10 Of The Best Games Featuring Knights
Time to get out a tin of Brasso and clean the silverware as it’s time to do a feature on 10 of the best games featuring knights. There are three reasons for doing this:
- I feel like doing a feature.
- Two, maybe three people are searching for this online.
- I’m a knight, so I know a few people in my circles at the table – the round table. Eh? Eh?
Since snagging a Nintendo Switch in 2017, my library has increased to almost 500 games, so it’s natural to do lists with the Switch. Still, the following list of knights covers several platforms from my preferences.
This isn’t the Holy Grail of the best games featuring knights, so don’t go quoting in your essays as it’s my opinion and a fun writing exercise to see how much I can type before this whisky wears off.
Dark Souls Remastered: Whichever Build You’re Going For
Each time I write about this series, it reinforces my love for it, and I have to concede that it is one of my favourite games of all time. Unlike albums by your favourite games that always seem good, but seldom surpasses the last, each Dark Souls instalment got better and better.
I felt that Dark Souls 3 was the top of the pops, but after numerous playthroughs on the Dark Souls Remastered game on the Nintendo Switch, it was almost as if that was the best one.
Regardless of whichever build you opt for, the heroes in Dark Souls were knights at heart, if I’m allowed to say that without anyone shouting that they don’t identify as a knight. Each to their own, it’s just a game.
Jump King: Thighmaster 4000
Not exactly a legend in the world of gaming just yet, but he’s getting there (probably for driving people mad). The knight in Jump King has his priorities right and has no need for mucking about with swords and maces to get the girl.
Anyway, who wants ‘a girl’ when you can have a smoking hot babe? I still haven’t reached the top and not going to cheat with a walkthrough. I just hope it’s not a scam and all those squats have paid off. One day I’ll reach the top…
Moonstone: A Hard Day’s Knight: All Of Them
If you never got the chance to play this, I recommend watching a long-play video on YouTube. The intro scene alone was superb back in the day of Wheetos and Tab Clear for breakfast. That’s Tab Clear on the Wheetos.
There were four knights to choose from, each with a bright garb to separate them from the next, and it was a gruesome mess. Watching your hero get decapitated, pulverised, squeezed so hard that their head popped off… this was when knights were knights without using their gluten intolerance as an excuse, or their fear of sponges stopping them from joining the battlefield.
Ghosts n’ Goblins/Ghosts n’ Ghouls: Sir Arthur
One of my all-time favourite arcade characters and an inspiration for this site, not that it matters to anyone but me, Arthur goes on a pedestal. Nobody can sport sexy boxers like him while storming through a graveyard of zombies. This guy has balls, but thankfully his shorts contain them.
If you’re a fan of the series, regardless of the platform (check out the Spectrum version, which was my first copy!), you may not be aware of the new title next month called Ghost n’ Goblins Resurrection. It seems to be the same thing, but slapped with ‘nostalgic, yet fresh adventure’. Yes, please.
Dragon’s Lair Trilogy: Dirk the Daring
A bit of a hapless hero but we’re defining him as a knight due to his garb, and although the costume doesn’t become him, he’s the epitome of a chivalrous knight rescuing a damsel in distress. Even if his limbs are made of spaghetti.
This cost a fortune back in the arcades – the cost to play, and the amount of shrapnel you’d pump in as it was bloody hard. We’re only relying on memory here, but I don’t ever recall it ever being that popular at the local arcades and never saw a grown-up play it.
Still, that didn’t stop me owning it on various platforms. First, the Amiga, which was an awful port, but now I have on PC, and it’s arcade perfect. Over the years I could finally say I finished it (and Space Ace, but that’s another feature), and Dirk is worthy of being one of the best knights in a game featuring a knight, to include that headline (ish) once more.
Soul Calibur: Siegfried/Knightmare
This was going to be Soul Blade, but for me, Mitsurugi, Voldo and Maxi-Pads were the standout characters in the PlayStation classic. Instead, I’m going for the Dreamcast (naturally) and listing Siegfried and/or Nightmare – don’t fanboy on me with facts.
