter attack. After several hits, his armour comes off to reveal a creepy face on a potato-like body. Nice.

So a bit of a crazy adventure then, which is sure to pique the interest of many gamers bored with the usual colourful presentation of other digitally distributed platformers. With Grasshopper’s surreal collective mind behind it, I look forward to seeing how the Black Knight’s platforming and Black Hellabore use continue to surprise and confuse in later levels.