The Indie Informer

One of my favorite games coming out of GDC last year, Knights in Tight Spaces has my brain in a chokehold — for good and ill. The D&D feel I was so excited for is less woven into the title’s DNA than set dressing. The narrative — a vital aspect of roleplaying games of this ilk — is here more of an outline than a fleshed-out adventure. However, the strategic gameplay is solid gold and the manuscript-inspired visuals pop off the screen.

Knights in Tight Spaces has been hard to put down — just writing about it here makes me want to jump back in — though my finger’s consistently poised over the skip dialogue button.

Knights in Tight Spaces is, first and foremost, a strategy game. The immaculate action takes place in a series of small Medieval-apropriate stages whose grided floors are populated with hostile forces. To take on my opponents, I must shuffle through my hand of action cards and wisely choose which to play to avoid damage while attacking enemies. The synergies and variations between each card are glorious, creating gameplay that makes me feel both wise and powerful.

My favorite of the beginning heroes is the Rogue. Unlike the straightforward, damage-dealing Fighter, the Rogue’s basic cards allow me to slip through enemy formations, trick opponents into hitting each other, and focus on cunning. Stepping out of harms way with the Shift card and playing Taunt to prompt an archer to shoot his own teammate never gets old. Plus, racking up momentum points (which allow me to play cards) with Jab gives off real “you’re stuck in here with me” vibes.

Sadly, getting to these moments can be tedious. The story is a well-worn mixture of innkeepers pointing out quests and one-dimensional bad guy monologues. And, of course, the roguelike elements mean reading the same dialogue over and over. The best thing I can say is the developers have made it very easy to skip through these stale scenes to quickly jump back into the action.

Fights grow increasingly more complicated as the journey stretches on. Simple brawlers make way for long-range spellcasters, unpushable knights, and area-of-effect attacking giants. Luckily, I have the chance to recruit party members along the way to even the odds. My preferred pack includes a health-granting Sorcerer and some form of melee fighter to back up my Rogue. New teammates, card types, environmental hazards, and enemies make the gameplay more complex and even more satisfying.

Knights in Tight Spaces is a must for the strategy sickos out there, even if its story is best skipped past.