‘Gryphon Knight Epic’ (PC) Review

While some games are designed to show off just how powerful the new console hardware is these days, or how impressive they can look on top end PCs, there are also games that look back to the 2D days of platform games and shoot ‘em ups. Gryphon Knight Epic is yet another one of those, but this time harking back to the likes of R-Type.

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As a knight riding his gryphon your task is to battle through the levels saving his friends from a foe who appears to be an evil version of himself. Through fighting your way through the boss battles you free the characters, and are given their weapons to become even stronger, allowing you to build up enough strength to be able to battle yourself.

Gryphon Knight Epic looks back to the shoot ‘em up and uses what we nostalgically love about them to neatly fit the game into the retro gaming scene with ease. The graphics are 2D and have a certain intentionally dated look, but in many ways this hides the impressiveness, especially when it runs at a high enough resolution.

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The stronger your character becomes the more fun the game is, as with the likes of many “rougelikes” such as Rouge Legacy, you may struggle at first but things do get easier. Saying that though, don’t expect an easy ride with this one. With retro styled games like this there is always a focus on making it a challenge rather than giving the player an easy ride. Even on the easy setting it takes quite a bit of skill to make it through on first attempt.

With a game like Gryphon Knight Epic there has to be that hook that keeps the player coming back, and while I did find myself having to take a break from the game, it does tend to pull you back in. The fact that there is a story driven challenge to the game, and the continual building up of strength makes it one of those games that gets under your skin. I can’t say it’s like Rogue Legacy that tends to keep you playing for hours, but there is just enough addictiveness to the game to keep you coming back.

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It is fair to say that Gryphon Knight Epic is definitely a game that is designed in every way to be “retro” and while we have many of these and will no doubt tire of them soon, thankfully this hasn’t been a victim of being “just another retro game”. It has that level of challenge needed, enough variety in the levels and an interesting enough story to catch the interest of a gamer looking for a challenge.

For gamers who reminisce how fun games like R-Type used to be, Gryphon Knight Epic is a good choice of game to try. At £9.99 it also won’t break the bank, and will be one that gives you more than a few hours of joy. With the number of retro style games out right now, this could get lost in the crowd, but if you take my advice don’t ignore Gryphon Knight Epic, it is well worth your time.

Gryphon Knight Epic is available on PC, Mac and Linux now and can be purchased through Steam.

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