THE 2 MEANS IT’S A SEQUEL.
I have limited familiarity with the first The Witch and the Hundred Knight title. I played it for a while before something else inevitably stole my time, and I promised myself I would get back to it. Now there is a sequel so it appears I failed at getting back to that original game. Jumping into a sequel without fully appreciating what the first game has to offer can sometimes be difficult because sometimes the sequel is drastically different or makes enough important changes that going backwards through the series becomes a chore. That’s not the case with this game.
The story is about a girl trying to save her younger sister from a witch disease that is plaguing the nation, while trying to eradicate the world of witches. Unfortunately, before her sister can be saved, the witch inside her is awakened and brings to life a doll (Hundred Knight) to use as her minion. This witch and the younger sister whose body she inhabits are two different people essentially, which leads to wacky mischief occurring. That’s what the plot ends up being anyways, other than dry dialog that keeps enforcing the fact that witches are bad. When I say wacky mischief, I mean original Scooby-Doo levels of humor acted out with visual novel style graphics (portraits with blinking and mouth movement). There’s a crow that is a drag queen and I think that says enough about the level of humor on display. The good news is that playing the first game is not necessary to grasp the plot.
PLATFORMS: PS4
MSRP: $49.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $19.99
Gameplay isn’t far different from the previous title in the series. It’s an isometric hack and slash game where Hundred Knight must do the bidding of the witch that brought him to life. Combat is done simply by mashing the square button and Hundred Knight will cycle through the currently equipped weapons in order (maximum of five). Special attacks can be done by holding the R1 button and hitting any of the face buttons. Hundred Knight can also change form (called Facets) to change stats and abilities, which is necessary for success. Outside of combat areas equipment can be upgraded and items can be bought and sold to increase Hundred Knight’s chances of survival.
The key difference between The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 (as well as its predecessor) and other games is the way Hundred Knight needs Gigacalories for survival. Gigacalories can be traded for Hundred Knight to refill health as well as dodge, but Gigacalories are consistently decreasing with time as well. To refill Gigacalories, Hundred Knight needs to complete a five attack combo to have the chance to perform a move called Depletura where Hundred Knight devours enemies as food. Enemies need to be weak enough for Depletura to work, and if Hundred Knight misses or doesn’t do enough damage to kill the enemy it doesn’t get another chance at Depletura until another five string combo is completed. Gigacalories can also be refilled with cookies which are uncommon/expensive items and by consuming items picked up and stored in its stomach. Items picked up throughout the level don’t automatically go into inventory, but rather wait in Hundred Knight’s stomach and are added to inventory when a level is completed or Hundred Knight warps back to the main castle area.
My biggest issue with this game is its equipment system. Unlike other hack and slash games where loot acquired in level can instantly be compared to the equipment I am using, I have to wait to leave a level like I’m cashing out at a casino. However unlike a casino, I know I really haven’t gotten anything great because once I started leveling up items they were generally better than anything I picked up from dead enemies. This grind is necessary, as from one map section to the next the difficulty can spike to where I was overpowered the previous screen and then was horribly underpowered the next, both of which make completing a Depletura to refill Gigacalories extremely difficult. The menu system for upgrading or comparing equipment isn’t the most user friendly experience either, which makes this whole process from gameplay to upgrade menu a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.
The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 is by no means a bad game, but I’m unsure how it justifies its existence. It hasn’t done enough in my eyes to warrant playing this game over the original, which is available on PlayStation 4 as well under the title The Witch and the Hundred Knight: Revival Edition, and has likely had a price drop by now. The graphics and mechanics haven’t expanded far past the original, and the way the first game starts off is far more compelling than the intro of this game. Big fans of the original who really want more Hundred Knight will likely enjoy this game, but don’t be surprised that it’s only more of the same. As for anyone who hasn’t tried the original, save some cash and pick up the original if a different take on the hack and slash genre seems interesting. Otherwise, I would say this game is simply too repetitive without enough enjoyable payoff to where I would say playing this over another title.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