Siegfried was perhaps my first real encounter with heavy-hitting knights and their kin, often opting for a Havel-like build in each of the Dark Souls games with a big ‘up yours’ sword that was like hitting someone with a train.
Siegfried was a bit of a ponce, on par with Prince Charming in Shrek, so for the Cobra Kai crowd and others who like to be badass, Nightmare had the better wardrobe and presence. Still, who doesn’t like poking an opponent with an oversized sword? Ooer.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind: Your Build, NPCs
Morrowind was my first experience of The Elder Scrolls, and I milked it. Starting as a thief, I soon realised that my knucklehead playstyle was about close and cosy melee fighting. Though my thieves could open any door and rich as you like, they’d fall over if a mouse farted.
So, specialising as a stone wall with mobility features, I spent the best part of a week’s holiday from work building a tank/knight that was the epitome of 80s bad guys like Ivan Drago. Guards and dark knights would hit me with the equivalent of a feather duster, and I’d take them out with one blow. A sword swipe, I wasn’t that tough.
The flaw to this build was mobility, but Morrowind was also my introduction to open-world jumping. Instead of fast travelling everywhere, I’d repeatedly jump, maxing out acrobatic skills, then moving onto the next such as agility. My knight became the Neo of Medievalsville.
Battle Chess: The Knights (Duh)
Before Mortal Kombat and their freshman fatalities, Battle Chess set the standard for immobilising an opponent through a gruesome death – notably severing at least one limb or two.
Back in the day, Battle Chess was the title that motivated a flood of kids into the after school clubs to play chess firsthand. The purists then were thrilled that they had found a new audience, but after realising there wasn’t any gore, we all went back to our Pogs and yo-yos.
I believe there have been a couple of remakes and could perhaps look into this, but Google isn’t the answer to everything, and that’s the job of people commenting to shout that you missed something or got it wrong, signing off with their signature, hindsight. Pft.
Overwatch: Reinhardt
While applying some slapdash research for a full seven minutes on knights I may have forgotten, one that prompted a mention was Reinhardt from Overwatch. Funny how I can call up Dragon’s Lair Trilogy and Moonstone but almost forgot a game released in 2015?
I bought Overwatch on launch day without knowing anything about it. All I saw was ‘Blizzard’ and thought, sod it, that’ll do as an impulse buy. It wasn’t until I got home that I saw the blatant sticker saying online play only. If I’d had known, this entry wouldn’t have materialised.
As a result of it being online, I haven’t played Overwatch since 2015 but recall Reinhardt (occasionally Reaper) as being my go-to character. A hulking melee-based brute with an awesome presence. Unfortunately, his towering size makes hitting him as easy as throwing fish at a bus. Nevertheless, a very very cool knight in my books/website archives.
For Honor (spelt without the ‘u’): The Knights
I’m not sure what the consensus is on For Honor, spelt without the ‘u’, but I remember when seeing the hype, I was stoked for its release. The focal point for many was either the samurai or Vikings. Knights were a bit old hat, but for me, they were pretty cool.
Though the combat system takes some getting used to, For Honor, spelt without the ‘u’, is a decent title in my opinion, and while first-time publisher Ubisoft or something poo-pooed history with its merging of timelines (get over it, it’s a game), knights versus samurai versus Vikings versus various other DLC legends was wicked. I might have to grab the disc and reinstall this after posting.
But What About…?
Shovel Knight? I haven’t properly played it, or Hollow Knight despite buying it on two different platforms, so they didn’t make the cut. I had your screams across the internet.
Maybe we could expand a bit and say Jedi Knights or the Arkham Knight? How about Michael Knight from Knight Rider? Nah, let’s still with the conventional medieval knights, there or thereabouts whether they’re the focal point as in Ghost N’ Goblins or a playable character in Soul Calibur.
Upcoming games featuring knights worth looking out for are Good Night, Knight, and King Arthur: Knight’s Tale. I’m sure there are others, but these are two particular titles that are floating my boat, which I do not own.
If there are any inaccuracies or you don’t agree with any in the list, feel free to make your own and share with the world so we may embrace the best games featuring knights. I said it again.
